[Harv72b]

[ QUOTE ]
it will take more discipline than I have demonstrated to date to get my VPIP down in the low 20s...

...I think I know what playing tight is

[/ QUOTE ]

No, you don't. It's not a VPIP in the low 20s; it's not a VPIP-related question, really, although your VPIP is a good way to guage how tightly you're playing given a large enough hand sample. Unless you are the greatest postflop player evah, playing a good, tight/aggressive game should net you a VPIP in the mid- to high teens, and not low 20s.

You really have to ask yourself, rather than us, what your goal in poker is. If you're just playing to have fun and gamble a bit, then play at whatever limit you want to. Seriously; there's nothing wrong with this approach, so long as you can afford to risk the money in your bankroll. Not everyone has the desire or discipline to learn this game inside and out, put in the hundreds and thousands of hours of study and practice, and constantly strive to play a "perfect" game. If that's not you, cool--do what you enjoy doing.

However, if your goal is to be a good poker player, work your way up the limits, and eventually make mad cash at this game...it's going to take work. Reading the books, analyzing your hands, and finding the discipline to play correctly. Nobody can sum up in three neat little paragraphs everything you need to be a great poker player.

I don't know where you got the idea that the prevailing wisdom is to skip 3/6 and move directly to 5/10, but that's completely wrong and very dangerous for your game. If you don't take anything else away from reading this post, take this: if you are going to be a successful player at higher limits, you must learn how to play at every kind of table and against every kind of opponent. If you (or anyone else) thinks that 5/10 is easier than 3/6, you're in for one hell of a shock. Skipping 3/6 is absolutely terrible advice for anyone who considers a $3000 bankroll to be a meaningful amount of money. It's bad advice for the rest.

So should you move up to 3/6? If you want to consistently win money at poker, then no--not yet. Stay at 2/4 until you work out the kinks in your game and can post a positive win rate over a large amount of hands. Only when you are utterly confident in your ability to beat your current limit should you contemplate moving up.