Skipping $1/2
 

A little backround. Read SSH. Started with $50 in party poker turned it into a little over $700 in 3 months playing .5/1, got real drunk one night and lost $300 in $1/2 max games. Back to $400. Studied SSH, got poker edge, and poker office and now im back up to $600 now in a month and am winning alot at a very good rate at .5/1. Very perdictable. Because of the lack of full ring games at 1/2 I am thinking of just playing .5/1 until I get to $1200 and then playing $2/4? I just dont want to get myself in over my head. Are the moves a lot more effective at 2/4, like protecting your hand, semi-bluff and check raising?

Any thoughts?
Anyone see a problem with this?

ps I never drink and play anymore

Re: Skipping $1/2
 

You should definitely put in some time at 1/2, maybe go on a bonus whoring detour. You might also want to play the 1/2 (6-Max) since it improves your game a lot. I'm sure others will advise better detail

Re: Skipping $1/2
 

1. lack of full ring games? sure theres alot more 6max, but theres enough full ring, you might have to sit in for 5 or 6 minutes, but hey its an excuse to datamine.

2. i highly recomend not skipping 1/2. while alot of people do it, im glad i didnt, ive learned alot here. sure you can read about position being HUGELY important, and all of that in SSHE, until you apply it, its a foreign concept. position is of little importance in .5/1, but at 1/2 its so very important.

3. learn your lessons cheaper.

Re: Skipping $1/2
 

1/2 is fun for crushing weak tighties, which I find much more fun than the .5/1 game. You learn to steal blinds and open raise marginal hands in LP. Good stuff. But if you wanna skip 1/2 no one can stop you.

Re: Skipping $1/2
 

I skipped 1/2 only putting in 3K hands at that level. But I'm the exception, not the rule. I don't recommend it to everyone because its a more aggressive game at 2/4.

Re: Skipping $1/2
 

Instead of calling with offsuit trash they start 3-betting with it. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Skipping $1/2
 

by "not skipping" i mean dont go by with playing none of it, if you can beat it for 3k hands and feel confident enough, then to move is up to you. i know i am moving when i have the roll for 2/4, however many hands it takes me to get there.

Re: Skipping $1/2
 

Yea the 1/2 at party sucks, but I think it will definatly help my game. The most important thing to learn is how to handle the downswings. You dont want to go from the 8 dollar pots in .5/1 to the 40 dollar pots in 2/4, you might go on tilt easier and getting sucked out on a pot that much bigger might affect you psyhologically. Just a thought

Re: Skipping $1/2
 

6-max is a great stepping stone, you learn how to deal with heads up situations a little more, how to exploit reads vs tighter players, and when to know you're beat.

Re: Skipping $1/2
 

I am glad I did not skip 1/2. I think in 1/2 you are finally starting to see some of the SSHE concepts in action. Things like respecting an opponents raise, value betting and raising, stealing blinds, and most importantly the value of agression. Some of the players actually pay attention to how you are playing, and as a result you can use this to your advantage (but still enough people cold calling and generally playing bad poker to make it profitable).

I am not yet ready to jump up to 2/4 even though my bankroll can support it. I want to make sure I can beat this weak-tight (and sometimes very aggressive) that occurs in 1/2. After starting on a mildly big downswing I am not playing 2BB/100 winning poker after 5000 hands. The lessons I have learned while playing those 5000 hands have been huge. I think I am a better player as a result.

If you do skip 1/2, good luck. One less 2+2'er at my limit is not going to be something I will complain about. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

/bd