Preparing for a much higher level of play

I was speaking with a couple of lower stakes players the other day who asked me about what the best way forward was when it came to playing at higher levels. Well firstly this isn’t easy to answer in a single sentence because playing higher levels of play isn’t just as straight forward as simply moving up. You are in fact playing an entirely different game even though on the surface they look alike. Let’s face it; everyone can see that a NL600 ten handed game is the same as a NL25 game except that the players ate better and that they are playing for more money? But you need to be very careful just making that assumption because although it is true, it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface on just how better players alter the dynamic and how you need to adjust to that.

Firstly I have seen many players shot take at higher levels with a single buy-in. There is nothing wrong with this but let us say that you buy into a $600 game with only one buy in…….what is this telling your opponents? Well firstly the $600 is a serious level of play online and so the players at those levels will know each other. They will know who the regs are and who the new players are. Straight away they will be able to tell that you are only playing one table and so if you dropped from say $600 to $500 without topping up then you have basically told these people that you are not a reg. So they will view you as someone who is using the last money in their bankroll or simply taking a shot at a level. Either way then they will probably tag you as someone using scared money and will attack you more.

So you will definitely need to adjust for this and this is why you will need to probably call down lighter in some spots. But in the process of doing so then you are also going to catch some players who are at the very top of their range when you think that those ranges are polarised. Unfortunately this is the nature of the beast when it comes to moving up to higher levels of poker play and is something that you are going to have to come to terms with. I think that it is very tough these days for lower stakes players to shot take and play a much higher level than what they are used to. If you get your monthly rakeback payment and it is $611 for example then there is essentially nothing wrong in buying into a NL600 game and having a gamble with it because you could quite easily run very well and win several buy-ins which would have taken you an age to acquire playing say NL50 or through rakeback at those levels.

Also if it gives you a feeling of achievement to be playing poker at that level then there is nothing wrong with that also. However you do need to realise few things and the first one is that you are essentially gambling and not only that but you are gambling with a negative expectation. Once again there is nothing wrong with that as long as you are aware that you are doing it. But one style of play which will fare very badly at higher levels is a weak-tight style of play. This style can be very effective at say full ring at lower levels but would get literally eaten alive higher up.