Being the insomniac I am - especially before travelling (even if the trip is a 2 hour drive north) - I was up at 4:30 am. I decided to spend my pre-travel hours at our-favorite-place-bonus-code-KEB, of course. Now, this is what you don't do when you are whiling away time on an insomniac buzz and coffee too early in the morning:
Move up in stakes.
See the arrow to the right? It's no longer green and pointing up, now, is it? I piddled away $40+ bucks thinking I could play well one level up in NL at a $50 buy-in. There was a marked difference at the table where I sat. A big problem was a player who had me out-played by a long shot. My post flop play was weak - why? The stakes were higher and I didn't want to risk my stack at that level. This should have been my first clue that I was not ready for this level. You NL veterans out there tell me if I'm wrong about this:
You cannot play no-limit passively and on the defensive - it's about getting control of the hand and being selectively aggressive and on the offensive. Otherwise, you will not make significant gains and your stack will get leached away.
On the plus side, I learned a lesson from Hard Knock U. this morning. I gained a little of my stack back at the $25 tables - had AA twice and they held up. For my bankroll and my style, this level is a good fit for the time being. I have a lot more NL experience to gain before I deign to move up again!
