The LFR Necessity
The Learn-Forget-Relearn Tournament Necessity
For many ambitious lower limit players in online poker there is a big problem with the learning curve of advancement. Part way through the curve, you really need to forget a lot of what you have learnt and start over. This can be very confusing for many, especially if you need to level down again after leveling up. But why is this?
The essential reason is that at lower limits bluffing is rarely needed due to a predominate style of play by many opponents of little fear, high risk, and bad draw evaluation. Many bluffs will get caught out, and many high-side value bets with made hands will get paid.
However once you cross a certain threshold in terms of buy-in this all changes. If you play in the same manner you will go no-where fast. You need to forget your previous style of play, and start a new style. The main source of chip gains is no longer the excess looseness and poor hand evaluation of your opponents. The main source is now from the tightness of your opponents. There is more fear and tightness in the average opponent. Many are under-rolled emphasising this tightness. Forcing players to fold suddenly becomes much easier and more fruitful.
Of course at times you may find yourself at an unusually loose table of maniacs in high limit, or conversely unusually tight at lower limits, but these are exceptions not the rule.
So, are you capable of the evolvement of play from low to high limits? Ditching your successful style of play and switching to a new style? Many cant grasp the need to change and will become frustrated with lack of success. Others will grasp some change is needed, but wont adjust quick enough, and others will grasp it, but overdo it by ditching some fundamentals. Many others will also encounter a related problem, and will float in the grey area between the buy-in levels and be lost in a mixmatch of a constant wide opponent-diversity way way in excess of what you would ever see elsewhere. Getting a long-term successful style in those levels is probably the most difficult task of all.
Good Luck. If you can at least grasp the need for the different styles, you are part way there.
Tags: adjusting styles, Poker Strategy, poker tournament success