How do you adjust to moving up levels mentally?

[djcolts]

I've played for 4 and 1/2 months - and I've never played higher than 1/2 for any significant time until this week. So, I've played some 2/4 in the last few days (not entirely, though). My biggest problem is that because the bets are twice as big as 1/2, that I could lose twice as much, and I think I'm playing a little scared. What are some good ways to get over that feeling? Right now, I try to put a BB loss limit on myself for a session (so if I hit a certain number of BB at a session, I stop and log off for a while) so that I am less prone to tilt - but what else can I do?

[illguitar]

Scared money is dead money. You need to play at the level your bankroll will allow until you can build it up enough to move up in limits. If your bankroll does not increase to that point, then you probably aren't ready for a higher level of play yet anyway. Good luck.

-Dave

PS- You have to be able to think in terms of chips rather than dollars. Make sure that you are NOT gambling with money you need. Again, scared money is dead money.

[djcolts]

My bankroll is over 4K. And I don't need the money. This really is a mental hurdle for me, though.

[bdk3clash]

It's a bunch of things. For a long time I was just cranking along at Party's $1/2 and not even thinking about moving up, and for a bunch of reasons I decided that I had reached the point where I wanted to focus on improving my skills, beating bigger games, and moving up levels.

Basically, for me being comfortable at any level takes time and a much larger bankroll than I'd ever probably need as a winning player. I've moved up a lot slower than a lot of people because I'm so risk-averse with my poker money (perhaps to a fault), but the upside is I've dealt with a bunch of downswings pretty calmly, whereas with a shorter bankroll I might have been freaking out a bit and/or moving down.

Some people are perfectly comfortable playing at whatever level they have 300 BBs for (or less) and just moving down if things aren't going well, but personally I like to give myself enough of a cushion to handle an initial downswing (fun fun fun, especially when the stakes are now higher) without moving down.

The other factor in how comfortable I feel is just experience. When I first moved up from $1/2 to $2/4, the swings sure felt a lot bigger. But after a while I just kind of got numb to them. The transition to $3/6 has been a lot easier, probably because I've moved up before and it's only a 50% increase.

I've played a bit of $5-10 and it does freak me out a bit, though I'm sure I'll get used to it, as I will with $15-30 down the road. (Fingers crossed.)

[bdk3clash]

Also, if it matters, based on what I know about you you will have no problems being a winning player at the Party $2/4 level. The games are incredibly soft. Just go for it if moving up is important to you.

If you're fine with $1/2, that's cool too. You'll move up if/when you're ready.

[djcolts]

Right now I've playing some $1/2, some $2/4 and some $1/2 6max. Maybe just continuing to mix it up like that would be enough for me right now. Thanks!

[DyessMan89]

You have to get rid of that mind-set quickly. Selective aggression is what wins in poker ... you cant be scared.

[d_wrek]

For me, it just takes a little while to get used to the bigger numbers, but then it just becomes normal. I simply suggest putting in more time at the higher limit, playing a bit tighter than normal to minimize the swings, until you're comfortable.

[AncientPC]

Once I started thinking in terms of small bets and big bets (for limit) or betting in relation to pot size (for NL) I've been able to play the same game regardless of limit.

Also like bdk pointed out, move up at your own pace. I spent about 25,000+ hands at NL 25 before moving up to NL 50, and that was only a week or so ago.

[nykenny]

having a VERY BIG bankroll will resolve your problem.