Weird poker conditioning I have cultivated...

[Inthacup]

I noticed something the other day that I find peculiar. I still get 'spooked' by the 10-20 limit yet I feel totally comfortable at 15-30.

My first online experience was at pokeroom.com. The big game when I first started playing there was 10-20. I remember playing 1-2 and being in total awe of the money that was thrown around at 10-20. I also remember taking a shot in a fit of tilt and playing with shaking hands and scared money.

I stopped playing at pokerroom a long time ago and have played almost solely at PartyPoker for the last year. I have been playing 15-30 for the last few months and feel totally comfortable at that limit. I am well within my bankroll and feel confident about my skill vs. the skill of my opponents.


I recently decided to play some 10-20 shorthanded as a change of pace the other day and had a complete flashback to my earlier days. It was a bizarre, detached feeling. Something about seeing those stacks of $5 chips brought back old memories and it was really kind of creepy. I stayed for about 30 minutes and left when the tables started breaking up.

The amount of money that was being wagered was initimidating, until I realized that it's only 2/3 the amount of my current limit.

Has anyone had any experiences similar to this? If so, is there a term for this? Thanks.



Cup

[andyfox]

I had a similar experience when I first started playing at Commerce. In those days, I played 10-20 or 15-30 draw in Gardena. When I would go to Commerce, I played 20-40 draw. It doesn't sound like that big of a difference, but in draw, it was jacks or better to open and if nobody opened, an additional ante was put up by each player and the stakes increased. So in 15-30, the biggest ante you could have was $5/player and the largest stakes were $25/$50. But in 20-40, the biggest ante was $20/player and the largest stakes $50/$100. So it was a much bigger game and the stakes were uncomfortable for me at that time.

Eventually, when hold'em was legalized, I switched to hold 'em. I'd alternate between Commerce and Gardena and felt nervous at Commerce no matter what stakes I played. I guess the brain remembers the place and the feelings that were once associated with it.