Pog0
10-06-2005, 02:03 AM
I've been playing poker for a "living" for the past 4 months. Well, by for a living I mean I'm a university student, playing poker part time, ~50 hours/mo, making much more than any of my peers could dream of making in a retail job. So I'm positive I'm a winning player, I keep track of my results, and am beating my game sufficiently well (>1.5bb/100) over 50k hands 7-10 tabling, but whenever I were to take a shot at the next level, I'd be reluctant. I noticed I was playing differently there, and I would put more emphasis on my decisions on the 2 tables of the higher limit.
So why the nerves about the higher level? Firstly, I am not certain I am a winning player there (although fairly confident I would be), last time I was running well and took a shot, I ended up down 100BB and negative about my future prospects.
So in September, I played 95% at my current level, and 5% at the higher level, and I turned a profit (allbeit over only 1000 hands) in the higher level. I was still reluctant to get into it at the time because of the reasons stated above.
I took five days off near the end of this month (I didn't plan for it, but it just worked out that way), and during that time I decided that when I come back, I'll just join the waiting list for the higher level and take a long enough stab at it to determine whether or not it's a profitable move.
First hand I'm dealt 77 in the BB, two limpers, I raise (so I know I'm not playing scared money), flop T73, I bet/3bet, both are coming along for the ride. Turn T, I bet/3bet again. River 2, I bet, and they call. I take it down vs 33 and KT. Not the kind of nervewracking affair I was looking for, but a few minutes later, I'm calm, collected, and seeing all money in the form of bets rather than $.
I suppose my advice for anyone who's beating their current game well but can't find it in themselves to move up, would be to take a couple days off, and then just hit it up cold turkey (provided you are sufficiently bankrolled).
Bankroll was never an issue, all my thinking was in terms of profitability and risk. I was playing with >2000BB in bankroll and didn't feel out of place because I knew I was making enough money for it to be worth it.
There's no reason to stay in that safe income zone if you are overbankrolled to take a shot higher (and crushing your current game). Just take a stab, see if it appears more profitable, and if not, you always have that safe place to go back to. Looks like I 1.5-2x'ed my income finally. Should have done it sooner, should do it again sooner? We'll see.
So why the nerves about the higher level? Firstly, I am not certain I am a winning player there (although fairly confident I would be), last time I was running well and took a shot, I ended up down 100BB and negative about my future prospects.
So in September, I played 95% at my current level, and 5% at the higher level, and I turned a profit (allbeit over only 1000 hands) in the higher level. I was still reluctant to get into it at the time because of the reasons stated above.
I took five days off near the end of this month (I didn't plan for it, but it just worked out that way), and during that time I decided that when I come back, I'll just join the waiting list for the higher level and take a long enough stab at it to determine whether or not it's a profitable move.
First hand I'm dealt 77 in the BB, two limpers, I raise (so I know I'm not playing scared money), flop T73, I bet/3bet, both are coming along for the ride. Turn T, I bet/3bet again. River 2, I bet, and they call. I take it down vs 33 and KT. Not the kind of nervewracking affair I was looking for, but a few minutes later, I'm calm, collected, and seeing all money in the form of bets rather than $.
I suppose my advice for anyone who's beating their current game well but can't find it in themselves to move up, would be to take a couple days off, and then just hit it up cold turkey (provided you are sufficiently bankrolled).
Bankroll was never an issue, all my thinking was in terms of profitability and risk. I was playing with >2000BB in bankroll and didn't feel out of place because I knew I was making enough money for it to be worth it.
There's no reason to stay in that safe income zone if you are overbankrolled to take a shot higher (and crushing your current game). Just take a stab, see if it appears more profitable, and if not, you always have that safe place to go back to. Looks like I 1.5-2x'ed my income finally. Should have done it sooner, should do it again sooner? We'll see.