That's 1 small step....

Wow, until I lowered the stakes I really hadn't realised what a drastic difference there is between the limits of 1-2 and 2-4 in online NLHE. For those who don't know, it's like the difference between classes in kindergarten and high school: you're either dealing with infants severely limited intellectually and largely incapable of performing even the most basic of human functions, or you are facing eager juveniles most of whom can answer several different questions correctly and subsequently think they know it all!

I have not posted a losing session since I dropped down to the 1-2 games, and feel as though I haven't even had to try. I even had a 2-4 game running in addition to the two 1-2 tables just to keep my brain ticking over, it really is almost mindless otherwise! Just to give an indication of the type of play you are likely to encounter, here is an example from a 6 player table:

I get dealt AcKd on the button, and after 2 players limp I raise to $12, a big raise but the table has been very loose from all I've seen. I get 3 callers(!): the SB with a full buyin, the BB with $39, and after lengthy deliberation the short stack with only $9 left behind. The flop was Ks Qh Th which, although it hit me nicely, I sensed helped one of my opponents a lot more! The SB checked, and the BB went allin instantly. Mr Think-it-over insta-called with his $9, and I also called with my TPTK, betting that the SB would not likely call 3 allins (he duly folded). Now came the moment of truth, would I be miles behind my 2 opponents or were they as I suspected both fairly weak?

The shortstack flipped an actual monster draw with (wait for it.....) Jh2h which just shows the inspirational calibre of play that is prevailent on the 1-2s, and the BB, who you'll recall instantly pushed against 3 opponents on the flop, flips...... Q4. A healthy 2nd pair, 4 kicker. Again, inspirational is the word.

The flush comes on the turn, and the river is a blank, so I take the $60 side pot and J2s takes the other $65. I was actually laughing as he almost quadripled his stack!

So anyway, going to stick with the simple new formula of 2($1-$2) + 1($2-$4) = Profit + Fun and just get back to enjoying the game. Things are starting to look up.....