Is it worth it?

[JaBlue]

Because of the poker boom etc. I learned NL first. I currently make 80-100$ an hour 4-tabling 1/2NL with good game selection principles in what I would call very easy games.

A 2+2er claimed that a lot more money can be made more easily by being a good limit player. He cited 4-tabling 15/30 at 2BB for 150$/hr, and other limits for more, etc.

First question: how legitimate are his claims? It was incredibly easy for me to become an 80-100$/hr player at 1-2 NL, but is it so easy in limit to be making 150/hr?

Second question: Is it worth the time to learn limit at 1-2 or 2-4 and move up only after being very confident at the limit, with the goal of higher stakes and making more money (eventually at 30/60+), or is my time better spent trying to evolve as a NL player i.e. eventually playing 5-10NL+? I played the 2/4 game and felt comfortable, but have no experience higher than that.

Thanks.

[Isura]

Some questions maybe you should ask yourself.

- Are you happy with your $/hour at the moment? Or are you looking to make more?
- Do you still enjoy 4-tabling NL
- Are you willing to take a drop in earnings for a period of time until you reach an equal earning rate at limit?
- Are you looking to learn a new game primarily for the increased profits or to get a change of pace?

Yes, if you decide to try limit I would NOT recommend jumping to 15/30 right away. If you do want make limit hold'em a regular game, then it is advisable to start at say 1/2 and work your way up. It's a very differnt game from NL, and will take many thousands of hands to get a feel for limit.

I don't think it is trival to make $150/hr playing limit online. How long did it take you to reach your current level of $100/hr at NL? If it took you 1 year, then a reasonable estimate is that it will take you atleast 6-8 months to reach that same earning level at limit (less time since you already know how to play 1 poker game well). Don't know much helps, but it should atleast give you more to think about.

[Voltron87]

I think the majority of winrates you see on 2+2 are either exaggerations, fabrications, or completely unsustainable.

[hypermegachi]

[ QUOTE ]
I think the majority of winrates you see on 2+2 are either exaggerations, fabrications, or completely unsustainable.

[/ QUOTE ]
2BB/100 sounds reasonable though. and at 15/30, quad tabling $150 isn't out of the question.

[Voltron87]

This is not as easy to do as it sounds. I don't doubt a bunch of 2+2ers are doing it, but I also don't doubt a bunch aren't and say they are. But I aslo think that the "2BB/HR, 4 tables, 8BB/HR, 8 HRS, 64 BB/day, 5 days, 320 BB/week, 50 weeks a year... etc" logic I see on 2+2 so often is flawed. This is also not sustainable, for 50 weeks and for the next few years.

[Freakin]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I think the majority of winrates you see on 2+2 are either exaggerations, fabrications, or completely unsustainable.

[/ QUOTE ]
2BB/100 sounds reasonable though. and at 15/30, quad tabling $150 isn't out of the question.

[/ QUOTE ]

It certainly takes work though. 2BB/100 at 15/30 doesn't just happen. IMO, it's definitely the upper range of what you can expect.

Freakin

[random]

You're not going to lose more than $1000 in one day playing PP's 1/2NL. You WILL suffer $6k downswings at the 15/30 if you play long enough.

[greg nice]

[ QUOTE ]

Second question: Is it worth the time to learn limit at 1-2 or 2-4 and move up only after being very confident at the limit, with the goal of higher stakes and making more money (eventually at 30/60+), or is my time better spent trying to evolve as a NL player i.e. eventually playing 5-10NL+?

[/ QUOTE ]

all i can tell you is what i am doing, because i am in the same situation.

i spend the majority of my time playing NL. lets be honest, the money is good and the games are good. as my skills and bankroll allow, i will move up the NL ladder.

however, i dedicate an hour or so every night playing 1/2 limit so i can learn the game. me and a few other NL players are doing this as a sort of challenge. i will actually be posting week2 tonight after i put in my time.

where do you play NL? by your avatar im guessing stars?

[steaknshake925]

Isura your avatar looks familiar. Is he that insane Indian mathematician whiz kid that went to London and invented like a million theorems on summations and infinite series and stuff and died at like 20?

[Lawrence Ng]

Well here is my own take on it.

It is very possible to make $100+/hr multi-tabling the 15/30 limit games. The problem is the variance is very large as attested by a good number of 2+2ers who ran through some nasty downswings (and of course they good crazy upswings as well)

I personally find the NL games on almost any site to be far more profitable, fun, and worth my time to play than limit at this point in time. I'm beating the 50x BB buyin NL games on Party for a good 6-7 BB/100. So I guess I'm little biased towards NL.

What I also love about online NL is that variance is a lot lower. Sure I get sucked out on and I make massive suckouts from time to time, but in general the swings are far less.

Lawrence