first post by long time lurker

[mr_whomp]

I've decided to finally start posting after having looked over the forum the last couple months. I started playing poker at royalvegas.com, and quickly turned 100$ into 200$ playing limit holdem. Somehow i thought my success at .5/$1 and 1/2 would transfer over to the 2/4 game, and i would be making money twice as fast. I lost my whole bankroll in 30 minutes.

I managed to get 2 friends to sign up using me as a refer a friend, and cashed out $100 and was break even. Then in january i put 75$ into party poker, played the .5/1 game and cashed at 200$. After taking a shot at pacific poker, i was down to 92$.

From there i tried out some casinos, and managed to crawl back to 200$.

I put that money into absolute poker, and playing 1/2 brought it up to 400$.

For the last month or so i've been playing at pokerroom.com, where i got a great rakeback deal of 30%. I usually play 3 1/2 tables and 1 2/4 table. Right now im at 850$.

Anyways, i have a couple questions i want to ask.

1. At pokerroom the 2/4 game is a lot softer than the 1/2 game, i realise i dont have the bankroll for fulltime 2/4, but should i just move up anyways?

2. Does anyone know of any other online sites that share the software/tables with poker room?

Mr_whomp

[private joker]

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1. At pokerroom the 2/4 game is a lot softer than the 1/2 game, i realise i dont have the bankroll for fulltime 2/4, but should i just move up anyways?



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No. Considering you lost the last one in 30 minutes, a less-than-full one will take you only 20 minutes to blow.

[GrunchCan]

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I lost my whole bankroll in 30 minutes.

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Your bankroll isn't big enough. You need 300 big bets for whatever limit you choose. If your'e playing 1/2, you need a bankroll of $600. Seriously.

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but should i just move up anyways?

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Absolutely not. First, you don't hanve the BR. But youi already know that. Why would you move up considering this? Second, you haven't demonstrated that you can beat the game your'e at. Again, why would you move up?

You should be playing 1/2 and reading books.

[mr_whomp]

I'm not sure if you read the whole post before replying. Right now i play with 3 1/2 tables, and 1 2/4 table open. I figure since i have more than the 300 BB needed for 1/2, but less than the amounts needed for 2/4 this is an adequate compromise. Is this wrong?

When i was asking if i should move up, i was basically saying moving from 1 table of 2/4 and 3 of 1/2, and switching it to something like 2 tables of 2/4 and 2 of 1/2. or even just 4 tables of 2/4. What do you guys think of tbis?

From what i've seen so far, the 2/4 game is a lot softer than the 1/2 game.

Thanks for the replies guys!

[ErrantNight]

i don't play at pokerroom, but i find it hard to believe the 2/4 is softer than 1/2. i find it more likely that you're table selection was better/luckier at 2/4 than at 1/2.

playing one table of above limit is a fine way to get your feet wet, but if you find it softer, you should just concentrate on kicking the crap out of 1/2 to build a big enough bankroll and graduate completely to 2/4.

even if you feel you can beat the 2/4 game handily, there's a reason people suggest such high bankrolls. variance is a bitch, and it will hit you no matter what. it does not behoove one to move up without sufficient bankroll. if you're that certain about it, just deposit some extra money from your savings account. if you don't have any, i'd REALLY suggest not moving up until you have more money, because it would suck to run cold and lose it all and hafta start scrounging down at .50/1

[imported_stealthcow]

take the time at the 1/2 game. if its harder, you'll keep developing the skills needed for the 3/6 games later on.

bankroll management is very very tough to grasp/ adhear to early on, but considering the incredibly large swings that come with this game, its an absolute neccessity of any successful long term poker player.

stealthcow-

[GrunchCan]

I did read the whole post. I read that you have demonstrated a pattern or always playing too big for your bankroll. The first time you went bust at 2/4 you had a br of 50 BB. Then when you had $75 in party and were playing .5/1 your bankroll was 75 BB. Then you played 1/2 with $200, BR = 100 BB. Now you have $850 and are 3-tabling 1/2 with a BR of 425 BB, and 1-tabling 2/4 with a BR of 200 BB.

As long as you choose to play higher than your BR will allow, you will continually go broke. Its as simple as that.

[mr_whomp]

Ok, good point on me having repeatedly played while under bankrolled. I guess i somehow thought i was only really doing that the first time i played 2/4 a couple months ago. I think its because im impatient. Its probably smart to wait a week or two, till i hit 1200$ before i move up.

[Harv72b]

Decrease your tables. Your game will improve much faster (and your variance will be less volatile) if you play only 1 or 2 tables at a time. 4-tabling is a way for good, experienced players to increase their hourly take without having to increase their bankroll (i.e., move up in limits). It's not a good thing to jump into when you haven't yet established yourself as a consistent winner on any limit, and it will definitely not help you in improving towards that goal.

I don't have any experience playing at pokerroom, but I'll echo what everyone else said--if you don't have the full bankroll for 2/4, don't mess with it. Stick with 1/2 until you have built your bankroll high enough that you can't lose it all in an hour or less. I similarly don't know anything about your shared software question.

Trust me on the fewer tables thing. And welcome to the posting side of the forums. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[mr_whomp]

assuming a player was winning money, wouldnt not playing a higher limit be a decision with a -EV associated with it?