movin up to 1-2

[peter t]

hi everyone my first post. ive been playing .5-1 at party for a few months with some sucsess, and i am considering moving up to the 1-2 dollar tables. i was curious if there is a big difference in the playing abilities of the players at this limit? i have been using lee jones winning low limit holdem.and i was hopeing that it would apply at the higher limit. any respose is appreciated ,thanks pete

[jbc]

Hey Peter,

Not too much of a difference in general, but there are a number of more aggressive players at $1/$2 in my experience. These are probably folks similar to you and me who have beaten $.50/$1 and have moved up. I think you'll find that more of the tables tend to be loose/agressive than loose/passive. But, sticking to principles in WLLHE should allow you to win at either level.

Any other thoughts, anyone?

jbc

[Dylan Wade]

I haven't read lee Jone's book, but I've found that .5/1 seems to be no different than 3/6$. Same loose characters all around.

I guess the only difference is that *sometimes* I'll see a 3/6$ full of tight players, but at .5/1 or 1/2 I'm going to assume right away that the table is loose.

Wait for a good bankroll before moving up and you'll do fine. Do as I say, though, not as I do, as I have a bad habit of moving to higher tables once I have only 30-40 Bets. It's enough to hold your own for awhile, but you'll go broke if you run bad. A lot of people think 300BB is a good bankroll. I think that's more of a pro bankroll though. That's because the pro is constantly taking money out of his bankroll to pay for food/rent/etc.. If you never take money from your bankroll (what fun is that?) 100BB-200BB should suffice IMHO.

[GuyOnTilt]

You won't see much of a difference in the skill level of your opponents as a whole until you hit 3/6. Then things will start to become a little more tight-aggressive, but not much. Your main concern about working your way through the limits until then should be your bankroll. Make sure it's adequate to handle big downswings. If you want to have a completely seperate poker bankroll that you don't replenish, then 200-300 BB's should be good for recreational purposes.

GoT

[Alobar]

I havent played a party .50/1 table, but I've been playing 1/2 and so far its pretty easy. I'm hoping that has to do with my skill and just not short term luck (I've been playing there for about a week now). I used to play .50/1 at stars and TGC (which is actually how I found this board, I wanted to know what the hell this OIC everyone was talking about was /images/graemlins/smile.gif), and I can say that party 1/2 is alot softer than either of those. I would think tho that if your handling the .5/1 jsut fine, you should have no prob at 1/2. good luck!!

[peter t]

thanks for the advice guys. good luck!

[JDErickson]

I hace recently just moved up to 1/2 and this is what I have noticed. There are a few more agressive players in 1/2. Not quite the callign party of .50/1.00. Expect to see a few more raises BTF and agressive play after that. Skill level doesn't seem to be much better though.

One thing to note is watch your bankroll. From my experience you can run through $50 to $100 really fast. Be prepared and ready for when it happens (and it will). Don't tilt out. I have set a 25 BB limit before I give up for the day.


Jim

[WillMagic]

Listen to GuyOnTilt - the bankroll thing is key. But you shouldn't have much trouble at 1/2.

Will

[doggin]

Peter, I just moved to 1/2 on Nov 1st to see how it goes,
after I feel like I can consistantly beat .5/1 on Party.
I read the books too damn fast though and going over them
for the second time. TOP and HEFAP has to be read over and
over if you are of the average mind. Some of the stuff just
has to soak-in my thick skull I guess.
You will have to pay more attention to POSITION in 1/2,
and not hesitate to fold AA after a flop of T T 9 and it is
raised to you, and that is hard to do.
Also, take advantage of Pokertracker and their 1,000 hand
free download. There is great info there, I just don't know how to utilize it all.
I can't believe how important position has become in aggressive games where there is constant raising and reraising. The first few days scared me to death but come
to find out, it was just my (unlucky?) table selection as I
can never just pick a table like I could at .5/1 but have to
wait and get seated with 1/2. Huge difference in tables and
players.
I am getting killed on Thursday nights at Party 1/2 and don't know what's up with that. Last Thursday I lost two
sit downs at 50.00 each in an hour and a half. Nothing held
up. I mean nothing. I never seen anything like that night.
From now on I'm thinking I'll lose the 50.00 in one session
and quit for the day.
Last night I sit down and won 53.00 in 50 minutes while
all but a few hands I played thru the turn held up.
My see the flop % was a fairly tight 27 but there will be
times when you must play that tight to walk away a winner.
I can't bring myself to pull the trigger and raise though.
I'm always wanting a free card or wanting to check it down
to save a bet and I am not getting all I can when I do that.
I find it hard to be aggressive. The times I did try it
just ended up costing me more money. But I had second best
hand, simple as that, and that is another problem in itself,
playing second best hand too far.
Most of this post is my playing and not answering yours.
I found going to 1/2 a bit tougher on average. There are
some very good players on 1/2 and I wonder why. If you can beat 1/2, why not go to 2/4? Just as soon as I can beat 1/2
I'm going to 2/4. Different strokes I guess.
Also, if you start losing money, throw away all Ax and Kx
in early position. 2+2 taught me that. PokerTracker just
confirmed it!
Good luck.

[Webster]

Perhaps it's just me but I think 3/6 is harder then 5/10. Seems to me that 5/10 are just guys with money and 3/6 are people that are progressing UP and learning.

I've found that 1/2 you will have SLIGHTLY less people calling and instead of 1 good player and 6 bad. you will have 2 good players and 5 bad.

WHo cares about the good - you still have 5 bad players.

2/4 you have 3 good players and 5 bad.
3/6 you have 5 good players and 3 bad.

Just my humble thought!

[HajiShirazu]

That's also my experience with 1-2 and 2-4 at Party...the quality of play may be a bit higher on average than .5/1, but there are still more than enough bad players to make these games good for the skilled player. It always makes me wonder why the caliber of play is so much higher at paradise and stars...I always fear that Party will someday be like those.
You might try the 1-2 (6 max) games...if you can find a good fishy 6 max table, you basically can't lose. I have found that maniacs are far more common in these games- people who will cap preflop with any broadway, any two suited, etc...and automatically raise to the river regardless of whether or not they hit the flop. It goes without saying that these games can be very profitable.

[scotnt73]

1-2 at party is almost exactly the same as .50-1 at party. I cant tell the difference personally.