Preparing for the $10/$20
 

How much more difficult are the 10/20 games compared to 5/10?

Is the increased difficulty due to harder table selection? Greater postflop aggression? Tighter preflop play?

What makes the transition between 5/10 and 10/20, seemingly, the hardest transition of them all? (this is based on the party poker games only).

Now that I have the bankroll, I am looking to move up to the 10/20 soon, and I have taken a couple of one session shots, just to see how comfortable I would feel in the game.

I felt that 10/20 games played pretty much the same as 5/10. The main difference being that I ended up spending more time searching for a decent seat.

If you are in the middle of making the transition from the low to the mid limits like me, what have been your experiances? And what differences have you noted?


Anyway, all opinions are welcome. Thank you in advance.

Re: Preparing for the $10/$20
 

I don't know really... but I'd guess that the big differense is that at 10/20, most of the time you have 1-2 very serious poker players sitting at your table. Also the rest of the players are generally better and more aggressive.

Re: Preparing for the $10/$20
 

I moved up a couple months ago and have 30k hands at the 10/20. I think the most important difference is that the lags are still too loose, but they play much better postflop and have decent reading skills. They will value bet you more with marginal hands. This makes them frustrating to play against at times.

If you have the bankroll, just play a lot there. You'll get a feel for it eventually. It took me a while, but I think I have at least a decent feel for the game now.

-Craig

Re: Preparing for the $10/$20
 

[ QUOTE ]
at 10/20, most of the time you have 1-2 very serious poker players sitting at your table

[/ QUOTE ]

And the 5/10's don't?

The rake increase was the last straw that made me move up to 10/20. I now wish I'd done it sooner, as I've found little difference in opponent quality. Most 5/10's have at most two providers, while the rest are stiffs. Sometimes there is only one provider -- maybe a 50, with five <20 rocks. Sorry, these are not good games. At 10/20 I've actually found slightly more tables with 2+ providers.

There is more aggression and slightly better postflop play.
But if you're playing against a 60, it really doesn't matter if he's Doyle Brunson. Last night, I had a 60+ come after me every time I "stole" from the button -- capping every street. He called my KK on the river -- with an unimproved T9o. Does that strike fear into your heart?

Re: Preparing for the $10/$20
 

$10/20 will test your ability to also handle swings in the thousands of dollars.

Re: Preparing for the $10/$20
 

[ QUOTE ]
$10/20 will test your ability to also handle swings in the thousands of dollars.

[/ QUOTE ]

Quoting for truth. I just had my first $2,000 swing and I probably would have thrown up if I wasn't so overbankrolled for the game.

Re: Preparing for the $10/$20
 

[ QUOTE ]
$10/20 will test your ability to also handle swings in the thousands of dollars.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention this part as well. Bwahahaha....have fun with that... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Preparing for the $10/$20
 

What kind of people are the LAG's in games such as 10/20 and above? Playing down at the micros, I can assume that most are new to the game, or don't really care that much about the money but just enjoy playing, never read anything about strategy and just make it up as they go etc.

When you get to a level like 10/20 or higher, it's tough for me to believe that people just don't care about the money and want to have fun. That is a serious amount of money they are playing with, and they have to realize they are losing it. You said yourself they have decent reading skills, and play alright post flop, so they have to have some knowledge of the game.

So what kind of people actually make up the "bad players" in the higher limits?

Re: Preparing for the $10/$20
 

[ QUOTE ]
What kind of people are the LAG's in games such as 10/20 and above? Playing down at the micros, I can assume that most are new to the game, or don't really care that much about the money but just enjoy playing, never read anything about strategy and just make it up as they go etc.

When you get to a level like 10/20 or higher, it's tough for me to believe that people just don't care about the money and want to have fun. That is a serious amount of money they are playing with, and they have to realize they are losing it. You said yourself they have decent reading skills, and play alright post flop, so they have to have some knowledge of the game.

So what kind of people actually make up the "bad players" in the higher limits?

[/ QUOTE ]

LAGs that ran hot/ran over the lower limit games.

Re: Preparing for the $10/$20
 

I'm kinda in the transition- closer to staying with 10/20 (unless i get a massive beatdown in the near future).

I've been jumping back and forth for several months and I think 5/10 and 10/20 are much differant. 5/10 is a striaht forward ABC poker game. 10/20 is much trickier

Much much more aggression on all streets, especially preflop. In 5.10 your able to see quite a few showdowns for free, I find this very rare in 10/20 games, i.e. its very rare in 5/10 to have to make a decision to call down with high card.

I think the major increase in aggression also leads to high variance-make sure your BR is big enough or your mental game is solid.

it also seems as though there are more "pro wannabes" making plays when they shouldn't which pays you off.

i must say 10/20 is lots fun though. After playing 5/10 for so long,i stopped feeling the the thrill like when I played .5/1 and moved up to 1/2. I lost 100 dollars and was freaked out [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

gl with the move!