I've been playing mostly 1-2 full time for over a year and a half now. I make $20/hr there. I was wondering if anybody could tell me how their transition from 1-2 to 2-5 went. How much more should I expect to make when I make the jump? I take shots here and there, and it goes well. Just don't have the bankroll to go 2-5 full time.

I personally find most 2/5 games easier, I guess it depends on your style of play. I feel like a lot of 1/2 games, a lot of times there really is no "range" and a lot of people will call with almost anything. Also, it's a lot harder to bluff in a 1/2 game as stacks usually aren't that big and most people will call, just to call and not get bluffed. In a 2/5 game, where a lot of times most hands don't get off without a $30.00 raise preflop, you can gather a much better range on players. Also, in a 1/2 game, the biggest decision you have to make is usually a couple hundred dollars, where at 2/5, stacks can range from 400/2,000+, a lot more equity in pushing in the right spots, and making the right calls, or if you feel a player is weak, you can bet a real amount to throw them off or to make them doubt there hand is good, which is pretty hard to do at a 1/2 table... and a lot of players will do that A LOT more in a 2/5 game, then in a 1/2 game if they smell weakness.

But, best advice I can give, is don't go in timid. When a "Big Pot" in 1/2 is raised 20/30.00 preflop, you have to realize that's probably the minimum for 2/5, and if you get down 400/500 quick, don't panic, it's about the same as falling down 100/200 at 1/2, just chip up, make some good plays and don't let the big stacks push you around and you'll do fine.

If you search you will find a lot of posts about this topic, but the short answer is every place is different and the games can vary depending on where you play.

I would suggest for transitioning to do something like this set aside one day a week, and bring one buy and a half buying for 2/5. Then play if you get stacked just go down to 1/2 for that half a buy in. Or if you dwindle use that half buy in to top off.

And just do that one day a week then start doing it twice a week.

Then bring multiple buy ins. Until you fully transition.


And to clarify Don't be afraid to go home early if you fail. Use this time to reflect, assume anytime you lost a pot you could have avoided it or loss less. Figure out what style is going to be optimal and different ways you can exploit these new opponents and then get back to it.

Aggression, both pre and postflop. Nothing to be scared of, players are just more willing to raise and re-raise at any point in the hand. Their ranges and leaks are all about the same, they just put more money in with them.

1/2 is generally a short stack game and important decisions are mostly made pre and OTF.

2/5 is generally deeper so you'll have to be better at post flop play. Position becomes more important with deeper stacks, and knowing opponents' ranges and tendencies becomes critical.

It's not a massive jump up in skill, but the players will definitely be better and there might be a feeling out period if you're normally used to 40BB poker and now it's 100BB or more.

You're a big winner at 1/2 so I think you'll be totally fine at 2/5 and will not only enjoy it more but never go back to 1/2.

One thing I'll add when considering the difference between 1-2 and 2-5 is if the place that you're playing at spreads larger games on a consistent basis. If you're playing at a casino where 5-10, 10-25, etc, runs on a normal basis, then the jump from 1-2 to 2-5 probably won't be that large. If you're playing someplace where larger games rarely get off and 2-5 is the biggest regular running game, then you might need to be careful as the 2-5 games could be immensely tougher.

I play at a casino where 1-2 and 2/5 are usually the only games running. I'll play 2-5 now and then, but I scope the 2-5 game out before I play it. When 2-5 is the largest game running, it can sometimes be populated with legit live pros that have no problem beating games larger than 2-5.

At my local casino there are some nights that a large number of winning 2-5 players will opt to play 1-2 instead because the 2-5 games are ridiculously tough on that night. This is usually when only one or two 2-5 games are going. If you play someplace that runs larger games consistently, the top end players in your room are most likely playing those larger games and leaving the 2-5 games populated with players that are much weaker but just have the bankroll to play something larger than 1-2.

Of course all of this isn't absolute and like anything else it's situation dependent, but IME 2-5 is a game that can be populated with droolers that couldn't beat 1-2 in some rooms, and populated by legit sharks in other rooms. The strength of a 2-5 game can vary much more from room to room than you'll see with 1-2/1-3 games.

Then why are you asking us? You should already know what 2/5 is like where you play. If you are consistently beating 1/2 for $20/hr, you won't have much trouble playing it. You're looking at only 300 hours of play to build the bankroll for 2/5 if you want 20 BI BR like you have at 1/2.

Not, if hes playing for a living. Hes spending his winnings as he goes and not able to build a roll unless his expenses are zero.

Well said!!!


I've been a casual 1-2 player for more than 5 years (NJ/PA), 2 - 3 times a month.

More recently, it has been getting less entertaining @ 1-2 tables, as it seems that no-foldem-holdem became the rule.

The "stupidity rewarded" outcomes were starting to add frustration and negate my enjoyment.

I started playing 2-5 a few months ago and it feels more like poker. I'm enjoying the reduced "no foldem holdem", need to be more mentally engage in hands (whether in them or not), assessing actions and reactions, etc. So much of that is minimally meaningful at some (not all) 1-2 tables.

Going to 2-5, I'll offer a few pieces of tactical advice.

Get onto a table when it opens and there aren't several huge stacks to contend with when first sitting down.

There is big losses ahead if you aren't willing (sometimes!!) to fold a medium sized bet to a 3 or 4 bet. Let someone else with deep pockets be the table sheriff.

Big chips swings on a single hand are pretty common. You can always come back from a bad call with a very good hand as long as you have the patience to let it come to you and then take advantage.

Finally, you need to know your table image and use it accordingly (bluff, steal binds, etc) to keep your stack from getting chipped away to deeply.

Hope this is of some help. Good luck (unless I'm your opponent)

If you look closely, this is just a compilation of poker jargon passed off as a post. Most of this is either untrue, or only conditionally correct.

But your question doesn't have a set answer; it depends. If you're looking for general expectations-they won't help much-here: 2/5 players are generally more aggressive, and you generally won't find the player who has no idea how to play, as most players who want to try poker will play at the lowest stakes in the room. Stacks also tend to be much deeper (again, depends on your room's buy in structure) so you should adjust your play based on this, though this probably won't change your opponents' play much.

All in all, you're better off playing for yourself, and asking here won't help you much. We can't accurately analyze the 2/5 player pool in your game based merely on the stakes you play. You are a much better judge on play style differences, plus you've already taken shots, so you should know what to expect.

Yes you're right. 1/2 is tougher because they can't be made to fold.

If he's not able to build up his bankroll, he's never going to make it at 2/5 unless he's really lucky.

More aggression (pre-flop raising, 3-betting, semi-bluffing), more thinking players, more bluffing, more fold equity. More Whales (less fish).

In general the game is played deeper-stacked and has a more serious tone to it. The regulars will have less glaring leaks and the recreational players will have deeper pockets and will often rebuy multiple times in a session.

If you can beat 1/2 for $20/hr you should be able to beat 2/5. You'll stop getting payed off as much on your value hands but you can make up for that by stealing smaller pots by bluffing thinking players when they have capped/weak ranges. Also you can stack fish in gigantic multi-buy in pots

2/5 is way more profitable even if you stick to ABC on a good table. Let us know how your first session goes OP.

Lots of move up to where they respect your raises ITT.

Huh, some more FE at 2-5 responses. Not in my experience. More weak tight at 1-2. Good luck bluffing people off of TPWK at 2-5.

Biggest difference is easily the aggression level imo. Much higher at 2-5. 2nd biggest difference is #winning players per table.

You need a proper roll to play 2/5. Withdrawing here and there from your paycheck isn't going to cut it. Swings at 2/5 are painful if you're not ready for it.

They dont have to be. You dont have to play every draw aggressively. You dont have to bluff often to win. You dont have to go nuts trying to get people to fold a better hand.

Every time Im on a losing streak, I notice that Im doing those things and they arent working. They usually arent working because I am picking the wrong spots. A $20/hr winner at 1/2 could win $30-$35/hr at 2/5 without ever bluffing beyond a standard flop CB and without ever going crazy with a draw.

What? He's not saying you should do those things. He's just saying 2/5 swings are brutal because the game is much bigger than 1/2. He's recommending conservative BRM and you're saying that's unnecessary because you can just reduce variance to compensate for a thin bankroll? Are you advocating a passive play style to make up for poor financial management?

Also, you shouldn't change your play simply because you're running bad. Its so results oriented to analyze your play and come to the conclusion that losing a few big pots from missing draws means that you should stop playing them aggressively. You're not picking the wrong spots, you're just focusing on the wrong things.

I think between what I originally wrote, and what people have said, there's been a lot of good advice.

For what it's worth I actually remember the first time I sat at a 2/5 table, coming from a 1/2 player, first hand, I had A/10 of Clubs, it got raised $30, I was the only caller, flop came with total garbage like 3, 7, 9 but two clubs, I led out $50, got called by the raiser, turn, more garbage, led out $90, he thinks for about 3 seconds and calls, river, no club, but the king comes on the river. I led out 160 hoping the king scared him away, guy snap calls, said, you probably got me, and flips over 3/10 offsuit. (He won with his pair of 3's) and I remember thinking "I'm not in Kansas anymore.... " lol

Come to find out, after watching him for a round or two, he was a total donk, who would just call anything, and never would have tried to get him off a hand after watching him for 10 minutes... But I guess that's another piece of good advice, is take a turn or two around the table before trying to get in a massive pot... lol But, in some ways, losing that hand kind of helped me, because after that, everyone thought I was some over aggressive fish, and luckily I caught a few nice hands in the next few hours and no one would fold to me, thinking I was that overaggressive person, and ended up $550 my first 4 hour session there....

But the best advice I can give is, don't overthink it, don't play scared and don't panic if you end up down a 300/400 to start, the swings are A LOT bigger in 2/5...... don't be afraid to mix it up, sometimes like in my instance, falling down $300 my first hand (an entire 1/2 buy in as I was thinking in my head at first) became the best thing that happened, as I got called down with minimal hands the rest of the time I was there. Let the table dictate your play, and you'll definitely need to pay more attention to hands going on and how people play them/stacks/ and peoples betting patterns more then a 1/2 game.. But keep us posted on how it goes and GL!

Yeah lol the FE thing might be a stretch but I think I have a vastly different image than a lot of people on here. I frequently visit a variety of rooms so I often have an unknown image which means I will initially be catergorized based on my age/race/sex/etc, so it's possible that this holds true for me but not for others.

Fwiw my bluffing mostly consists of double barreling draws or 3betting light followed up with a stab on the flop and very occasionaly raising turns and rivers. Not just blindly firing 3 bullets into the abyss trying to get a guy off TP.

I don't believe this is true.

it is

2/5 swings are not brutal unless your playing style makes them brutal or you just arent better than the rest of the players.

Heres an example of what Im talking about.
3 limpers and I have Ac2c in the BB.
Flop Ah7c9c. I bet $15 and get called twice.
Turn 3d. I check, MP bets $45. Other guy folds. I seriously doubt my Ace is good. I can either call and try to hit my flush which is low variance.....or I can check raise which has a decent chance of making him fold a better hand but its high variance. If he calls I have to shove the river to try to make him fold what is probably AT/AJ.
Playing style determines which path I choose and how big my swings are. I can easily make a case for either play being correct depending on the villain, but I know for a fact that I dont need to play super aggressive in hands like this to win in this game.

IME (and it's probably casino dependent) 2/5 weeds out almost all of the OMCs and many of the wannabe grinders. Most of the fish are people with wealth to burn and most of the grinders are at least somewhat legitimately okay or at least nittags. Table chat is less about everyone trying to prove they're god's gift to poker and more people taking the piss and having a good time.

Not that there aren't grumpy people, not that there aren't people bought in short, not that there aren't ****ty 20-year-olds with headphones, etc, but there's a lot less of it.

This affects playstyle differences. IME, people are much more willing to torch money at 2/5, and there's much more aggression in general.