The 2/4 to 3/6 Jump

[spydog]

I suggest you play 2 tables of 2/4 and 2 tables of 3/6. This is the equivalent to jumping up a half level.

If you've won 400BB at 2/4, I think you will have no problem making this 'half jump'.

[Rubeskies]

[ QUOTE ]
Making the move will also help to improve your game and keep developing as a player.

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This is the most important reason to move up. I'm not sure what your long term poker goals are, but if you plan to move up through the limits as high as you can go, then making the move to 3/6 even if you start out making less than 2/4 is still the right step.

Some people are perfectly content to take out some extra spending money from their 2/4 monthly winnings, but if you plan to move up and make the big $$$, than 3/6 is a great training ground to really find your game and become comfortable with all of the concepts. You end up in a decent number of 3-way and HU situations where your hand reading skills are tested and improved and the players are a little bit better than at 2/4.

Most of the respected players have gone through, if not are still at 3/6 and doing quite well.

My advice is to make the jump, and reap the benefits of improving your game. It will help you in the long run.

[Luke]

Festus,

I haven't played in either of those games in a while but my feeling is that if monetarily you'd be a wash playing 2/4 vs. 3/6, you should play 3/6.

The main reason being is that it is one step closer to a bigger game where the profit potential is certainly greater, assuming that is one of your goals.

If your goal is to just improve and expand your poker, then moving to 3/6 should help to accomplish that as well.

You have the skills, you have the bankroll, so just PLAY YOUR GAME and make the move.

gl,

Luke

[Victor]

Move up to 3-6 and forget about 2-4. You have plenty of bankroll and seem to play well enough due to your winrate and posts here.

IMO you should always play the highest limits you can afford. This increases your development as a player which is the most important reason to play. Some will argue that the most important reason to play is money, but I believe that an advanced player who can beat higher limits will make the most money.

So move up. Jump right and 4table.

The thing about 3-6 is that it is tighter and more aggressive. There are still plenty of idiots but the tend to be lags rather that loose passive. Sure, you can always find a couple lops at each table but its not near the amount at 2-4. Another frequent situation is playing heads up after the flop. In fact, if you play heads up after the flop well, you will make a lot at 3-6. It always amazes me how many people will call down or continue to bet with Ahigh or low pair.

[Lost Wages]

If you examine the question in a vacuum, then it probably doesn't make much difference which you do. You should expect your win rate to drop a little at 3/6 but of course you are playing higher stakes. Maybe you could make a bit more at 3/6, who knows?

But, you do not live in a vacuum. To answer the question, you need to know why you play and what your goals are.

Do you play only for fun? If that is the case then your answer is easy, do whatever is the most fun.

Do you aspire to become a full-time professional? In that case, you will certainly have to learn how to beat the bigger games at some point.

Do you rely on your part-time poker income to pay your mortgage? If so, then you be would have to be cautious with your bankroll.

For me (and I suspect most on this forum) the answer lies somewhere in between. I want to have fun, but I enjoy the extra income. If my bankroll was somehow wiped out, it wouldn't affect my personal finances. If you can give us a better idea of your situation, then perhaps we can better answer your question.

Lost Wages

[Avatar]

[ QUOTE ]
For those that didn't stay at 2/4 long, how many tables did (and are) you playing? I've been 4 tabling 2/4 and have gone back and forth on whether I should get a 2nd monitor to move up to 6 tables (and possibly 8 at a future date) OR just move up limits to 3/6. Obviously, moving up limits now and getting a 2nd monitor later is another option. But, am curious how many people decided to increase # of tables before increasing limits.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was in the same dilemma as you at the start of November. I was beating 2/4 for over 3bb / 100 (4 tabling) in the prior 50,000 hands.

So my decision was whether to move up to 4-tabling 3/6 or 6-8 tabling 2/4. I chose the latter. And it turned out to be very successful for the month of November. I did maintain a 3bb / 100 winrate in over 40,000 hands.

Some cons I found with it however, I tend to get "player-read lazy".

I wasn't getting on this forum as much lately because when you have 8 tables beeping at you, all your focus stays there.

The pros were I got to see so many hands in such a short period of time, that I cannot imagine it not improving my game a bit.

Question for you though Stupendous. Why buy the second monitor when you can just ad more party skins? You may not be aware but there is a little registry trick to play more than 4 tables at a time with party software.

Btw- I think the decision I made does not apply to everyone. I have some excellent poker friends who have trouble playing even 4 tables. I'm not sure why some can handle it and some cannot. If you find 4 tabling at any limit too hectic, but you are still a winning player, I'd just suggest moving up to the next level.

[djoyce003]

I just started playing the 3/6 games on party, so maybe i'm not qualified to answer this yet, but i've found no appreciable difference between the level of play at 3/6 and at 2/4. In fact, sometimes it almost seems that the play is worse. Maybe im just getting better though. Best way to find out if you are ready is to try a table of 3/6 while you are also playing 2/4 and see how you do. If you get clobbered, you aren't ready, if you hold your own, you are.

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

I moved up after 20K hands of 2/4 at 5.5BB/100. I know this is at least partly due to variance, but after 20K hands of 3/6, I was only winning 1.5BB/100. I now play 3-4 tables of 2/4 and 3-4 tables of 3/6 at the same time. At 35K hands of 2/4 and 30K hands at 3/6 my WR is still 5BB/100 at 2/4 and is up to 1.9BB/100 at 3/6. I win more hourly at 2/4 than 3/6, but feel that moving up is a necessary progression in my game. What I don't know, given the sample size, is if I'm running good at 2/4 (likely) or running bad at 3/6 (hopefully).

[Festus22]

Thanks for all the excellent responses so far. Good stuff.

To address a few specific questions that were asked:

I play for fun maybe 12 - 15 hrs/wk. I have a full time job and have no desire whatsoever to do anything with poker other than what I'm doing now. The last day of each month, I tally up what's in Neteller and in various sites, subtract $2K and request a withdraw for the difference be it $200 or $2000. If I were to move up, I would bump this minimum to maybe $2.5K. Whatever I withdraw, I apply toward my mortgage as an extra principle payment. No more, no less.

Do I want to get better? Absolutely! Is exposing oneself to tougher play one way to accomplish that? Of course! That's one reason why I'm playing a lot of 6-max right now because I've always struggled with aggression and playing shorthanded and especially headsup. I've watched a lot of 3/6 and recognized these skills become increasingly important as someone already pointed out.

So I guess it boils down to how to make the most given a fixed time allocation, still have fun and get better all at the same time. I like the one suggestion of the half level move by playing two 2/4 tables and two 3/6's. I would likely start out with one 3/6 and two 2/4's just so I can focus more.

I think I'll give it a go. Why not? Never know until you try. Thanks again for the responses.

[tallstack]

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3/6 may be a bit tougher, but the rake % is lower.

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Are you sure that this is true, at least on Party? I have been comparing the two levels in PT and they are very close in rake % for the limited amount of hands in my database. So far, 2/4 has has a slightly lower rake %, but they are very close. Does someone have some long term rake % numbers to show the difference between these levels?

Dave S