Moving up in limits

In this article I will discuss why it is important to move up in limits when playing online poker, and the common mistake players make when doing it. Often it can be intimidating process when trying to move up in limits because the money you are playing with can be of greater significance to you. But all winning poker players must learn how to move up limits as soon as possible.

There are various reasons for players wanting to play in higher stakes. The two biggest motivations for moving up in limits are to improve your game or to increase your win rate. When you really think about it, they both have a correlation. To earn a decent income from poker you are required to play in higher limit games, but the bigger games also have tougher competition, so it’s crucial to improve one’s skill to beat the games.

As a player you are required to constantly be learning and studying the game in an effort to be constantly improving. If you are not making an attempt to improve your game and your opponents are, you will be left for dead and will get run over at the tables, which can be devastating if you move in limits.

Confidence is the biggest factor when deciding to move up in limits. If you are happy with your game and have the bankroll to move up in limits then you should take a shot. Like I said, you can’t expect to improve your game if you are not playing against better opponents, and there are fewer competent players in the lower limit games, so the sooner you move up the better, if your bankroll supports it and you have the confidence!

If you take a shot at the higher limit games and things don’t quite go to plan, you can always move back down to regain the confidence and your roll. Even though it can be a costly lesson the experience you have gained is immensely important and you will learn from your mistakes. Just make sure that you do actually step down in stakes if you are not winning when you move up in limits. Don’t let your ego get in the way!

One of the common mistakes inexperienced players make when trying to move up in stakes but are unsuccessful at this new level, is they fail to step back down and then take a huge hit to their roll. The problem is these players love the action of playing in higher stakes even though they are losing, and struggle to have the discipline to move back down. It’s like buying a Ferrari only to have to sell it and drive a Ford instead.

So what is the best strategy for moving up in limits, but still be safe about it? I think the easiest way to do this is to take shots slowly in a progressive manner. What I mean by this is for example, let’s say you normally multi-table 4 tables of 50nl. If you were wanting to step up in stakes, instead of playing 4 tables of 50nl, instead play 2 tables of 50nl and 2 tables of 100nl. So, you are still playing the same number of tables and hence won’t be rushed in your decisions. You will know if you’re mentally ready to stay playing 100nl when you’re no longer intimidated by the players at this new limit when you are taking shots.

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