I don't play ring games because you just can't beat the odds of the guy who is multi-tabling 12-24 tables looking for great implied odds. Its no longer poker. Its just work. You play cards like suited connectors against the guy who is representing rockets, who just can't seem to get away from an all in when there is a straight or flush possibility. Even on a .01/.02 NL table, you may make a dollar with AA, or lose all your chips to a guy who caught a flush while you were trying to slow-roll him. That's what a lot of people who are willing to plunk down some money at online poker don't realize. There is someone with a bigger bankroll than you and he's just waiting to call your meaningless 4x bb raise so he can strike when you least suspect it.
I've found my niche. The 45 man Sit & Go at Pokerstars. Like anything, you start at the bottom (like 1 + .10). You will undoubtably lose your first dozen or two games, maybe get lucky at a few times. You can learn from your mistakes and pick apart the game so that you learn how to finish later and later, increase your odds of making it to the final table, and then aim for the top prize. The more you play, the better you get at it. And when you've reached the point where winning at the level seems clockwork, you can move on to the next level which is double the stakes (and agression it seems) to keep it interesting. This is how a lot of people have chosen to play online. Whenever I move levels, it feels like I'm learning the game for the first time. Coming from a level where it seems like 9/10 of the hands I flip over, I got him beaten or even dominated, and then suddently realizing that you are now getting eliminated by flipping over the weaker hand, its a hard transition. My immediate reaction after getting owned at the new level after 4-8 games is that I should just go back to the level where I was just cashing at every 2 to 4 games.
Its exactly like learning a new skill. There is this uneasy and stressful tension hovering over you at all times. It feels like you need to jump back to where you were before. Jump back in the security blanket where are comfortable and happy. But just like anything in life, stay in the comfort zone too long, and staying there becomes meaningless and soulless. If you stick with the new level and master it just like you've mastered the other levels, you will not only have mastered the level itself, but you will have also gained other abilities along the way. You've somehow become smarter. Gained a microgram of new knowledge that further reveals to you the how the universe functions. You can apply this new knowledge and be one step ahead to mastering something new that you've never tried before. This is what essense of life should be.
Today I placed 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd on 5 out of 10 games at 11+1 45 man Sit & Go's. 1st would have been nice, and I deserved it on at least one, but its not necessary. (one of the 3rd place finishes I would only blame the slip of a mouse to not finishing 2nd.) It was a rough first few dozen games. And I can't say I've mastered this level yet, but I feel that I've finally arrived at this level. It will be tough to beat what I've accomplished today at this level but, I can only get better, and I'll be looking forward to moving up once I've increased my bankroll to do so.
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