Is it really necessary to have your "limit"?

[Sully]

I play mostly limit as a part time player, and have probably moved up faster than is advised. At the same time, I have never been shy about moving down. Or all around. The bottom line is that I don't have a certain limit that I play, and each day, I look for good games, decide where I feel comfortable, and get in there.

For example, here is my play for the past two weeks:

30/60: 466 hands
20/40: 498 hands
15/30: 1,539 hands
15/30 (6max): 384 hands
10/20: 31 hands
10/20 (6max): 617 hands
5/10 (6max): 329 hands
5/10: 93 hands
2/4: 41 hands (first Pokerstars session)
NL$400: 238 hands

I would have to say that my main game is the 15/30, and the 10/20 6max is becoming a larger part of my play each month. My best game as far as winrate is the 30/60, but I have only played about 19K hands at that level(vs about 75K at 15/30)....I'm still not convinced that I'm a winner there, and I just don't have it in me every day.

Do any of you have a similar approach?
Is there a reason I should focus on a certain limit and stick to it until I am ready to move up permanently?
Is this some form of poker ADD?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[MicroBob]

I play anywhere from 2/4 to 15/30 depending on my mood, the site I'm playing on, and my comfortability.

One reason for staying at a certain limit would include famiarity with your opponents. But I'm not sure that's such a HUGE incentive.
You also get a better 'feel' for the general texture of the game as it plays on most nights (10/20 6-max is more agg. than 5/10 6-max for example).

Probably the best reason for playing at one limit has to do with just general profitability. If you have the bankroll and talents for 15/30, then playing 5/10 is not as efficient a use of your time.
There is some validity to this of course.


But if you have a relative amount of comfortability at each limit then I don't see a huge reason why it is so bad to move around.

I'll play slightly higher limits in the form of 'taking shots' when my bankroll is growing a bit...and on weekends when the higher games will be more easily beatable typically.
And if I'm running bad and lacking confidence and it's a Tuesday night or something then I might step back a limit.


Last weekend I was on the 15/30 BBJ tables on Party. Ran great at first, then not-so-great at the end.
Now that the jackpot has been hit (along with my bankroll) I'm back to lower limits at whatever site I'm playing that night.



I think that all these "should I try 5/10 yet? I don't know if I'm ready? How long should I stay at 3/6 before trying it?" type posts are REALLY missing the point.
If you have the bankroll, and think you could do okay, then go ahead and give yourself some experience at the next limit if you have the inclination.

just don't let yourself bust out.

[elmo]

I think its a psychological thing. If I think my expectation is significantly higher at a higher limit, and I'm properly rolled, I feel like I'm wasting my time if I player lower. Its different for everyone though.

On a side note, I think that playing at any limit where you wouldn't be happy 1-tabling and making 5bb/hr is not worth it, unless you are just playing for relaxtion purposes.

[RED_RAIN]

I recently moved from mostly playing 10/20 and 15/30 to mostly 20/40 and 30/60 games. Before, I wouldn't play 5/10 games and now I won't play 10/20 games unless there are absolutely no good games going on in the 5-6 places I play which is very rare.

The main reason I cut out these games regardless of how good a game they are is the $ amount. Losing 15 BBs at 30/60 ($900) is nothing but winning 45 BBs at 10/20 feels good. I just don't like the fact that you could beat the crap out of the 10/20 when you aren't playing your normal game and then break even when you have normal swings in your main 30/60 game.

[stoxtrader]

I think the ability to move up and down INTELLIGENTLY is very important for players looking to pay the rent.

Approaching this from the viewpoint of maximizing UTILITY (basically risk adjusted expectation), is the right way to approach this, and thus a slightly different equation for everyone depending on their individual risk tolerance.

My risk tolerance is relatively high I think. I will play as many high games as are available, dipping down to 50/100 when I cannot find enough good games higher. On my way up through limits I did not have to take a step back once I was north of 15/30, but remember when i started I bounce back and forth between .5/1 and up to 3/6 before i started moving up.

I think some on these boards play too low, and I think some play too high. Some have good reasons for doing it, some do not. Maximizing dollar expectation is certainly a big part of it, but you also want to adjust for risk, so I think maximizing expected utility is the best way to approach it.