I usually try to keep my bankroll around $3,000 and if it gets much higher I pull some money out of Neteller for investments, bills, and whatever else. 300 big bets is the recommended bankroll for limit poker, so I’ve had the roll to play $5/10 for over a year. Scared? Most likely.

In the last week I decided to test the waters at $5/10 on Party. I checked my body for open cuts. When I didn’t find any, I dipped a toe into what I figured would be shark-infested territory. A couple of goldfish jumped out of the water and tried to nibble on my big toe. I grew up in a town on one of the Great Lakes (Huron) so I’m a pretty decent swimmer. As long as there weren’t too many unexpected white caps coming from behind I figured I’d be alright.

As Iggy has mentioned many times before, there are bad players at every level. The play isn’t quite as bad as $2/4 or $3/6 and it’s a lot more aggressive preflop, but there are still plenty of players willing to chase a gut shot straight draw to the river against a single opponent.

Last night I played for a couple of hours after dinner and was down $300 before I decided to catch up on some TV. I ran into more than my fair share of 2-out beats on the river. I hopped back on around midnight and started hitting everything. In less than 2 hours I erased the $300 loss and logged off over a $300 winner for the day. I’m not playing as many hands as I would at the lower limits because of all the preflop action, but it’s really helping to keep me in check.

You’ve read similar from more qualified poker players before, but I’ll say it too…Don’t be afraid to move up limits to test the waters. You just might like the taste of the bigger goldfish.