Taking shots

    • NatRPheM
      NatRPheM
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      Joined: 05.10.2008 Posts: 391
      Lately I have been thinking about trying to take a shot as in go up a fair bit from my normal buyin and take a shot at something I only have 30 buyins for. By taking a shot I mean ONE shot just to test myself and see how I feel I match up against the competition on that buyin level. What I wonder is what does good people in general feel about taking a shot and going a little bit out of your comfort zone. Has any of you done something like just taking one sunday where you just feel you just have enough of an edge on such a big field that you kinda just "gambled" and went for it and managed to have the same mentality/focus/control as you do on your normal stakes? I kinda feel that the money I might and probably will loose that day is just not a significant amount, I mean it can be grinded back.

      Really wanna hear from people that might have tried or have thought about same thing/similar or if you think that taking a shot like this is kinda like burning money.
  • 11 replies
    • CheckBop
      CheckBop
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      Joined: 20.11.2010 Posts: 313
      One Buy-in BRM for the win.

      Thats how all the pros do it.
    • GraemeDR
      GraemeDR
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      Joined: 19.01.2011 Posts: 156
      If you have 30 buy ins for it your pretty well rolled assuming it's not heads up. Standard (tight) bankroll management says you should buy in to cash games and sit and goes for 20% of your total, (that's only 20 buy ins). And big MMTs only buy in for 2%. And in cash games always leave the table when you have 10% of your current rolling total at the table.

      So if you have 30 buy ins your not taking a gamble at all. If you have 30 buy ins for a 5 dollar tournament you have a roll of $150. With a bank roll of $150 would you really be worried about buying in for a fiver?! Think you need to loosen up mate!
    • Bliausmas
      Bliausmas
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      Joined: 11.03.2010 Posts: 741
      If you are out of your comfort zone - don't do it.
    • fembot26
      fembot26
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      Joined: 25.08.2010 Posts: 72
      I wouldn't say I'm "good", but I don't mind taking a shot at the next-higher level for SNGs once I have somewhere between fifteen and twenty buy-ins, because that means I usually have between thirty and forty buy-ins for my current level. It depends heavily on how well you do at the current level, but I will take a shot once I know I can beat the current level for a solid ROI (although what is "solid"? I don't know the answer to that one) and have a bankroll big enough to make it unlikely that I'll have to move down from that level.

      You could even argue that with forty buy-ins, it wouldn't be ridiculous to take a shot at a tournament two (maybe even three) levels above; I don't do that because I want to establish myself at each level before trying the next. Which illustrates the fact that bankroll management is largely psychological: the objectively optimal strategy, apparently, is to use the Kelly gambling criterion, but that involves bouncing rapidly up and down through the levels, which most people probably find disorientating.

      I do think a lot of players are far too conservative - some people say they won't move up until they have at least 200 buy-ins for the next level, but I would have died of boredom, or worn out my wrist and hand, long before then. I reckon there are more pleasurable ways to wear out your wrist - by contributing to these forums, of course!
    • JuiceQuadre
      JuiceQuadre
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      Joined: 05.10.2008 Posts: 2,688
      Im not sure if we are talking cash games or sngs here..

      But, from my point of view, taking a shot at higher limit just to push your comfort zone a bit, to see how you will do, to see what are the differences, is totally ok, given that you are well rolled for you current limit and you are only shooting one limit higher.

      The worst thing that can happen is you loose couple of buyins. But you can also win couple of them.

      So if its not really aggro brm shot, id say go for it.

      I think there is nothing wrong about being conservative with brm, because lot of ppl dont have strong enough mindset to deal with moving up and down limits all the time. But taking one shot at games you think you have edge on is fine, you need to push your comfort zone a bit, so next time you play ur regular limit again it might even seem easier and more confident =)
    • JuiceQuadre
      JuiceQuadre
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      Joined: 05.10.2008 Posts: 2,688
      Ofc you are free to disagree =)
    • NatRPheM
      NatRPheM
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      Joined: 05.10.2008 Posts: 391
      • 21.02.2011, 13:21
      • This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by NatRPheM: 21.02.2011 13:23.
      Oh I thought it was pretty obvious when I said "such a big field" that I was talking about tournaments, sorry for not being clear enough on that. Well the thing is my normal stakes when it comes to tournaments is just 10-15$, I have been wanting to try the 55$ DNG Sunday special, since I just feel the play there overall is just horrible and I want to know if I can play my normal game even if I go out of my comfort zone. The thing with me is that EVERYTIME I try something new, no matter what it is I get really nervous/upset stomach and in general physical reactions(Not talking about poker in general here). The good thing about me though(poker wise) is that I don`t care about the money but since I have that problem I want to test myself to see if I can manage to keep whatever it is that makes me nervous/Ill for trying out anything new, in check and then maybe next time if it goes well, associate new things with something positive and maybe that will help.

      There is a long story why things are the way they are but that is prob not interesting, it just is that way and I need to try to find a way to get out of it and thought this might help me with getting used to something new. I dont know really, kinda desperate.

      Poker related info: My normal games are 45man 6.5$-12$ SnG MTT and trust me 200BR for those is pretty important cause of sick swings. I play tournaments because I just love them and I don`t even know why.
    • fembot26
      fembot26
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      Joined: 25.08.2010 Posts: 72
      I get nervous, too, every time I try a higher-level SNG for the first time - I imagine all my opponents will be gods of poker, will see through my every transparent device and will take all my chips; but in reality of course they're just the same fish as always (and still take all my chips). I won't dare play the $55 DNG, though - I won a ticket to it so long ago that it was called the 'Daily Eighty Grand', and haven't yet worked up the courage to face those guys. I think I'm still reeling from trying the Sunday Million once (after winning a satellite) about three years ago, and finding that beyond a certain stage my usual steal-attempts just wouldn't work any more. Calling threebet-shoves just isn't a big part of my game...

      I'm sure meditation would help with matters of nerve, but I've been too distracted to look into it properly.

      How many buy-ins do you think are necessary for 9-man $12 SNGs? If you started with two hundred buy-ins, I think that with a semi-decent ROI you'd be more likely to win the lottery than go down a level. Actually, you'd be more likely to pick a random human being and have it turn out to be Barack Obama.
    • NatRPheM
      NatRPheM
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      Joined: 05.10.2008 Posts: 391
      9man turbo or regular? 9man Turbo I would say 70-80 Buy ins probably, 9man Regular 50-60 maybe. I can`t really say since I don`t play them butI would guess somewhere around that. If I knew the swings it would be easier to estimate, alot of others in here that has a good clue though.
    • fembot26
      fembot26
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      Joined: 25.08.2010 Posts: 72
      I was thinking of regular 9-man SNGs, not turbo, and in fact now that you mention it, this very distinction probably explains why many players need large bankrolls!

      Anyway, good luck with the MTTs - I hope to join you in those one day when I've played enough 9-mans. Incidentally, is the DNG Sunday Special substantially softer than the weekday DNGs?
    • NatRPheM
      NatRPheM
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      Joined: 05.10.2008 Posts: 391
      I would suspect so, seeing as there are 7K runners and instead of 90K pricepool there is 300K, so my guess would be yeah they are prob like a 10$ or mayb even lower.