PokerWorks

OK, i finally did it. I finally moved up a level.

I've played poker for three years now for real money, and I've won at every level. I won at  10-cent blinds, quarter blinds and, finally, 50-cent blinds, all of it playing no-limit. After winning a lot of money at 50-cent blinds, I've finally decided to start playing .50/$1 NL games on PokerStars.

What's taken me so long? Well, that's an interesting question with a few answers.

One?  Is apparent if you've followed this Boot Camp series at all. I had twin girls more than a year ago, and not only was I not going to move up a level while I was going through the first year, I actually moved DOWN to .10/.25. Why? Well, any parent of twins will tell you that the first year is, in a word, hell (and they're right), and I wanted to play at a level that, quite frankly, I could beat without much thought. I was too tired for anything else.

I moved back up to .25/.50 a few months ago and did so well there that I really think I'm ready for a step higher.

Two? Well, I did try to move up to .50/$1 once, and it was a disaster. Granted, I had some bad luck. My flopped ace-high flush lost to a flopped straight flush, for one, and I took a couple bad beats. But I also made a few over-aggressive (i.e. stupid) plays because I thought that's what it took at this new level. Once I started losing a lot of money because of those beats and coolers, it freaked me out, and I played way out of my skin.

Fortunately, and this brings up the third reason for my delay, I quit after a week and moved back down. The third reason is I am very careful with my bankroll. I'm smart with it. The problem is I'm almost too smart and careful. Not only do I like to be rolled for my limits, I like to be REALLY rolled for them.

I've never truly been able to let the fact go that I'm playing for money on the table. I can't completely separate myself from the value of the chips. This will always be my weakness, and I'll probably never be a great player because of that.

I'm all right with that fact, too, as poker is supposed to be just a way to make a little money to spend in Vegas and have a good time while doing it. It's never going to make me a living or even significantly supplement my salary. Hell, in this day and age, with online poker still getting attacked from all sides, I'm just happy to be a winning player.

Of course, my first week at .50/$1 was a brutal one. I had two opponents down to literally one card for monster pots, and both times, yes, both times, they caught their card. I also, again, lost to a higher flush. More coolers. More amazingly brutal beats. What is it with this level? Am I just cursed?

Regardless, I'm sticking with it this time, and you should too. Here are some things I'm telling myself as I attempt to stay put at this new, higher level.

• Play the way you always play - If those awful one-outers hadn't happened, I'd be up $450 and feeling pretty good about my new challenge. As it stands, I'm down, but rather than get too down about it, I have to feel encouraged that I was getting my money in good. Eventually, if I continue with that, I should start winning those big pots.
The reason you're able to move up is because you were playing well at the lower levels. You might have to make a small adjustment or two, but I'd suggest generally sticking with that successful strategy.

• Take careful notes on your play - I stopped taking notes on my sessions as there was nothing to really worry about. Now that I've moved up, I'm once again trying to figure out what I could have done better for every session. This is always important, but you'll also find that it will have a calming effect on you if you go through a bad stretch, as you might see that you're doing nothing wrong (in fact, you might be playing well) and the cards just aren't going your way.

• Put the losses, and the wins, in perspective - A $150 swing one way or another might have been a huge win or loss at your former limits, but now it might be more of the norm, and it will take a little bit of time to get used to that. Try not to dwell on the bigger numbers either way for a while. Don't get cocky if you're winning a lot, and don't fret too much if you're losing more than you're used to. It's all part of moving up.  One thing that might help: Think of your wins and losses as "buy-ins," not in actual dollar amounts. Being up a few buy-ins is pretty standard for a week, even if you're winning a lot more money than you're used to. The same goes with losing.

• Play shorter sessions - You could probably play for hours at your former limits because even when you were tired, you were one of the better players. That may not be the case now. You'll need to be sharp and focused and ready for the better players, which means you can't play as long.

• Play aggressive - It's OK to play tight at first as you adjust to the new, higher bets. But you can't play scared. If you think you're ahead, you need to jam your chips in, even if that would be a lot of money at your former limits. If you find yourself playing too scared even after a month of playing at your new limit, you're not ready to stay there.

• Recognize that you might play differently, and figure out ways to try to stop it — My biggest tendency when I play at higher limits is to make stupid calls. The higher aggression that you ultimately face at those limits tends to freak me out sometimes. So I've just figured that out, and I'm taking steps to stop it.

• Leave your ego at the door - Finally, playing at higher levels is a big ego trip for most poker players. Ignore thoughts of not letting players push you around and understand that if you lose your cushion, you'll have to move back down for a while. That's perfectly fine. How many times have pro players had to move back down before they were able to stay at their high levels? More times than I can count.

I may have to move back down before I can move back up. But that's exactly the challenge I was looking for to keep me interested in this wonderful game of poker.