Party .5/1 vs 1/2

[MrBlini]

That's a really good week at .5/1.

I don't think it's likely that even an expert could make 4 big bets/hr. long term at .5/1 full ring games, much less 6 big bets/hr. (There would certainly be no reason for an expert to play at this level even if he or she could make 4 big bets/hr. since the games are quite good at higher levels, too.) Most players should expect in the range of 2 big bets/hr. once they have the kinks in their game worked out.

That said, it is nice to start with an upswing in your bankroll. It sure beats the alternatives.

[siccjay]

I figured it was a very good week but I'll take it. There are a lot of morons on Party so I try to make the best table selection possible. I don't even think of myself as a good player but who needs to be good against Party players. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[ProfLupin]

[ QUOTE ]
So would some of the better players here suggest playing .50 until I have a sufficent roll to move to 2/4? That would be 600 right?

[/ QUOTE ]

sufficient roll for 2/4 is much more than 600 unless you can afford to rebuy if you catch a down swing. Then standard 300BB roll would make 1200 your target for consistant 2/4 play.

[JDErickson]

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What adjustments did you have to make when you moved up

[/ QUOTE ]

Really depends on the table of course. I found that you have to play tighter and more agressive. Also, keep notes on all the good players and pay more attention to where the bet or raise is coming from. Limp less with marginal hands, especially if you have a good player to your left to act.

I would say that .50/1.00 and 2/4 are close to the same and 1/2 and 3/6 are close to the same.

Jim

[StellarWind]

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So would some of the better players here suggest playing .50 until I have a sufficent roll to move to 2/4? That would be 600 right?

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you a bot?

I ask because most human players have psychological problems when playing at four times their normal limit. This is especially true during a run of bad luck.

Now if you're a bot, you don't have to worry about that. Otherwise you may want to get used to the rate at which you sometimes lose money at 1/2 before you try 2/4.

[StellarWind]

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If I had to guess I'd say I played about 35-40 hours total. Maybe a little more but it doesn't seem like it.

[/ QUOTE ]
I take it that maybe you aren't fully following the standard advice about keeping detailed records of your playing sessions?

I record date, start/stop times, site, limits, and results for every table I sit down at. It's a nuisance, but I swore when I started that I wouldn't fall into lazy habits.

Well it paid off much faster than I ever expected. I became suspicious about something so I went back and checked. Overall I was winning at .5/1, but I was a big loser in sessions starting after 11:00 PM. I thought I was fine during these sessions but obviously I wasn't. In retrospect I think I was doing a poor job of watching the table and also using poor judgment after the flop. I may never know exactly what went wrong.

The point is, this was a horrible leak and easily fixed because I had the records to prove it. Otherwise I might have rationalized my behavior for who knows how long and wondered why I couldn't move ahead.

[TriciaToyota]

[ QUOTE ]
I ask because most human players have psychological problems when playing at four times their normal limit. This is especially true during a run of bad luck.

Now if you're a bot, you don't have to worry about that. Otherwise you may want to get used to the rate at which you sometimes lose money at 1/2 before you try 2/4.

[/ QUOTE ]
Heh, this is so true. I moved up to 1/2 not long ago and have started to add a few sessions of 2/4 occasionally. The amount of money you can lose on a few hands can indeed be quite alarming.

My experience thus far with 2/4 is that the games appear to loosen up a bit from 1/2 (probably more to do with better 10 handed table selection) and are not quite as aggressive, though still noticeably more than 0.5/1. I don't quite have the bankroll to move to 2/4 permanently but I'm definitely looking forward to it.

[Nate tha' Great]

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Overall I was winning at .5/1, but I was a big loser in sessions starting after 11:00 PM. I thought I was fine during these sessions but obviously I wasn't. In retrospect I think I was doing a poor job of watching the table and also using poor judgment after the flop.

[/ QUOTE ]

This strikes me as odd, since the late night games are generally much fishier and more profitable. It seems that one of the following things must be true:

1. You're a morning person.
2. You're not adjusting properly to the looser/drunker/etc. games late at night.
3. Your dataset isn't statistically significant.

Unless (1) is the case, I don't think that you've patched a leak so much as created one.

[siccjay]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So would some of the better players here suggest playing .50 until I have a sufficent roll to move to 2/4? That would be 600 right?

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you a bot?

I ask because most human players have psychological problems when playing at four times their normal limit. This is especially true during a run of bad luck.

Now if you're a bot, you don't have to worry about that. Otherwise you may want to get used to the rate at which you sometimes lose money at 1/2 before you try 2/4.

[/ QUOTE ]

YES I R TEH POKAR BOT!

Seriously, thanks for the advice. I'll stick with .50/1.00 for awhile because I feel it's a MUCH easier game even though the occasional super suckout hurts, over time they are paying me. Let me say it again to get it in my head OVER TIME THEY ARE PAYING ME! If I jumped up to 2/4 and left a table down a nice amount for the night I'm sure I would be depressed and it would probably ruin a great start to my online poker life.