Party $.50/1.00 vs. $1.00/2.00

[The_Tracker]

Ok, so after an initial deposit of $50 and several months of profitable play at $.50/1.00, I am thinking of moving up to $1.00/2.00. My bankroll is over $350.00 and should be sufficent correct?

I am wondering from those who know, how these two games differ. I imagine it is still a very loose game, but how about the caliber of players. Are they still as poor?
Will I still be called down all the way to the river with TPTK by middle or bottom pair? (Or less)

Are there any particular things that need to be adjusted or I should take note of for this move?

I don't want to piss away my hard earned bankroll.

Thanks in advance.

[Quercus]

$350 is below the normal "300BB" bankroll recommendations, but if you are crushing 0.50/1.00, you should be fine at 1/2, so long as you move down if you get a lot of pressure on your bankroll.

On average, 1/2 is a little bit tigher and a little bit more aggressive. That said, your normal opponent is still loose/passive. Expect your BB/100 to drop a bit, but your overall profit to increase.

[Cerril]

The difference in game texture is amazing between .5/1 and 1/2... I moved up and immediately felt like I was just -slightly- off balance. I don't get given credit for my hands very often but I had to move up my standards for holding a hand against 1 or 2 opponents a bit... middle pair isn't good often enough to show a profit against calling stations at this level (well there are some exceptions).

The thing is, what really got me both in my observations and player notes, is that you get about a 70/30 spread between absolutely terrible players and very tight players (some in the 'rock' category, and some in the 'not bad' category). A 90/10 split is charitable at .5/1 (and probably only that high because every table you're at has at least one TAG... I hope). Of course you'll run into a slightly higher percentage of 2+2ers as well (I've seen two or three).

Due to this, exporting player notes becomes invaluable so you can tell the difference between 'calls with anything' guy and 'only raises with the nuts and calls with TPMK or better' guy.

175BB is considered a marginal bankroll for a high variance game (and most party games are going to mess with your variance). I would suggest anyone who feels they're ready move up given two conditions:

1) Be ready to move back down to .5/1 if your bankroll drops below $250 or so, OR

2) Be ready to deposit more money if necessary to keep yourself solvent. You can easily lose $100 before the wins start kicking in.

(They tend to say that up through about 3/6 the game quality doesn't differ to a huge degree, but your bankroll requirements differ vastly ($200-300; $400-600; $800-1200; $1200-1800)

[sin808]

$350 is only 175BB for 1/2...so you'd be under-bankrolled. Though that may not matter to you.

As far as the games go, other peoples opinions on the games there are skewed. Since it's based on their own experiences there. Alot of folks say it's as easy as 50/1, some say it's alot harder. I'd say go pick out tables that you would likely select if you were going to play, and then watch the players there and see for yourself what it's like.

[The_Tracker]

A couple things.

Ok, so around $600 is optimal for $1-2 to handle the swings?
And that is 300BB x $2 = $600, correct?

Also, what do you mean by "exporting notes" What am I missing out on here? I am guessing this means you can open a file somewhere and look at all of the player notes you have made correct?

Please explain.

[ncboiler]

It's definintly tighter then .50/1. A good strategy would be to dabble in it and see for yourself how the game is different. Don't completly give up the smaller limits until you are confident that you have a feel for it. Playing on Friday nights is a good confidence builder as you probably already know.

[afk]

BB stands for "Big Bet" in this case, not "Big Blind". ie. $2 in a 1/2 game.

[SomethingClever]

Do you use Poker Tracker?

Note Export is a function that adds stat-based notes to all the players you have x number of hands with. You can choose what stats to include in the note, like

VP$IP
PFR
Fold to River Bet
Aggression

Very useful; a lot of the players on here use it. Search for bisonbison's post titled "A few notes on notes," or something like that.

[The_Tracker]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you use Poker Tracker?

Note Export is a function that adds stat-based notes to all the players you have x number of hands with. You can choose what stats to include in the note, like

VP$IP
PFR
Fold to River Bet
Aggression

Very useful; a lot of the players on here use it. Search for bisonbison's post titled "A few notes on notes," or something like that.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I actually am using PokerOffice. And loving it by the way. I have been tempted to try out PokerTracker as well, since everyone here seems to swear by it.

[Blarg]

You are definitely just "taking a shot" at it, not really moving up in a particularly sensible or organized way, if you are moving to 1/2 at $350. You are well short of a real bankroll and could easily go broke.

That said, there's nothing wrong with taking a shot. Hardly anyone hasn't tried it at least once. Impatience is human nature.

The exporting notes feature in Pokertracker is the favorite feature of the whole program for a lot of people -- and we're talking about a program with tons of virtues, almost all more obvious than this one. You can get very detailed stats on what your opponents did street by street, how aggressive they are, what they raise with, how often they put money in from the blinds and how often they defend the blinds - so many useful things, and many more than I just gave an inkling of here. I wouldn't be surprised if all the "board heroes" here use Pokertracker.

If only to feel fluidly comfortable with terms like VPIP and WSD and PFR and such that are the true currency of a board like this, the $55 cost is worth it. As soon as you can afford it, I would get it. Heck, if it were me I would get it before moving up levels, without question. 100%.

As to $1/2, the play still sucks quite often at $1/2, but it is, at least at Party, a relative oasis of calm in a sea of craziness. You'll probably find both .50/$1 and 2/4 seem very loose in comparison; most people seem to, and I sure did. Expect that if someone calls you to the end on your AK offsuit or your pair of 9's, you'll lose more than you are used to losing at .50/1 and more than you will probably lose at $2/4. Also, expect that you might run into a few players actually seem to have a brain and a reason behind their playing. You can't run on auto-pilot quite as often as .50/$1. As you move up in levels, you bump into more realistic players and have to watch out and not play quite as mechanically. Against total fools you can do almost anything and still be ahead in the long run, but you value your money and sanity more each level as you bump into more people playing not just for entertainment.