Let's talk bankroll and risk/reward

Recently I have been looking at everyone's sharkscope graphs including my own and a strange little idea popped into my head.

We all go through up swings and downswings, and personally I am willing to risk about 1/20-1/15 and in some cases 1/10 my bankroll. The question at hand is when you are on the upswing have you found or tried the ladder system??

I was talking about this with my roommate last night, in a typical 6 handed regular nl hold'em sng the payout is just under 4 times the buy in. For example if I play a 10$ 6 handed sng and win which is what we all are gunning for I will receive 39$(I don't know if $ signs go before the numerical amount or after it sorry if I am confusing you guys).

On the ladder system you would move up on the buy in based on the amount you won. for example I won roughly 40$ so I would play a single 20$ sng and if I won that move on to a 30$ sng. I was just thinking about this last night, I went on a tear more than doubling my bankroll and I was thinking about doing it. I went as far as to watch a few higher buy in tables to see how they played, and I was shocked to see it is almost the same as in lower buy in games. Unfortunately, I thought it might not be a smart idea but I wanted to see other opinions and ideas regarding how you play and what you are willing to risk.

I'm trying to find a system that would milk the upswing for all its worth.

i just do that for fun sometimes. best bankroll building tool is a solid rate where you're confident. one loss and you're back where you started, just remember that.

FEB CHALLENGE TO ALL PLAYERS

We did a challenge a little while ago with this.

I gotta agree with joose, though; the best way to pad the roll is to play a lot of games at a level that you're comfortable and confident at rather than taking gambles with higher stakes like that. It's a great way to test the waters at higher stakes, though.

only way to get magical increases in roll is to mtt and even then it is risky

I think I'm going to try that idea maybe twice a day with 10$ tournaments for a few weeks and see how far I can get. I do agree though, odds of cashing that many times isn't good, I will try to find a good cut off point, percentages, and some other stuff. Anyone wanna join me?

How were you shocked? Generally, from the $5 level on up poker is poker. There will always be donks, TAG, LAG, good, bad, and great players at every level you play. The only difference in moving up levels, is that people tend to play a bit differently when they are uncomfortable at certain higher stakes. You have to realize if you move up in a level, and you aren't playing your style of game, then you need to move back down. It's not that the other players are any better, or that at higher limits there is different play, but normally it is because of your comfort level (or lack of it) that makes you play differently from your regular game styel.

Do it once, otherwise its called losing you bankroll $10 at a time

I was also thinking about optimizing the upswing and trying to find a mathematical/objective way of getting everything you can out of it. I haven't been able to think of anything significant because you just don't know when you'll run hot or cold, and trying to predict equity swings is pretty much impossible.

The only thing I do is control the risk on the downside. Let the upside take care of itself.

Let me know if you find anything good.

Shortstacking NL tables works better, ill do a thread on it over the weekend if i get time.

Sounds good. I think Ferguson did a bit of this when he ran his $1 into 20K.

If you keep doubling you can win ten times in a row and then lose one, then you're back where you started. I can not recommend playing beyond your comfort zone. Plus how do you know when the upswing will end.

Like everybody else, I recommend caution. Modify the "ladder" a little and start at your comfort level. When you win consistently at that level, move up a little. Building yer BR is bet when it's a gradual steady progression. If you keep jumping yer limits, all it takes is one bad loss to move you back to square1.

i did the ladder on pokerstars once stared with two dollars kept moving up table and eventually got to over 50 dollars and then i was dumb and lost it all in one hand so i agree be smart about it and use cation maybe save half and play with the other half

There is a guy named Fellknight who loves to do this in the NL cash game, he calls it "rampaging".

See his blog and read his ideas here.

There is lots of criticism of FK and his ideas in various forums-- google if you are interested.