Bank roll management vs monthly income

Here is a basic question that is not really relevant for me, since I may never move beyond 2NL or 5NL

But for the sake of argument, let's say you have a BRM that says that when you have 20 buyins you can move into the next level. And this works for you for instance through 5NL and 10NL into 20NL.

So you went through 10NL in for instance 1 month, doubling your bank roll from $200 to $400 - you made $200 in that month.

Now you are playing 20NL and you seem to have found your level. You are playing even with those boys. Careerwise, you are doing as well as you can.

Incomewise, you are not gettin' any. But if you move down to 10NL and STAY there, you might make $200 per month - forever.

Is there any rules of thumb for deciding which level you want to play at, in consideration of income?

I think the lowest "professional" level of play is 200NL. My strategy (if you already have a steady income and don't need the money) is that you keep playing (and never withdrawing) until you have a decent roll for 200NL. From then on you just keep about 50+ BI for 200NL roll and cash out the rest. I tried this strategy, and unfortunately got stuck at 100NL (with 8k BR in Full Tilt before its global closure).

play whatever you want the income for, if 200 a month is sweet enough for you well then thats like a free holiday a year from your hobby, pretty sweet!

higher you go the better benefits but more stress, time, effort, etc etc

The way poker works is that you are going to keep working and keep moving up to a level which you cannot beat even as hard as you go at, you will reach that stage. For some people it will be 10knl and for some it will be 50nl but the key is to know where your limit is and where to stop.

So in the case above, you may have reached your peak and it is up to you to decide if you want to grind break even at your peak or if you want to move down to a level you can beat.

The other alternative is to increase the number of games you play at the lower limits, if you can handle massively multitabling for a living.

definitely. You should play wat your good at. if your makimng money at the 10 dollar game and not the 20 dollar game then play what your comfortable doing big guy. If later down the road if you feel more confident in your game then try it again. if you get over like 6 or 700 i would try and run the 20 games again
Hope that helps!
TTYL

this (100NL is doable if you put in the volume + rb from Stars (300-500kvpps))

as for hobby,move up whenever you can ( dont keep too much online though,30-50bi shall do it unless you play on Stars,then you relax a bit)