At the $2/$4 NL level. For whatever reason, I just cant beat it with any consistency. I probably have 20K hands at that level over time and Ive probably just barely done better than break even. My current database has 5K hands at $2/$4 NL and im break even.

I crush $1/$2. I have a very respectable win rate at $5/$10 but cant beat $2/$4.

The players at $2/$4 are remarkably worse than $1/$2 in my experience. They all want to gamble and play big pots all the time. They all have probably learned just enough about poker to be dangerous...to themselves. They want to call every raise with T7s.

The problem is that when 4 of them do it, youre in trouble every hand. I tighten up and still get called multiple times. Here are a few hands from last night at Tribeca, but this happens to me everywhere.

Im raising alot and getting called too much so Ive REALLY tightened up. The 2 guys to my left have called every raise in the last 20 mins.

#1) I raise a limper to $20 with AA. "beggar" calls in the blind. He always calls.

Pot $46. Flop [6d][2c]. He checks, I bet $40 and he CRAI. Its $210 or so to me. I call and he has [Tc] and hits his flush.

Ive raised a few more times and got pushed off a hand.

#2) "beggar" min raises and gets a call. I reraise to $44 with AA. "beggar" calls.

Pot $100. Flop 678 rainbow. I bet $70 and he calls.
Pot $240. Turn T. I check and he pushes for $200 or so. I tilt and call. He has A5 and I win. He min raised and called a $44 reraise with A5. The only hand I win is when I play liek an idiot.

#3) Very next hand. Different guy limps and I raise to $24 with QQ. Limper calls.

Pot $54. Flop TT3. Limper leads $30. I call.
Pot $114. Turn 8. Limper pushes $400 all in. I have him covered and fold. he shows 42s. He just saw me make a horrible call. Im a calling station and he still shoves like an idiot. How do you play these idiots? Call everything?

#4) Not very long later...I raise a limper to $24 with JJ. he calls.

Pot $54. Flop 998. He checks. I should have the best hand and bet $38. He min check raises. I fold and Im pissed.

#5) Very next hand. I open raise to $24 with TT. "beggar" calls again.
Pot $56. Flop 764 with a flush draw. I bet $44 and he pushes. I call and he has 53. $24 preflop with 53. How do I fold to a guy who shoves his stack in with a draw and with A5 on a 678T board?

I cant beat this kind of play and I sure cant do it with low variance. I have to play a big pot every friggin hand and they have no qualms about pushing all in with a draw or with nothing (A5 hand and 42s hand ) so I cant fold my big pairs to this action.

I watch the games all the way up to $50 / $100 NL and dont see action like this. Almost every $2/$4 game I play is is full of action junkies and I just cant beat these games so Im done with them. Im moving up. I always here fish say "I cant beat these bad players at .50/$1 so Im gonna play higher where people know what theyre doing". Thats stupid of course. if you cant beat low stakes, you dont move higher. But in this case, Ive played alot of higher stakes games already and have beaten them with some regularity. This one particular level has given me problems every time I sporadically play it...over the past 2 years. Ive played it at numerous different sites at various times over the past 2 years and have never consistently beaten it, yet I beat $5/$10....so Im done with $2/$4.

2/4 has just always been a problem for me. I have no idea why. The 2/4 at prima is VERY tough. Much tougher than the 5/10 at prima.

The 2/4 at Tribeca is a maniac fest.

Ive beaten 2/4 at Party pretty handily in the past but I hate Party so Im not playing there

I havent played 2/4 at Stars in a long time but they just dont have enough incentive for me to play there. No rakeback, hardly any bonuses.

I guess thats why I skipped to 5/10 in the past. 2/4 just gives me problems and frustrations.

Ive always heard that the 10/20 is much much tougher then the 5/10 because of the ultra aggression. I think Kenny had that problem at 10/20 and went back to 5/10 where he makes a killing. For me, the 2/4 is like what i hear described about 10/20. Maniacs everywhere pushing every draw and every scare card. The variance just doesnt suit me and since I can beat 5/10, Ill stick to 1/2 and 5/10 for now.

I just finished a 5/10 session and won easily. The play is for the most part fairly easy for me to read.

You have some good players but those players are fairly easy for me to read because I read hands pretty well. Theres not too many tricky AND good players. The bad players are just bad all around. They make easily exploitable mistakes...like the guy who min raised to $20 UTG and then called my $100 reraise from the button. He had QJ and only had $520 to start the hand, so he got 20% of his stack in preflop with QJ OOP and I busted him when he caught a flop he liked.