Shortcut that led to the long road again...

Since I was running well for a few days, I decided to indulge myself and take a shot playing 50nl. My bankroll dictates that I shouldn't be playing any higher than 10nl, but like Jensen, I was getting a little bored playing at the level I was at.

Throughout the course of the weekend, I dropped just over four buy-ins, leaving my bankroll below $150. The sessions went alright for the most part, just couldn't really get anything going. I paid off a number of hands where my reads were shaky, but I think I made the right decisions even if I ended up losing the hands. The losses hurt, but if I were properly rolled for the level, I wouldn't have thought twice about it. Generally, four buy-ins is nothing and I would keep playing, but being as short as I was, I decided to take the prudent route and drop back down to 25nl.

It's hard to make any real conclusions about the shot at 50nl. The tables I played seemed to be looser than most I've played at 25nl. The players were slightly more aggressive. I think I made some good adjustments to the tables and played steady poker, although I was playing a bit tighter than normal due to a lack of cards and also knowing that one or two bad hands could seriously affect my bankroll.

That last statement is the one that is important. The fact that I know that the stakes were affecting my play is a sign that I shouldn't have taken the shot. There is nothing wrong with playing tight. I'm willing to play like a nit when I have to, and have won games that way, but if you aren't willing to make some calls based on your reads because you're afraid to lose, you're in the wrong game.

That being said, I'm going to be at 25nl for a while longer till I can at least get to $500 before taking another shot at 50nl. Tried to take a shortcut, but it always seems that shortcuts lead back to the long road... :)