1/2 First Impressions...

[symphonic]

So I just moved up to $1/2 tonight, more to test the waters than anything (My bankroll doesn't quite justify it yet). It's really not much different than .5/1 so far, although it is a bit more aggressive. I've seen alot more checkraises, semi bluffs, and people folding for single bets on the river. Tables still average though atleast 4-7 people per flop just like .5/1. I don't know, I think i'm going to like 1/2....but mostly because I had a few good sessions of it today and the money is much better compared to good sessions of .5/1 (granted, that means losing sessions will be that much worse...but lets not think about that). If I find myself overwhelmed or losing, I'll just move back down to .5/1.

[cold_cash]

I sat down and played some 2/4 tonight for the first time, and I was, to say the least, not impressed.

It wasn't as loose as the .50/1 games, but I played about 100 hands and saw some plays that even I knew were God awful.

I know this doesn't really tell me much, but if this game was anywhere near the norm, I'm looking forward to playing more of it.

[Nottom]

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I know this doesn't really tell me much, but if this game was anywhere near the norm, I'm looking forward to playing more of it.

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In that case, I guess you will be looking foward to it.

[sthief09]

if you lose some, don't think it's because you're overwhelmed. anyone with solid basic skills at .50/1.00 can beat 1/2. don't mistake bad luck with insufficient skills, and the other way around.

[ZManODS]

I went into 5/10 for the first time the other day and i say some really horrible plays too. People showing down T7s in EP, 3-betting out of the small blind with A5o....

[Mike Gallo]

[ QUOTE ]
I went into 5/10 for the first time the other day and i say some really horrible plays too. People showing down T7s in EP, 3-betting out of the small blind with A5o....

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I see the same things in my live $10-$20 games.

Players play for different reasons. Some like to have fun some want to play well some want to gamble.

[subq]

[ QUOTE ]
So I just moved up to $1/2 tonight, more to test the waters than anything (My bankroll doesn't quite justify it yet). It's really not much different than .5/1 so far, although it is a bit more aggressive. I've seen alot more checkraises, semi bluffs, and people folding for single bets on the river. Tables still average though atleast 4-7 people per flop just like .5/1. I don't know, I think i'm going to like 1/2....but mostly because I had a few good sessions of it today and the money is much better compared to good sessions of .5/1 (granted, that means losing sessions will be that much worse...but lets not think about that). If I find myself overwhelmed or losing, I'll just move back down to .5/1.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes, be prepared

losing 1/2 sessions can put a big dent in your bankroll if it isn't 200-300BB.

When I moved to 1/2 to test the waters my bankroll wasn't really ready for it. I had some good winning sessions but the losing sessions stung and dropped me back down a couple times.

[symphonic]

Yea, I'm preparded to drop back down if need be. My bankroll does cover 200BB at 1/2 though, just not much more at the moment.

[easypete]

After 15,000 hands at .50/1... I moved to the 1/2 tables this last weekend. I noticed it was looser than the .50/1 and a lot more bluffing.

I played about 500 hands over the weekend on 1/2 and was up about $50 (just a hair over 5 BB/100 hands - I averaged 5.15 BB/100 hands at the .50/1 tables w/ 14,500+ hands logged in pokertracker).

Then came this week.... ugh... i was absolutely card dead. I'm still reviewing the hand history, but I believe out of about 350 hands, I only had 2 hands I won a pot bigger than $4. For the 350 hands, I'm down $125.

I think part of my trouble is picking the right table. At party, I had a system that worked pretty good at the 0.50/1.00 level. I felt the most comfortable at a table with the average of $9 pots. Not too loose, not too tight. I just can't find the right number at the 1/2 tables. I'm trying about $17-20 right now.

I got on a 1/2 table with an average pot of $19. It played almost the same as the .50/1's I'm used to. Just a little looser.

[callingstation]

One big mistake is to move up too quickly. I have that experience. I started play last July and played about two month 0.5/1 at paradise and then I moved to 1/2 at party, half month later, I moved to 2/4 because I saw the game was same loose. And half month later, I moved up to 3/6, still made money. And in mid Oct, I moved up to 5/10, and sometimes 50/5 tournament, although I don't have enough tournament experience.

Then came the November in which I lost 1,000 playing 5/10 in 3days, about 6-7hours. Then moved back to 3/6, again lost over 100BB, then 2/4, no good. I lost 1/3 of my total winnings in one week.

I cashed out the rest of my winnings to pay this semester's tuition and put in another 300 to my account.

Now I am playing .5/1 and slowly build up my bankroll to about 800. I took the original 300 out and plan to move up to 1/2 when I have exactly 300BB for that level.

I currently have nearly 10,000hands, and my winning rate is 5.8BB/100. But I still think I have a lot to learn even at .5/1 level. Yesterday I played very badly and tilted some money off. I hope that I can keep about 5BB/100 when moving to the next level and I believe I will be able to play 15/30 in one year.

[Cipher]

I've gotten in the habit of playing a relatively low stake game during the day or early in the evening or when I'm cold and higher stakes later at night or when I'm hot. I've had some great late night sessions where people seemed high or drunk.

Plus I slide up and down the scale looking for soft games at various levels. Sometimes the softest game isn't the lowest stakes.

Cipher