That's an interesting question, the only times I will play lower stakes is when I know I can't give it my all! It's Saturday and I'm having a few drinks but still want to play... then I'll move down because i know that after 5 hours of drinking I'm probably not as aware as i was at the beginning! But in general no i go down in stakes to try out new things as well, so if I'm practicing my 4 bet folding range I'll go to lower stakes to try out different things which makes me more focused because I'm learning!
If you are going to lower stakes you should try that like just know that you should have an edge over a lot of the field and play to prove it! Concentrate on making no preflop mistakes for example!
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