Fear and Loathing at the Micros

I finally moved up this weekend. From 2NL to 5NL - wow! I cashed in $10 rakeback and had 70BI's for 2NL. More than enough for 5NL. I was $15 or 7.5 BI's @2NL - up for the week as of Friday - so I was playing well and I felt good. Time to move up. 

I played 1500 hands at 5NL 4 tabling and I lost including what I had won - $38 or almost 9 BI's for 5NL. (Excluding the bonus). Wow just wow. So did the doom switch hit me? Were the players better than me? Was I getting coolered left right and centre? No. I played awful! I spewed and then spewed some more. I couldn't see the fold button either. I probably tilted a little too. No that is not true I did tilt. So to sort this out I had to ask myself why? This is the part I am happy with! I figured it out.

I turned my HUD back on?

Don't change your game. Right? I mean I wrote it in a previous blog this week. I didn't know that turning on my HUD would effect me so much. I played all day with it yesterday. And why did it change my game so much? Well nearly every player at 2NL or 5NL has fishy stats. So how can I fold? I mean the villain is running 47/18 over 150 hands - he can't have it? He is just 3 bet bluffing me? They all are? I mean if I 3 bet here - he'll lay it down? No he won't. I was making reads, moves and plays based on my HUD. Instead of playing my hand in relation to my position, stack size, opponents stack size and pot odds, I made plays based on their HUD stats. This cost me more or less 9 BI's at 5NL. So today after losing another 4 Bi's (I won a bit back on Saturday night) today with my HUD, I finally turned it off. And started to play my poker that had got me to this place. To 5NL. And it worked massively. 

Playing your game

However you play, whatever style you play, play it at the next limit you move up to. Don't change your game. I played my 2NL game at 5NL today and after being 4BI's DOWN I ended the day 2BI's UP! That is $30 winning run at 5NL. I think that is good - I am very impressed. Don't think that everyone is bluffing you cos your playing a higher limit. They are not. Don't stop making lay downs that were good at your previous limit, they still are. Do be afraid to value bet just cos the amount is bigger - it is just BB. Your have to look at what you have done to make you a winning player at your previous limit and go back to that, rely on it and use it at this limit. It will work. Believe in yourself and your game when moving up. It's simple. The best advice you can get. And the most effective way of keeping on winning. 

Adjusting to your new limit

I played 6000 hands of 5NL this weekend and I think it is too early to say what I need to adjust over all. But one thing different from 2NL is my re-raising size of limpers and 3bet sizing according to stack sizes. You can iso raise fish easier and more accurately by the greater degree a bigger limit has regarding the bet sizing involved. (The variables in the amount). This has allowed me to get into pots with fish cheaper, c bet for less and take it down. It is important to look at the others behind and workout what you need to raise to make them fold so the fish can be all yours. :)

So I ended up 2BI's ($10) for today, down 1 BI for the weekend and 1.5 BI's for the week from my high point. In total I am 1.BI's up for the week at 5NL.

 I am really happy with my performance today. And to be really honest I was afraid of what happened yesterday and little today - but I knew that learning to beat 2NL would help me over come the stumbling blocks of moving up, which is did tremendously. Plus I will not be afraid to move back down if I have too! Stick to your game. Play poker the way you know you can and you'll be OK. 

The journey now continues at 5NL. 

We are @26.5 BI's for 5NL. 

This weekends graph:

This weeks graph: