BR Recommendations??

[Padawan]

If I only have 10x the buy in for 50NL but I feel like I would do better there than at 20NL, would you recommend that I maintain my normal sessions at 20NL and maybe do 1 table like 2-3 days a week of 50NL?

[Trikkur]

I love to stick buy the 20/15 or 20/17 rule of bankroll management.

That means when you have 20 buyins for the higher limit you move up and then move back down when you have either 15 buyins or 17 buyins left.

If you only have $500, I would keep grinding until you have $1,000

[mxrider]

As one that has pushed the bankroll guidelines many times, I agree completely with what Trikkur says. As tempting as it may be with the fish at Cake, you have already seen the variance that comes with that territory. Wait wait wait....it will come sooner than you think.

[Colossos159]

I play a little bit different which allows me to move up faster. If I have 20 buy ins for the level I am playing now (25NL = 500$) and I am pretty confident I am beating that level, I move up to 50NL. I go back to 25NL when I am down to 17 buy ins for that level (=350$). This gives me a 3 buy in space for the higher level.
A few comments on this:
- dont have your bankroll spread out over more accounts: this means I can play 50NL on one account (Full Tilt) but am still playing 25NL (Cake) on another because I dont have 500$ in that account. This is mostly a psychological factor.

- before you move up: make sure you are beating your current level for a substantial amount of hands

- the bank roll should consist only of money you have already won without the money you put in to start

- dont do this bank roll management if you cant afford to lose all your "poker" money. But you shouldnt be playing poker anyway if so.

- dont do this when you are playing to have fun because losing 150$ of a 500$ bank roll is NOT funny. This bank roll is meant to move up fast and I have some reasons to do this: my job-contract only runs for 2 more years and by that time I want to be able to make some serious money playing poker.

[mxrider]

Originally Posted by Colossos159

I play a little bit different which allows me to move up faster. If I have 20 buy ins for the level I am playing now (25NL = 500$) and I am pretty confident I am beating that level, I move up to 50NL. I go back to 25NL when I am down to 17 buy ins for that level (=350$). This gives me a 3 buy in space for the higher level.

That math is not working because if you drop 3 buyins at 50nl, you are actually dropping 6 buyins at 25nl bringing you down to $350 leaving you with only 14 buyins for 25nl. If you want to drop back down when you hit 17 buyins at 25nl, that only gives you 1.5 buyins at the higher level which really doesn't do you any good at all.

[Colossos159]

OMG mxrider just discovered my major leak . Can you imagine what happens if I am counting my outs: "I have 14 outs, I push!! Oh wait, how many clubs are there in the deck??"
Yes, i hate math.
But 14 buy ins should still be enough IF you are beating the level.

[Padawan]

Well I suck! I obviously am not ready to move since I grinded my way up from 4 buy ins down to 1 1/2 buy ins up... Then proceeded to lose it all bad down in about an hour just playing FREAKING horrible!!! I just started grasping at straws and trying to get cute... so dumb!

[given1982]

I think 20/15 and 20/17 rules makes sense for moving up long- term. But I think you can take a shot anytime you have some money that it wouldn't hurt you to lose. Bonus or rakeback payments can be good for this. So I think it's fine for you to take a $100 rakeback payment and take a 2-buyin shot at $50NL with it, even if you only have a $500 bankroll--as long as you have the discipline to actually move down after 2 buyins. It's good because you can turn the shot into a long-term move up if it goes well, and if you can stick to your stop-loss, the risk is limited if it doesn't go well.

[zayphod]

If you have 10x for 50NL then just keep grinding the 25NL. Is there a desperate need to climb? if not dont rush it. My BR management skills were nada for a long time and the only thing that came out of that was busto!

Why not grind till you hit 700 then you have a 4 buyin shot at 50NL. If it all goes pear shaped you still have 20buyins at 25NL. No harm done, can just rinse and repeat.

[mxrider]

I'm at a bit of a crossroads in this category since I moved to Cake to play. I've been playing 20nl there and have just finished 8k hands since Friday. I am up a little over 8 buyins and I also have 3 buyins of rake coming to me. If I factor in my rake payment which is to come, I have a bankroll of ~$900 and I feel that the play there is horrible and feel pretty good about my play. I also feel a bit different about my overall play since watching the first part of my critique and feel that I have hopefully plugged some pretty big leaks in the process.

Long story short, I'm looking for someone to tell me it's ok to take another shot at 50nl