[Texas72]

Hey guys, I'm thinking about moving up in limits, mainly because the low-level games have just gotten crazy - my thought is that moving up some will expose me to a better quality of play. I know there are sharks and fish everywhere, but I think the higher limits usually have better play. Agree, disagree?
How/why did you move up in limits? Did you have the bankroll to do it, or did you take a chance and it worked out? I don't really have the 300BB roll that is recommended, but I figure I can always add to it if need be. Bad thinking?

[JasonKirk]

Originally Posted by Texas72

I don't really have the 300BB roll that is recommended, but I figure I can always add to it if need be. Bad thinking?

I read once where Jennifer Harman said she thought the absolute key to surviving is to make sure you have enough in the bankroll to weather the swings. If you hit a bad streak at a limit you can afford, your bankroll just gets dented before it swings back up again. If you hit a bad streak at a limit above what you can afford, you're going to go broke.

Now, that doesn't mean you shouldn't move up - you may be at a point where you're capable of winning at a higher level. I suspect you'd have a chance at winning, April, but I don't know the details of your situation so I can't say whether that's true. If you think you can win, and you're willing to invest outside money in a bankroll to play higher limits, that could be a very good decision for you. But if you're even considering it without outside investment, I think that the foremost decision you should make ought to concern itself with just how willing you are to go broke. If you can tolerate it, it may be worth it to take a shot and moving up. You can always build a roll for the low limits again in no time. :-)

I've been assuming the whole time that we're talking limit here, and not no-limit. If you're thinking about moving up in no-limit, the bankroll requirements for weathering swings are even more extreme and you need to measure your willingness to go broke accordingly. But you already know that!

[Arjonius]

What are the levels from which and to which you're thinking of moving up? If it's only a relatively small step, then how realistic is it to think the fish quotient will be much lower?

Not only that, how much are you actually losing to the ones who play at your current level, and how much of your frustration is based on remembering the bad beats they put on you so that they feel more prominent than they actually are.

And if you move up and run into players who are better than you are, you'll still lose - just not to fish.

If you want to move up to test your game at a higher level, that's one thing. Moving up to try to avoid losing to fish doesn't seem like a very good reason.

[Texas72]

I'm not losing at my current level, it's just that the quality of play is lower. I know, we like people who don't know how to play, but sometimes you do want to find yourself up against people who are a little more on your level, so it presents a challenge to you, and you can keep learning. My profits are just fine, I just seem to have plateaued in my learning.

[Arjonius]

If your profits are fine, then you should have a 300 BB bankroll, if not more. So something seems amiss in the equation.

If your earning rate per 100 hands is okay and you haven't accumulated 300 BB, then you haven't played enough hands to know if your being ahead is due to ability or positive statistical variance. If your rate per 100 isn't okay, then you're probably not ready to move up. And if you don't know what your earn rate is, that's a whole other question.

[ScottMc]

I move up in levels when I find that the people I am playing with either wont or cant give me the Action I am looking for. I normally come to a point where $50 pots are not good when I got a bank roll 10 times that. I move up when running hot and playing smart because I would rather win 50 bets at 5-10 than 1-2. I dont stand by the rules of "you need 100bb to be here and play comfy" but I am also not a pro poker player that does it for a living so if I get broke I am normally only losing some fun money.

[AGreen]

Originally Posted by Texas72

I'm not losing at my current level, it's just that the quality of play is lower. I know, we like people who don't know how to play, but sometimes you do want to find yourself up against people who are a little more on your level, so it presents a challenge to you, and you can keep learning. My profits are just fine, I just seem to have plateaued in my learning.

Agreed. Moving up gets you away from the chasers/fish of the lower limits. Now, do you see this as good or bad? I love playing with these players, but when they make a ridiculous catch or something like that, I go nuts. Playing higher limit makes you step up your play, mainly because all of your opponents step up their play. I just made a large jump in my limit and it was the best thing I ever did. There are about 30 higher limit players, and I've got to know their playing styles and mannerisms. I'm up money from the move, but I've also lost some of my profit to John D'Ag. and Mike the Mouth. These guys live at 50/100. I don't have 30k, so I'm playing above my bankroll even after making money here. I say step it up a notch and the money will find its way to your account.

[AGreen]

I was just browsing through all of the "Tips from the Pros" emails that Full Tilt sends out and I must have skipped this tip before, but Kristy Gazes had a good idea about moving up limits

She said that if you have three successful sessions in a row that you should consider moving up, and three losing sessions you should move down.

Everything is about money management but I hate when people are stuck in a mindset and won't put but X% of their bankroll at a table. What Kristy said was good because it keeps you moving up, down, or eventually you can look back and see that you could easily get three good sessions at a given limit but couldn't cash in the next.

[Texas72]

I saw that, I thought that was a really simple, solid, method for moving up as well.

[AGreen]

I really like all of the emails they send out. I read all of them but I have a few key ones saved, like Ferguson on Tourny Play #1 and #2.