Building the Bankroll

It’s been a month now that I’ve been switched up to 50NL. When I first started 50NL, I was up over $150 playing 25NL. I went through a rough stretch and lost all of my winnings. 

I really feel that there’s not much difference between $25NL and $50NL. The players are slightly tighter, then again some are more loose. It really depends. For the most part though the players are tighter and more aggressive. This creates some opportunities for steals and slowplays.  I’m floating more as I feel that the players are savvy enough to consistently toss in a continuation bet on the flop. So I’ll call with the intent of taking the pot down on the turn especially if I have a big hand and my opponent is aggressive. Other times, I’ve been been super aggressive especially when I’m in position.  Players are more apt to 3 or 4 bet if they have a decent hand than at the $25NL tables where you might rarely see a 3 or 4 bet sequence. The big thing of course is that when you get suckedout on, it costs you significantly more than the lower limits. Trying to avoid situations where I can lose all my money has been a tough thing to learn and I’ve starting to learn that folding TPTK at times is the right move, other times folding AA to a scary board is something that I have to force myself to do at times also (it’s hard to do but it’s a necessity if i am to become a more successful player at the higher limits).

Perhaps, the biggest adjustment in my opinion is that I’ve been concentrating more closely than I did at the lower levels. I’m taking more notes on players and searching through hand histories to see any betting patterns that I can use to my advantage. I’m trying to play the players instead of the cards. Sometimes it works, other times I’m way off but the more I learn about another player the more I can take advantage of their weaknesses.

Whatever it is I’m doing, it’s been working lately as I’ve rebuilt my bankroll to over $125 profit the last few days. Combine this with my recent success at my poker league games, it really feels like I’m on a good run that hopefully will last. Of course all good things must come to an end so I’m prepared for that but in the meantime I’ll just enjoy my run until the inevitable suckout that is waiting around the corner rears it’s ugly head and takes me down a notch.