$10NL retrospective
So, how do the players @ $10NL differ from those @ $5NL? When I first made the jump, I got off to another slow start. I made a cardinal mistake that I should have known better than to make - trying new, unproven concepts and strategies when starting a new level. I was reading Professional No Limit Volume 1 and was eager to apply the concept of "targeting optimal stack to pot ratios". Doing that in conjunction with running bad plus all the unfamiliarity surrounding moving up in stakes eventually set me back between 4 or 5 buy-ins over several sessions. However, I was very pleased with how I handled the situation and didn't tilt, and even though I was preparing myself to move down if I hit 20 buy-ins, I wasn't prepared to move down too early or try to gain confidence or any of that. I was determined to get the ball moving the right direction on my own.

Through playing, I concluded that trying to create ideal stack to pot ratios pre-flop against opponents I am fairly certain I am better than and can outplay post flop is generally a bad idea. I would put in big 6x raises or 3bets with big slick because I knew if I got it all-in, it would be with a TPTK type hand and I wanted the pot big enough pre-flop or high SPR to justify it. Too often, villains would just fold around to me OR I would build up a big pot pre-flop, miss, and have to shut down OR I would hit, but couldn't get any more action. I decided to pay more attention to commitment thresholds instead of targeting SPR ratios - get my value AND not lose value from making reads and outplaying my opponents. Doing that plus running average to good put me on the right path and I didn't look back. Coincidentally, shortly thereafter, I listened to a podcast interview with Matt Flynn, co-author of Professional No Limit Volume 1, and Bart Hanson specifically asked the question about isn't it a bad idea to try to raise too large with hands like AK pre-flop because you get worse hands to fold. Matt said that it was mentioned in the book that many of the concepts work best against tougher competition and not as well against worse competition that will let you get away with more. Long story short: don't try drastic new ways of playing when you start a level jump. Instead, try new things at a stake you are comfortable playing or move down.

At any rate, one of the first things I noticed about $10NL was tougher table selection. It seemed like @ $5NL, I could almost always easily find a juicy table, but tables always seemed full or filled up very quickly @ $10NL and most of the ones with 1 seat available weren't as juicy as I preferred. I ended up starting most of my tables @ $10NL and never considered it @ $5NL. Next, villains don't seem to be as spewy or push all-in as light at $10NL. Often @ $5NL, either out of frustration or bad play, villains will shove their stack with really bad hands like top pair weak kicker or even 2nd pair or air. That didn't seem as prevalent. They DO seem to call down light or spewy reasonably as often, but still not as much. Extracting value can be more difficult - I remember having to adjust to be more patient to get paid. There are obviously more regulars @ $10NL and I sometimes get tired of seeing some of the same nitty players over and over at my table.

But, even though $10NL has some aspects of villain play noticeably better than $5NL, it's not what I would consider a big jump. There are still a ton of fish and opportunities to build up your bankroll. If you find yourself struggling at these stakes, based on what I've seen, I can't help but think you probably have some fundamental concepts that need to be firmed up or you're not table selecting well enough or you're just getting too fancy. There's enough low hanging fruit to grab - make sure you're looking for it. Also keep in mind, I've been playing normal speed full ring no limit, so I can't really comment on the competition in the 6 max or heads up flavors.

I'm eager to dip my foot in the $25NL pool. Hopefully I'll swim before I sink. I started my first session last night and I forgot how much fun it is to jump up with new blinds. It's going to take some getting used to, but it was so exhilarating to win that first big pot - much more so than losing that first big pot . Off I go.