Roberto Romanello: Taking shots at the higher levels

I’m well-rolled to play $1/$2, it’s my usual game and I do well. However, I’ve been looking around the lobby and see some really poor players in the $5/$10 games. I’m not comfortable playing that high but know I’d be a favourite to beat the game when it’s good. Do you think I should take more shots? Should I buy-in short or always buy in for 100BBs?
Rory Keston

I’ve been in this situation. When I play online I always seem to do well playing $2/$4 and $5/$10 PLO, stakes I am comfortable playing. Like all poker players I always want to take a shot at the bigger games. I spin up online, get a $5k or $10k bankroll going and end up playing some $50/$100 PLO.

Obviously my bankroll is not big enough for that game so I would short-stack and I’ve had a few times where I have walked away and cashed-out $45k or $55k. But more times than not I ended up losing because, if I’m honest, I wasn’t bankrolled for those stakes online and I was playing out of my comfort zone. If you’re winning at the stakes you are bankrolled for then ask yourself some questions. If you are winning in those games do you really need to gamble in the way that I have done? Is it profitable? In the long run you should be looking at doing what you are doing right now and when you are ready for the bigger game you should be comfortable buying in for 100BBs and not playing short, especially in no-limit hold’em. Unless you go on a massive heater it’s not easy to make shot-taking work. I’ve lost much more money in the long-run taking shots in the big games than I have won.

My Kind of Music

When you play online do you think it’s helpful to listen to music or do you think it is a distraction? Sometimes I feel like I’m spending more time and getting stressed over choosing the next album in iTunes than it is worth.
Ash Barnes

I don’t listen to music when I play online, but I’m not saying that’s the way you should be. I have a lot of friends who I’ve played online with when I have been travelling who always have their headphones on. It works for them, as they are big winners. So you always have to go with what’s right for you. If it’s not working obviously you have to change something though. If I don’t have many tables going online I’m more than happy to put the TV on and watch the football or something. 

I seem to do really well with that, but anything more than four tables and I’m concentrating on the games.

Home improvement

I’ve been playing poker for about six months now. I’m break-even but feel like I have the potential to be good. How do you recommend I get better quickly – watch training videos and read books or just play, play, play? I have a full-time job and a family so don’t have much time to devote to poker.
Alan Briggs

I’ve never read a book or watched any videos and that has worked for me. But I’m one of those players that believes that when I’m playing I’m always learning from the games I am in. I try to bring something new back from every game I play. I want to pick up tips from myself or other players at the tables – the game is changing all the time so you have to be on top of it. Poker brings in all kinds of opponents when you’re playing live. You have the older guys, younger guys, passive and aggressive players. You have to be able to adapt to all of these. 

The more I play, the more I learn. Practise makes perfect. Look out for the good players at your tables and see if you can pick up anything from them.

Isolation drills 

I sometimes play in £1/£1 and £1/£2 live cash games and notice that there’s a ton of limping going on and pots are often four or five-handed. Online, I’d typically isolate these limpers with a wide range of hands however when I try this live I end up seeing a massively bloated pot multi-way with a marginal hand. Do you think I should give up trying to isolate and be happy to limp along with hands like Q-J and K-J instead?
Dan Blythe

I know what it’s like when everybody calls once you raise. One tactic you can try is to bump up your raise a little bit bigger so that not everybody calls. Not everyone on the table is a fish – you usually get a fish who calls and then the other players see there is value in the pot so they also call. But when you make it bigger the other players won’t find the value in calling a raise so you’ll be heads-up with the fish. Or you could just wait until you get dealt a big hand as well. If there’s a big fish there you should generally always try to isolate him though. 

All out of love!

I’ve been playing poker semi-professionally now for three years but have seen my profits and motivation decrease for a few months now. I want to get back to loving the game but I’m not sure how – is there anything you’d recommend to rejuvenate me?
Will Seasons

If you are playing the same live and online games all the time I think you should mix it up a little. If you’ve got fed up of your local casino you should look at some satellites for some big tournaments coming up, whether it’s a UK event or in Europe. There’s so much choice now. If you’re doing well you can try and qualify for an EPT. The locations are all amazing so even when you’re not playing poker you can enjoy the scenery and culture. It will pick you up and make you hungry to qualify for the next one. Plus, you might do well in the tournament and that will get you fired up again. Get out of your routine, mix it up a little bit and get out there. I often get like this when I’ve been home for a few weeks. I feel I need to play a major tournament and can’t wait to get away and go for it.

Know your limit

I want to get into PLO more but I keep hearing tales about how much more swingy is PLO compared to hold’em? And how should my bankroll management change to play PLO instead? 
Steve Cousins

The variance is completely different. You can be more solid at hold’em, but once you play PLO even the best players can have enormous swings. You can get it in good every time and barely win a hand. In hold’em that’s not the case. If you have top set you usually have a complete lock on the hand. You need to have a solid bankroll to play PLO professionally. It’s a very dangerous game and be very, very careful. It can put you in a bad place if things don’t go right. Get out of your routine, mix it up a little bit and get out there

Romanello’s tip of the month

When players are doing well they always want to step up and play a bigger tournament like a UKIPT or EPT. It’s very important to think before you make any decisions to put in a large chunk of your bankroll to play these tournaments. I’ve seen a lot of players come and go on the circuit because they have put a lot of money into these big live tournaments and no matter how good you are the chances are you might not even cash. Always look to satellite your way in so the pressure is off you and you can play your A-game. This way you can be aggressive in certain spots, just go for it and not worry about how much it will hit your pocket if you get it wrong. Be careful and try to get your flights, accommodation and seat in the bag before you go.