stupid question

[Chris Daddy Cool]

hey guys,

if you had the choice between being a successful middle limit player, i.e. 10-20 to 15-30 and making good money doing so but never succeeding in taking shots at higher limits would you be happy with that? or would you be happy as a mediocre higher limit player with decent results but more stress and just about the same money as playing the smaller limits, would you be happier just because you can say you are a high limit player? after all lots of us play for a living, but also a few of us play for the thrill and ego of it all, so where do you fall in this spectrum?

[Paxosmotic]

Since you're asking specifically one or the other, and improving isn't really an option, I'll take the first choice. I'd rather dominate the middle limits than play marginally at the higher limits. Obviously neither is optimal, but I think the first is going to be lower stress and lower variance.

if you play for ego... "This isn't a gun fight. It's not about pride. It's about money. That's it."

There's really no benefit to saying I'm a high-limit player. I have a friend who routinely falls into this trap, and takes shots when he shouldn't be. He would be more satisfied booking a 10BB win at 30-60, then consistently playing a 2BB/hr game at 10-20.

The only way to move up in limits is to take shots at them, but only do so if you aren't in danger of going bust. In my local cardroom, the highest limit is 20-40, and a rare 50-100 that comes together. Because all the local pros play the 20-40, it makes it a tougher game. If I was in Vegas, I would be better able to find a soft 20-40 game, so it would make more sense for me to play in it if I lived there.

Comparing beating a 10-20 game for 2BB/hr or a 20-40 game for 1BB/hr, I'd pick the 20-40, because it would offer me more chance to improve my level of play. And there's always that 10-20 if your game starts to slip.

[brettbrettr]

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Comparing beating a 10-20 game for 2BB/hr or a 20-40 game for 1BB/hr, I'd pick the 20-40, because it would offer me more chance to improve my level of play.

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I think this is a good way to look at it. It doesn't in any way answer CDC's question because it sort of implies "beat middle while working to beat high" but I guess that's b/c CDC's question is tough.

Personally, I'd be happy beating the middle limits and lie, saying I had no desire at all to beat bigger games with better players. Really, I'd just lie.

I was trying to answer the OP's question without bias to professional/recreational play. Poker is not my living. It auguments my salary and I'm always aiming for a better win rate. I would be much prouder of playing a 2BB/hr game than a 1BB/hr game, unless the 2BB/hr was at 1-2 and the 1BB/hr was at 4K-8K.

[brettbrettr]

I wasn't trying to insult your answer at all...

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I wasn't trying to insult your answer at all...

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No problem, I didn't take any offense. I just thought a little clarification was in order, and to say that I agree with you about playing your better game.

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Question: They say high-limit players play Poker for a living. But what about their opponents? Don't they also play (the same game) for a living? Someone's gotta lose. You can't expect to find a table of fish at the high limits.

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This depends entirely on where you play. And if you go high enough in your limits, you will start running into the millionaire flounders.
In terms of high-limit players playing for a living, I think majority of pros play at the middle limits. There's no glamour to playing for a living. Middle limit games are satisfactory for most professionals. This isn't to say you can't find a super-easy high limit game or super-tough micro limit game. The quality of the game is different depending on location, time of day, stock market standings, etc. Come to think of it, If I am regularly beating the local 30-60 and the game is just-average when a bachelor party comes through the door and everyone signs up for the 15-30 game, then I'm putting my name on the list right after them.

[gonores]

I would/will never be happy as long as there are players out there that are better than me.