So, I'm slumming it at 2/4 gaining back confidence after a 20 buyin downer. And it makes me realize one thing. The thing that I completely emphasize at 5/10 and 10/20 is that I have to have a balanced range to be effective. Like I HAVE to check/raise and stack off on a K83 two spade flop with KQ since I am going to be bluff raising this board a lot and people at 10/20 know I do, so they play back at me with worse and stack off with worse.
But, at 2/4, I CANNOT stack off with KQ on a K83 flop without initiative against most people to be profitable because people don't think past what their own hand is and how that relates to the strongest hand I am repping (top pair+, sets, etc.). So, they only play back at me when they have a better hand, making stacking off with KQ on that board a big mistake.
Basically all I am saying is that people that are having trouble moving up, you guys need to bluff MORE. Which contradicts a lot of what is written here. Many people say, "well, its .5/1, people are dumb and stack off with a lot of garbage". But, that is not how these games play any more. Sure, that is how they played pre-UIGEA PAARRRRTYYYY POKER, but now that people play better, they just fold too much.
You don't need to balance ranges, you just need to find that tag (and there are plenty, don't bluff calling station fish of course) that cbets too much, bets too much on the turn, and bluff/semi-bluff him more often than you already do.
A lot of what I see on this board is people that play a TAG style preflop, but sort of passive player postflop if they don't have the initiative. Which is not what I would suggest to win the most. I want you to be a TAG style preflop, but a person that is completely active postflop trying to take away every pot possible. No more auto-pilot. You try to win every pot until you think that this person or table will adjust to YOU. Then, you wait for a hand. Not before like others are suggesting.
And then once you start playing 5/10, we can go back to that balancing ranges.
Poker is a fun mind game.