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Is it time to move up? Advice needed.
xfgwdtbosw
Member Posts: 45
Hi all.
Please read all this cos the question comes at the end!
I’ve been playing NL £0.02/£0.04 for over a year now (a long time, I know, but I only play 1 table - I have my reasons) and finally I feel I’m getting somewhere. Prior to this I’d never played Poker in my life so I really did start at the bottom.
I deposited £10 on Sky with no real idea of how to play. I had the hand rankings on my phone for reference but that was pretty much it. I had absolutely no idea of position, bet sizing or any other strategy you can think of.
Definitely more by luck than judgement I managed to hold on to this, studied whatever micro stakes strategy I could find and, amazingly, actually started to increase my bankroll.
To cut a long story short (actually I might post my long story at some stage - Please try to contain your excitement !) progress has been good, particularly in the last 3 months. It’s been far from easy and I’ve certainly had my share of ups and downs but I’m now up to 60 buy ins.
I have watched a fair bit of 5/10. I may be wrong here but it doesn’t appear to be much different to what I’m playing now. Some good players to avoid, some bad players and lots of limping.
So here’s the question -
Should I move up to NL5/10 when I have 25 buy ins for that level or should I go along with popular opinion and wait till I have 30 or maybe more?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Please read all this cos the question comes at the end!
I’ve been playing NL £0.02/£0.04 for over a year now (a long time, I know, but I only play 1 table - I have my reasons) and finally I feel I’m getting somewhere. Prior to this I’d never played Poker in my life so I really did start at the bottom.
I deposited £10 on Sky with no real idea of how to play. I had the hand rankings on my phone for reference but that was pretty much it. I had absolutely no idea of position, bet sizing or any other strategy you can think of.
Definitely more by luck than judgement I managed to hold on to this, studied whatever micro stakes strategy I could find and, amazingly, actually started to increase my bankroll.
To cut a long story short (actually I might post my long story at some stage - Please try to contain your excitement !) progress has been good, particularly in the last 3 months. It’s been far from easy and I’ve certainly had my share of ups and downs but I’m now up to 60 buy ins.
I have watched a fair bit of 5/10. I may be wrong here but it doesn’t appear to be much different to what I’m playing now. Some good players to avoid, some bad players and lots of limping.
So here’s the question -
Should I move up to NL5/10 when I have 25 buy ins for that level or should I go along with popular opinion and wait till I have 30 or maybe more?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Comments
I know you say you have your reasons for 1 tabling - I don't know what those reasons are, but typically I would advocate loading a second table instead of moving up, as you'll probably see similar returns from 2 x 4nl compared to 1 x 10nl, and you're playing more hands per hour at a lower stake so the impact of variance on your results is going to be less.
If there is reasons why you're unable to play more than one table (maybe you're only playing on phone/tablet) then fair enough. But if you're able to and it's just a case of not being used to it, then it's something I would encourage you to try and learn before moving up.
Thanks a lot for the advice and I’ll try what you suggest.
My reason for the single table -
I just love the game, getting reads on other players, correct bet sizing, etc, etc.
I thought that by playing more tables, the whole experience might become like a computer game and definitely a grind. I’d be exhausted when I finished.
I want to win but don’t need to make a living at this. I was concerned that I would loose the very reason why I enjoy playing it so much.
After thinking about your advice I guess 2 tables would be ok so I’ll definitely try it.
I’ll let you know how I get on!
Thanks again.
Everyone has an optimal number of tables, and there comes a point where mistakes mean that an extra table is bad for you. Many players play too many tables and their results suffer as a result. And never play to the point of exhaustion, for the same reasons.
I suggest you start by opening a 2nd table without playing on it, and check that you can get the right reads on the players at that table. Then play half the time 1/half 2 tables, and go from there.
I play MTTs rather than cash, but started on 1 table. I now play up to 12, but am definitely better/less bad when playing 4-6 tables.
Good luck
Thanks for the advice.
Again, playing half the time, something I’d not considered. I’ll definitely try it.
Thanks a lot.
That said, there's plenty of winning recreational players out there that I see fairly regularly playing 2-6 tables (e.g. Main/Mini and the forum triple takedown all require some multitabling and are both aimed very much at recreational players). It's not just pros that multi table.
I can get up to about 15 cash tables (and even more SNG) but my play drops off much sooner, to the point where it's just not worth me playing more than about 8-9 cash tables at once. Everyone will have a point where they perform best.
Phil suggested not playing and just watching the second table at first - I personally would just jump straight in but it's a good shout, and it's up to you really as to what you feel comfortable doing. I can certainly see why some people might prefer that approach.
On a similar note - When it's time to move up, you don't necessarily have to move up on both tables at once. You can play a 10nl table and a 4nl table, then focus on that 10nl table a little more where you maybe aren't familiar with the players and/or the game is slightly tougher.
Thanks for all the useful comments.
I’m gonna have a think about this and then maybe try it for the month of August (or less if I loose too many buy ins!) and see how I get on.
Thanks again.
Good luck @xfgwdtbosw
Love to see threads like this - it's exactly what this Forum should be about.
That’s nice to know.
I’ll give it a month or so and report back! 🤞
I've never felt comfortable playing more than 4 though and 3 tables is my perfect amount (ie. i have to focus only on poker when playing 3, but i can follow everything well) - where-as with 1 or 2 tables that I will sometimes do if there aren't any other games I want to play in I find I'll be browsing the internet/watching something at the same time.
Thanks for the advice.
I tend to agree with you and my mind does wander at times.
I just played some NL0.05/0.10 for the first time (only 75 hands) and I found I was concentrating much more and wasn’t distracted at all (maybe because of the higher stakes)
Let’s hope I can maintain this level of concentration!
I’d be interested to see how it goes. Why not start a thread in poker chat charting your progress?
Session details, level, number of tables, profit/loss etc.
Good luck
Thanks for your comments. I will.
I might do something to kick it off for the start of August.
I don’t like to focus on profit/loss too regularly as it’s inevitable that you have some good days and some bad days. I only tend to look at the figures monthly so I’ll give a breakdown at the end of each month.
Given the fact that I only play 1 table anyway (thinking about 2 though) it wouldn’t make sense to do it more regularly.
You've already seen how helpful folks are when you ask a question, & in your case, you are quite unusual in that you seem willing to take on board good advice, whilst at the same time articulating your thought processes well.
You have a great alias, too - nine consonants plus one vowel. That's just right - 10 consonants & no vowels would be truly horrible.
Go for it.
I have just put a post into Poker Chat (I hope that’s the right place) called
- Trials and tribulations - ‘Test of ones patience or endurance’, ‘difficult experiences’...
P.s. you can call me xf...
Well done xf