How much longer do I give this?

[offTopic]

V. frustrating.

Played many, many hours of 2-4 online in 2001...about 300-400 or so, beat the game for between 6.50 - 7.00 / hr.

Made the jump to 3-6 (first at Paradise, then later at Party/Pokerstars) struggled a little at first, but I've now beaten the 3-6 online games for about 8.00 /hr.

...and then we get to 5-10. I can't imagine there is such a marked increase in the skill level of the players - indeed, based on some of the hands I've seen go down, the play looks worse, if a little more aggressive. Nonetheless, I'm down about 900 in 90 hrs, which is roughly 180 degrees different from my lower-limit results.

Ride out the storm? Or relegate* myself to 3-6 for the rest of my poker career?


* -- This is in no way meant to demean 3-6 players...I've always thought the ability to move up in limits and be successful is one way to measure the evolution of one's poker abilities.

[Homer]

You've lost 1 BB/hour for 90 hrs. Many winning players have lost at a greater rate over a greater amount of time. So, it's hard to say whether you are going through a rough stretch or whether you aren't good enough to beat 5-10.

-- Homer

[J.R.]

Homer is right, 90 hours is statistically insignificant. But since you talk in terms of $$$, not big bets, it seems that the money is important to you. Maybe you should stay at 3-6 until you are comfortable with the possibility of losing a couple thousand.

[ QUOTE ]
Or relegate* myself to 3-6 for the rest of my poker career?

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you not think it would be possible to ever move up again should you choose to play 3-6 for the immediate future?

[offTopic]

[ QUOTE ]
You've lost 1 BB/hour for 90 hrs. Many winning players have lost at a greater rate over a greater amount of time. So, it's hard to say whether you are going through a rough stretch or whether you aren't good enough to beat 5-10.
-- Homer

[/ QUOTE ]

Is that from the Iliad or the Odyssey? /images/graemlins/smile.gif

The only thing that is giving me a glimmer of hope is that quite a few of my premium holdings have been getting knocked off by weird stuff. Of course, when things aren't going well, it's because I suck (and in fact am the suckiest suck that ever sucked) so maybe I'll just keep playing 3-6 and formulate some elaborate conspiracy theory...

[offTopic]

[ QUOTE ]
Homer is right, 90 hours is statistically insignificant. But since you talk in terms of $$$, not big bets, it seems that the money is important to you. Maybe you should stay at 3-6 until you are comfortable with the possibility of losing a couple thousand.

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh - I purposely didn't use BB because of the small number of hours. /images/graemlins/grin.gif Maybe I just need to stop bitching until I've lost more, or for a longer time... /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Homer]

Homer: [on phone] Yeah, Moe, that team sure did suck last night. They just plain sucked! I've seen teams suck before, but they were the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked.

Marge: Homer! Watch your mouth!

Homer: Aw, I gotta go. My damn weiner kids are listening. [hangsup]

-- Homer

[Barry]

I certainly agree that you don't have enough time to make any conclusions about your results at 5/10 as of yet, however it is a common occurence to have a more difficult time as you move up in limits.

I have been trying to learn this game for almost a year now. I started at .50/1 online and 2/4/ and 3/6 live and got my butt kicked. Over time I was able to beat those and think about moving up. Each time I did so, I struggled with the change and didn't do well at first. Live, I've since moved up through 4/8, 5/10 , 8/16 to 10/20, which is where I am now and I have just started playing 8/16 online with mixed results and a large standard deviation.

So as you move up, make sure you have a sufficient bankroll, learn how the new level and new players play, keep examining your play, and post hands here. Over time your results will improve.

[Tosh]

$8 an hour at 3/6 is only 1.33 big bets an hour. I think you can beat this level for more before you move up.

Your losing streak is rather inconvenient but I don't think it is a long enough period to make too many conclusions from it.

[Homer]

I also forgot to ask you, why are you playing in the tough games at Paradise when there are much easier games available elsewhere?

-- Homer

[offTopic]

[ QUOTE ]
I also forgot to ask you, why are you playing in the tough games at Paradise when there are much easier games available elsewhere?

-- Homer

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry, poker is a game of incomplete information, and so are my posts...I started playing on Paradise in '01. Currently, I play about 85% of my hands on Party. The other 15% is relegated to bonus whoring.

[offTopic]

[ QUOTE ]
$8 an hour at 3/6 is only 1.33 big bets an hour. I think you can beat this level for more before you move up.


[/ QUOTE ]

Shoot for two solid BB/hr (single game only)? I've had some prolonged stretches (~70-80 hrs) where I was doing this, but I thought I was getting lucky...might have to re-examine my play while that was going on. Thanks for the input.

[DrSavage]

Do you use any kind of poker analyzing software such as Pocker Tracker ?
I found that it helped my game the most. When you can see which hands from which position are giving you trouble you might be able to solve this problem.
While 90 hours is not enough to prove that you're playing with disadvatnage it's still enough statisticaly to make you look closer at your game.

[Tosh]

Yeh I think you could beat those games for 2 BBs an hour, possibly more. If you feel comfortable moving up the limits then go for it but I think you might be better off continuing at $3/$6 for a bit longer.

[offTopic]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you use any kind of poker analyzing software such as Pocker Tracker ?
I found that it helped my game the most. When you can see which hands from which position are giving you trouble you might be able to solve this problem.
While 90 hours is not enough to prove that you're playing with disadvatnage it's still enough statisticaly to make you look closer at your game.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I own pokertracker...I'd mentioned in one of my replies to Homer that the one bit of hope I have is that several good hands have gotten smacked around by some improbable holdings - nothing I haven't seen in the lower limits or live, last night I lost three in a row with AQo where I flopped an A, stuff like that.

The differences I've noted between my 5-10 and 3-6 play is that I see fewer flops in 5-10 (not surprising, given the increased aggression at that limit) but I've also won fewer showdowns.

I might be playing scared insofar as I'll go to the higher limit when I get to 2200 or so and drop down around 1700-1800...I think this time I'll try and get the BR up to about 3 grand (if I can) before taking my next shot at the 5-10. Hopefully, by next summer, LOL.

[MaxPower]

[ QUOTE ]
V. frustrating.

Played many, many hours of 2-4 online in 2001...about 300-400 or so, beat the game for between 6.50 - 7.00 / hr.

Made the jump to 3-6 (first at Paradise, then later at Party/Pokerstars) struggled a little at first, but I've now beaten the 3-6 online games for about 8.00 /hr.

[/ QUOTE ]

No offense, but if you are beating the Party 3-6 games for $8/hr, you probably have some leaks in your game. Fix the leaks before you move up. That is assuming that you have played enough hours and this win rate is accurate.