[citanul]

i'm not totally in agreement with any of this actually.

say you're massively +ev in some lower step like 3 and 4. and those are within your bankroll. then playing those, even if you feel you are going to be slightly -ev in the top steps is very reasonable.

say you're just straight up +ev in the top step, but don't have either the bankroll or the stomach for variance to buy in at the top. chances are very good that you will be fine just buying in at a lower step.

i am not a fan of the concept of "part of the prize being wasted on freerolls" it's not wasted, there's just a payout structure. if you're +ev, it means you're +ev, with all the other prizes taken into account and everything.

part of what i'm trying to say is that the concept of "lower steps being -ev because you should be playing a higher limit" strikes me as off. it might be -$ev relative to buying in to the top step, but it could still be +$ev. along that line, it could be out of your bankroll limitations or stomachability, as i have mentioned already, to play your most +$ev game, which is a reasonable thing to consider when remembering that life is not jus about $ev.

i find the steps to be fun and profitable.

the type of play that exists there is in large part very bad, amongst other things.

citanul