Party 2/4 vs. 3/6

[valphoosier]

Hello, everyone. I searched for a similar thread, but couldn't find it... my apologies if there is an identical thread.

I currently play Party 2/4 and am considering moving to 3/6, and I wanted to see if anyone could provide a brief comparison of the two games for me. I have 17k hands logged on Poker Tracker and with a 3 BB/100 hands rate. I normally 3 or 4 table, my VPIP is 18, and my PFR is 8.6, fwiw.

Is 3/6 much tougher than 2/4 on party? I would presume that it's significantly more agressive, if not tighter. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated. Thanks!!

[Nick C]

There are other posters who have many more hands at these limits than I do, but I'll go ahead and get this started.

In my experience, 3/6 is more aggressive than 2/4. However, what I've noticed more than this is that you don't get paid off as well with your big hands. Even the bigger LAGs seem to be able to find the fold button, on occasion.

Multiway pots are rarer, and blind stealing/defense becomes a bigger part of the game.

Anyway, though, if you're bankrolled for 3/6 (and considering how well you've done at 2/4, I'm guessing you are) and you want to give it a try, I say go ahead. I think 3/6 is significantly more difficult than 2/4, but it wasn't like I suddenly felt like I was one of the fish at the table when I moved up.

[NSchandler]

Basically just reiterating what Nick C said - over a very small sample size (3K hands at each), I've found 3/6 to be more aggressive than 2/4. Free cards will be rarer, and your opponents will start to play back at you.

But there are certainly fish, and the game is definitely beatable. I would think that a 3BB/100 winner at 2/4 shouldn't have too many problems at 3/6.

Again, take this with a grain of salt - I myself am new to each of these level.

[spy587]

Bump for more responses.

[coolhanded]

Ditto NickC and NSchandler remarks generally.

FWIW, when I moved from 2/4 to 3/6, I got killed at first. From my experience, you should really obey the true meaning of the words "tight" and "aggressive" as you move higher. I had the tight part down, but the increased level of aggression is something I had to get used to. Scared money plays poorer the more you move up. 2/4 to 3/6 doesn't look like that great of a jump, but I was surprised at the magnitude of the increased P&L variance.

As a side note, after 5,000+ hands at each, I am about break-even at Party 3/6 but +2BB/100 at Party 5/10. Go figure.

[ds914]

I was about 1.4 BB/100 at 50K hands of 2/4 (primarily 4-tabling).

I'm at 2.3 BB/100 at 25K hands of 3/6 (primarily 3-tabling).

To me, the two different levels played fairly alike. However, I attribute the better win rate at 3/6 to a few things, which might help your situation:

1) Dropping a single table and only playing 3 actually made a pretty substantial difference when it came to concentration and following the action.

2) The move up in limits coincided with a new round of studying (rereading books, studying my PokerTracker stats more closely, discussing more hands, etc.)

3) Better table selection -- I was lessing willing to stay at a table with 20-26% VPIP when I moved up.

4) 25K is still a small sample, so it could just be that I've been running well.

5) I've been keeping better notes on the 3/6 players and filling my buddy list with the worst players.

Good luck!

[bobhalford]

I just moved up myself to 3/6 recently and am also interested in people's comments. I found 2/4 to be easier than 1/2, and 3/6 to be significantly more difficult than 2/4. I'm currently in the red at 3/6 after about 10K hands, but I'm getting better at it. The reason I moved to 3/6 was because I wanted to learn how to play at higher limits, and the 2/4 was not doing that for me. I found the players at 3/6 to be TAGish, but of course, there are plenty of bad players around. I've also just started using poker tracker and Game Time, which have helped me. I just need to build a nice database. I figure that the lessons learned in 3/6 should be beneficial for improving my game, even if I have to suffer a temporary hit to my bankroll. As far as profit, 2/4 is better in my opinion. I'm just playing the 3/6 to improve my game so that I can profit at higher levels. Oh, I also have trouble finding loose tables. I feel lucky to sit at a table with 25% VPIP. I question whether a pot average of over 7 times the big blind is a good thing. Generally I look for tables between 6-7 times the big blind. If anyone has any advice regarding this, I'd love to hear it. I also think I need to start a buddy list. Best of luck to you.

[ds914]

[ QUOTE ]
I've also just started using poker tracker and Game Time, which have helped me. I just need to build a nice database.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bob - congrats on getting PokerTracker. Absolutely worth it. I spun my wheels for about two months at 2/4, despite using PT. The reason was because I didn't really know how to use it.

Once I was able to really make sense of the data, it helped my play almost immediately. This in doubt helped my move up to 3/6 become successful so far. Be sure to post in the software forums here, check out the forum at pokertracker.com, and consider buying a copy of the Poker Tracker Guide.

You'll be amazed at how much information you can learn about your game, as well as your opponents'. These will also be vital skills once you do move up to higher limits.

Best of luck...

[cockandbull]

I think if you are rolled for it have a shot. 3/6 is tighter, you'll need to steal more. I'd also datamine for a while.

Just checking your stats...i would say try to up your PFR by around 1.5.

[sy_or_bust]

I feel like 3/6 and 2/4 play exactly the same. At least, in my experience there is no significant difference. But table selection is key - without it, you're costing yourself dearly.