should i be moving up levels?

[jimdmcevoy]

Don't worry about your tight play not being effective at higher limits, look at these stats

[JaBlue]

[ QUOTE ]
I move up when I have 5xBuy-in for NLx + 1xBuy-in for the next level. I don't feel that there is much to learn about any next level or about your game in the next level by sticking in your initial level. The reason I save 5xBuy-in for the level below is that if I lose my buy-in at the level above, I can still go back to the level below with the amount of cash I need to play. The only thing you might want to do is datamine a bit if you plan on 3-5 tables.

Most posters think this is bad advice, but I really don't see the necesity of having 20xbuyin for a game if you have the confidence that you can beat it. I understand varience, but IMO, if you can't handle the game with only 5xBuy-in, you shouldn't be playing that level.


[/ QUOTE ]

The reason most posters here think this is horrible advice is because they've had swings much worse than 5 buy-ins. I'm not sure how much you have played, but it can't be very much if you haven't lost 5 buy-ins before. Not to mention that It's not uncommon to lose 2+ buyins on a single hand.

Maybe there is less variance at the smaller stakes, but I think it is very easy for you to go broke with this approach.

[JaBlue]

I found the .25-.50 up to 1.00-2.00 incredibly soft on poker stars. You should have no trouble playing 3 or 4 tables in an ABC manner at these levels, but you should have a very sound foundation.

As for moving up, the only way to do it is taking shots. Play your best game at the next level and feel it out. Make adjustments as you see fit.


As I worked my way up in the ranks I noticed the following things about the levels at Pokerstars:
.25-.50 : very basic play here will reap a ton of reward. Very soft game, a lot of people will pay you off with crap, nobody will get away from good second-best hands like TPTK.
.50-1.00 : almost identical to .25-.50, except players will bluff a little more
1.00-2.00 : the first big jump, players tend to be tighter and more aggressive. This shouldn't discourage you, though, because you can still find plenty of soft games
2.00-4.00 : Huge jump from 1.00-2.00. Very rocky, most players are thinking. They tend to understand the game better, and you'll run into more tricky players. This will take a LOT of getting used to, and is most definitely the toughest transition in this lineup.

Good luck.