Quick recap of $50NL

I wanted to get my multi-table Take 2 bonus time in for the day, so as I was setting up my new laptop, I logged ~75 hands without Poker Tracker running. I 2-tabled for that duration for a small profit. As a result of the 2-tabling, I was able to focus a lot more on my opponents, which also got me thinking about a few of the hands I was seeing last night.

As I stated in an earlier post, I have moved to .25/.50 NL hold'em. I am proud of the fact that I'm finally earning "real" money; capable of stacking off for something resembling an hourly wage. With the "real" money increase comes new challenges though. At the .1/.25 level, I was not seeing anywhere near the same aggression as I see at this level. I can't determine whether there is more pre flop raising going on, but I am sure that there is WAY more level 2 thinking happening.

As an example, there seems to be a lot more button steals, which has become a pretty obvious move. To counter that, a 3 bet from the blinds is a semi-frequent occurrence as well. The most interesting thing, though, was a 3 bet bluff from a button steal on the flop (don't have the HH, but it was a good example of the leveling wars that are happening at this stake). Mind you, the players are not better, they're just thinking a little more:

100BB effective stacks: I have QJo on the button. Folds around to me & I raise to $1.50 (typical 3x raise). I get the BB to call. Flop comes AJx rainbow. He checks, I bet $1.75 into $3.25... He min raises me to $3.50. Most players, at this point & stake, are folding their cbet or calling to peel another card (which is an awkward spot, because what happens if a Q or J hit, or a non-Ten? You know he's going to bet close to pot on the turn). I chose to take it to level 3 where: I know what he's thinking I have... He thinks: "Why would Poker Meister bet half pot on such a polarized board. He's either got an under pair or a missed flop - he' can't stand to call a raise because a check / raise is such a strong move. Therefore, I raise the flop and take it down right here and now." What he doesn't consider is that he's essentially making the same move as I just made; there's no need for him to be raising on such a polarized board... either he has an A or K (in which case he's going to check / call and check the safe turn with the hope that I 2 barrel him, or lead out the turn). I opted to min 3bet to $5.25, which induced a fold by my opponent. It was a nice little pot, a nice reward for a little bit of thinking.