Moving Up Is Hard To Do

Hey badplayer I also have had a hard time trying to move up. I feel that a component is psychological. I have done well at 1/2, but spend most of my money and have lost/broke even every time I have tried to go up to 2/4 and 3/6, gotten worried about losing too much and then dropped back to 1/2. I mean I just ended basically a long downswing/breakeven stretch, but am confident that I am a long term winner at 1/2, but if I drop $300 at 2/4 I feel like it's the end of the world.

All that being said, it is also likely that you have not yet made the adjusments to be a winner at the higher stakes game. Over 50K hands at 1/2, 250BB is a winrate of .5BB/100, and while you should feel ok as long as you're a winning player, most of the long term posters here are likely beating the 1/2 game for >2BB/100. So I would focus on adjusting and really beating 1/2, make some more money, and then try again.

[badplayer]

Thanks for the advice. I'm definilely dropping back. My win-rate at $1/2 is a bit pathetic. Even dismissing the first 10k hands as my "learning period", I'm still only barely above 1 BB/100, still trying to overcome my weak-tight playbook.

There's another deception going on in my head. Whenever I try to get more aggressive, I seem to lose more (and more often).

When I think I have the best hand, I usually don't. When I think I have the worst hand and it's checked-down or I call the river, sometimes I lose, but sometimes I'm amazed that I take down the pot with such garbage.

But this is all generalities. I'll get back to posting a few hands soon enough.

I'm a sloooooow learner.

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the advice. I'm definilely dropping back. My win-rate at $1/2 is a bit pathetic. Even dismissing the first 10k hands as my "learning period", I'm still only barely above 1 BB/100, still trying to overcome my weak-tight playbook.

There's another deception going on in my head. Whenever I try to get more aggressive, I seem to lose more (and more often).

When I think I have the best hand, I usually don't. When I think I have the worst hand and it's checked-down or I call the river, sometimes I lose, but sometimes I'm amazed that I take down the pot with such garbage.

But this is all generalities. I'll get back to posting a few hands soon enough.

I'm a sloooooow learner.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would focus mostly on preflop hand selection/aggression and table selection to start with. I think these are really fundamental to beating 1/2. Post flop I think value betting weak opponents is the most important concept, I'm always amazed at people with decent PT numbers who miss amazingly easily value bets. Aggression definitetly has it's place, and figuring out when/where to semi-bluff, raise for free card, raise for fold equity etc., is appropriate, and in particular which opponents against which it is appropriate. Just gotta play a lot of hands it will work itself out. Good luck.