Why can't I play below 50NL?

Firstly, have I written that (50NL) correctly? I play at $0.25/0.50 blinds...


Anyway -
Been playing exclusively at pokerstars lately and found that if I drop below 50NL holdem I lose almost consistently?

My bankroll is $300 at the time of writing, so I only have enough for 6 buy-ins (although it's not much of an issue since I can simply deposit more if needs be). I have only made one deposit so far since opening my 'Stars account; $100 a few weeks ago. I have slowly crept up by playing tight aggressive on my current level.


I keep telling myself I need to drop down in limits to protect my BR, but every time I try I lose lose lose... so I move back up and start winning again (slowly but surely).
I don't think I'm a good player and I don't think I've any right to be playing so high with my limited ability. I dropped down to 25NL (with a BR of $300) last night, lost 2 buy-ins (down to $250), moved back up to 50NL and doubled my buy-in (back to $300).


My main worry is I'll hit a slump and in my inexperience lose my entire BR quickly at 50NL.


I don't understand why I can hold my own at 50NL, while any lower and I seem to be completely outplayed. It makes no sense

IamVALHALLA said:

I don't understand why I can hold my own at 50NL, while any lower and I seem to be completely outplayed. It makes no sense

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Very interesting problem indeed! I agree that your bankroll is way too low for NL50 and it's a good thing that you realize that yourself too. Have you tried every lowest limit? I mean there are still NL2, NL5 NL10 and NL25 below that NL50. If you can't beat NL25, maybe try NL10 and so on? It's true that the game is different at each level so there is something that is not working at the lowest levels for you. I myself don't yet play as high as NL50 so I can't really say what it might be. Are you doing fancy plays? Are you bluffing a lot? Those things might not work at the lowest levels because the lower you go, the more fishes you meet and they don't necessarily respect your raises because they are only looking at their own cards.

That 6 buy-ins is just way too low for stakes that high and you are right that someday you will hit a downswing and it's all gone. My first recommendation would be just to try even lower than NL25 and play very straightforward poker without anything fancy. Just wait for the good hands and then take their money. Then again, I kind of feel stupid to recommend something like that if you are truly winning consistently in NL50. If it is so, you can also take a conscious risk and just keep playing at NL50 and see where it goes. If you keep winning, your bankroll increases at the same. Of course that downswing is probably just a matter of time but if you are willing to take that risk, then go for it. If you lose that all, make a new deposit and then start again from somewhere lower. Let us know what happens!

EDIT: I forgot to say that your current bankroll ($300) is good for NL10. You should always have at least 30 buy-ins for each level. So maybe start from there if you don't make the decision to stay in NL50.

Thanks for the reply.

I do play tight aggressive, and I think my pre-flop strategy is sound. I have this little reminder kept open when I play (it's written in MS notepad and I just have it off to the side to remind myself to sick to it):


"AA, KK, AK, QQ - re-raise any position.

JJ, 1010, 99, 88, AQ, AJs - call in early and mid, raise in late position.

Low pairs, A-low suited, suited connectors/1-gaps - try to see cheap flops.

FOLD ALL OTHER HANDS.

NEVER CHECK after the flop. Bet/raise, but fold if/when beat."





If I decide to play a hand, I will bet pretty big pre-flop, raise with top premium hands, call with good hands. I'll usually call re-raises post flop as well since I almost always hold a strong hand worth seeing the flop with.


The problem is my post-flop strategy isn't so good, I'm unsure of myself and I'm certain I just get lucky sometimes. I have a habit of just assuming my opponent somehow has the better hand, I go from tight aggressive pre-flop to tight passive post-flop. I often give my opponents good pot odds to call my bets and then they ultimately DO draw the better hand.


I just lack the ability to read my opponents, to put them on a range of hands. I often have no idea what they might have and it's really just a matter of playing my hand and the board.


Maybe at lower levels the players have very wide ranges and hit all sorts on the flop, but higher up the players are more likely to be similar to me (pre-flop)? That's only a guess, I don't know.

i doubt that you have enough of a sample size to confidently say that you actually do better at NL50 than you do at NL25 if you only have 6 buyins to play with. odds are that youve got a small sample size and have just gotten more lucky at NL50 than you have at NL25

you're going to lose your $300 bankroll

I would say so too.

If you can’t beat 25NL that is too high for you, so try 10NL.

It’s true though that every level is different, different meta, so your current style might as well be better suited to 50NL. That don’t change the fact though that bank roll decides where you play, if you are not good enough to adapt then the level is too high. Or you can risk it and deposit, with that roll you can't stay though.

Thanks for the replies and advice peeps. I have taken it on-board and dropped down to the $0.08/0.16 tables (16NL?) for better BRM.


Played a few hundred hands last night and doubled my first buy-in which is encouraging. I think I can beat this level :icon_king

thats a much better plan!

Here's a great piece of advice I found on some other forum: always check your platforms on rate lists. I myself found this one extremely useful https://www.azartlist.com/casino/playojo-casino

I found that upon implementing correct BRM it went from every trick known to online poker with enough wins to keep me semi convinced and sedated....straight to....the computer knows it can't beat or drain you at 1/100th so it will hit you with a barrage of totally abnormal discons and complete cut-offs whilst making your raise button call and your call button fold until it finally wins and changes you from a winning mindset back to...rrrrrrr can't win so just take several big swings before completely giving up on BRM and depositing again.

IamVALHALLA said:

Thanks for the reply.


The problem is my post-flop strategy isn't so good, I'm unsure of myself and I'm certain I just get lucky sometimes. I have a habit of just assuming my opponent somehow has the better hand, I go from tight aggressive pre-flop to tight passive post-flop. I often give my opponents good pot odds to call my bets and then they ultimately DO draw the better hand.


I just lack the ability to read my opponents, to put them on a range of hands. I often have no idea what they might have and it's really just a matter of playing my hand and the board.

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I don't remember typing this, lol. aka That's exactly what I'm going through, but not every time. I find myself in sessions when the only change is my overall state of mind, not just poker-related, and everything works out fine. If only I could find the inner button for this state.