When should you level up your poker game?

The doubt of when to level up your poker game is one of the most frequently asked questions. Every player who takes the step up to a paid event or professional tournament competition asks themselves the same question at some point in their poker career. Despite the attractiveness of a High Roller, the entry fee is very high and not everyone can afford it or is willing to pay such an investment. So when is it time to take the plunge and move up from one level to another? Is it advisable to switch to high stakes cash games? In this article we explain the requirements you need to meet in order to upgrade your poker level - read on for more information!

What does it mean to level up in poker?

Leveling up in poker is nothing more than increasing the degree of difficulty of the games you are playing in order to compete in higher stakes events. When you level up in poker, you go from beginner to intermediate or from intermediate to professional. Leveling up in poker also means going from being an amateur player who uses poker for entertainment to a player who sees an opportunity to make real money at poker. Cash game tables in poker are the best way to earn money in poker, because with cash game tables the playing chips are equivalent to real money.

Evolve in poker in an efficient way

Leveling up in poker is something that should be progressive. That is, the player must be able to begin to assimilate the game and betting patterns, as well as think through the moves and develop a firm and consolidated strategy. In this natural progress the player will begin to make use of certain tools that will serve as learning and as a study of the mathematics of the game, but also learn to have greater mental and emotional control to know how to manage bad streaks. To evolve in poker it is essential to take into account these three aspects:

Progressive evolution of levels

The most important thing, when you move up a level in poker, is to do it progressively. This will help you, firstly, to gain experience and, secondly, to avoid big losses. Remember that the higher you level up, the higher the level of the players - therefore, the more likely you are to lose. That's why the evolution should be progressive. It's OK to start by playing very low value cash games, this will help you assimilate the game and gain the experience you need without going broke.

Manage your bankroll properly

The bankroll in poker is the bank that you use to play online. It is a tool that all players keep in mind when playing cash games. It gives you the guarantees of playing poker correctly and doing so without the risk of going broke as this money will be dedicated exclusively to the game, but you will have other savings to cover your needs. However, you must learn to manage your bankroll properly between each level if you don't want to run out of your savings or profits from playing poker. To move up a level it is important that you have the right bankroll, i.e. the right amount of savings to be able to play and get through rough patches without going broke. Keep in mind that when you move from one level to another you will be playing twice as much money per blind, so the risk is much higher.

Control your emotions properly

Of course, as you level up, the tension in each game will increase as the amount of money at stake is higher. Therefore, it is important to learn to control your emotions properly, otherwise you will be stuck at the same level as before and will not be able to use poker to win extra money - or at least significant amounts of money. To change levels, therefore, you must have proper mental control, or tilt control. If you're not prepared, the chances of failure are greater, so we recommend that you don't force yourself to be there until you learn how to handle it.

Advantages of leveling up in poker

There are many reasons why you should level up in poker whenever you can. Most importantly, because it will allow you to use the game to earn extra income, or even become a professional player so that you can earn far more than you would from any normal job. However, you must be aware of the risks that exist - as we explained throughout the article - and bear in mind that these increase as you level up, which is why you must do it progressively so that the result is efficient, as we have seen. Among the main reasons why you should level up in poker are the following:

• To obtain higher winnings: As we explained, by becoming a regular poker player you will increase your winnings considerably. These will be much higher than those of any real job.
• Decrease the house commission: As you level up, the opposite happens with the house commissions. Each time you level up the house takes a smaller commission on each pot from the flop onwards. The lower limits in poker are the ones with the highest commissions. As you level up, your winnings will increase as you will have to pay less to the house for each pot you win.
• Difficulty is not always that high: Depending on the level, especially at the lower stakes, the difficulty is hardly noticeable. This is because there are many players like you who are in between levels doing multi-tabling. The levels are very similar to each other, so the difficulty curve is lower than expected, with the difference that the income will be higher and the commissions to be paid per jackpot won lower.