Been "gambling" 5 years, time to start playing!

Hi everybody!

To make s long story short, I have been playing poker for 5 years now on just about everything from NL2-NL600 to $1SNG-$200SNG, Omaha PL,TXS NL, TXS PL, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz....you name it.

Thing is just that I need to structure my game and learn about BRM.
Sure I´ve read books and articles about it, but i would rather hear the opinions of people that actually practice the game at "normal" levels.

I know this game, and I also know that I can become a winning player.

The last couple of months I have been so "hooked" on Omaha and I really want go back to my "roots" with Texas NL, as I have spent all my previous winnings calling of gutshots at the Omaha tables I´m also in need of a new bankroll.

Now enough with history what I would like to get help with is:

As I am a man of limited funds I´m going to make an deposit of $100 and go back to playing just Texas, now I already know that this is not enough to play at the levels I wish to play at, but honestly how many BB´s do you need at lower levels NL25-NL50 to make sure that you can survive a couple of pokerstars fantastic rivers?

And when is it time to leave, after 2-300 BB´s or just stay as long as it feels good?

And when/if I get up to let´s say a BR of $1000 do you guys think this is enough to move up to NL100?

And finally let´s say that I come to a level that I´m comfortable with how much can I withdraw from my bankroll? How many buy-ins do I need to leave in my BR to survive the unavoidable swings?

I apologize if this post is a little to long it´s just that I really want to find a winning formula and start to make some money in the long run.

One more thing...is it just me or is the average low-limit-player at pokerstars or fulltilt better than the players at microgaming or entraction?

There are lots of threads on this around the forums.

An unprotected bankroll for no limit ring games is 20 FULL buyins. So to play nl$100 you need $2K.

BRM is pretty simple really.

as a minimum you need 20 buyins for a NL cash game. 30 would be better, 40 even better stiill and 50 is probably about the max.

so between 20-50 buyins

Simply put you divide your bankroll by your selected buyin amount and thats the biggest game you can enter.

Thats it!!

When is it time to leave? well the real question is why do you feel you should leave? Ill assume its because of losses as most wont have this dilema when winning!!

When loosing, why are you loosing?? Bad cards? unpredicatable table dynamics, being out played?

If its the cards then there is no need to leave.. if its the table or you then leave as soon as you realise this. If loosing is making you tilt then leave also. Remember also that the more you loose.. the weaker tye table percieves you and the more plays they will collectively make against you.. so by loosing you make it more likely to loose more in the furure.. by how much.. thats a very person and table specific thing but you get the idea.

So 3 buyins is probably as much as you want to loose in one go before getting up and calling it a night.. where does the number 3 come from.. the top of my head.. out of a hat.. there is no reason 3 is the number.. but having lost 3 buyins in a row.. It might be time to walk away.. it is person specific.

The more buyins you have in your bankroll the more downswing you can withstand.. also the bigger the BR, if you are forced to go down a level, it will be by a smaller increment and will be longer befre this occurs.


Is $100 enough to play $1000NL - no.. but if you feel ok with havingonly 10 buyins the i guess it is.. but really 20 is the bare minimum.

How much can you withdraw? again keep 20 -50 in the BR, decide how much you feel confortable with and then withdraw when the BR is greater than that figure.

The correct number of buyins will also correspond to your style of play.. a very tight player will experience less varience than a loose player and so will not need as big a bankroll to even out the varience.

Hi folks and thanks for the response!

I got the answers I was looking for, I will make an deposit of $200 and start working my way up according the 20BB-50BB rule think I will use 30BB.

Will start out with 20 buy-ins at NL10 and I will probably be playing 3-4 tables (cant handle more than that :-P)

Happy New Year To All !

yep BRM is hard esspecially dropping down at least 30 buyins onto a CT is a good guide to stick by but there would be pros out there suggesting that at least a 100 buyins is more appropriate. I also think it is important to get off the computer after copping a bad beat if there is a slight chance that you will tilt. Tilt is so dangerous to bankrolls and u start doing stupid things like playing in the same limits after ure br had just suffered a big loss or even moving up limits to win back losses. GL with your new BR

Thanks sida77!

It think what you´re saying is a extremly important as I´ve "been there and done that" more than once...

All it takes is a couple of minutes away from the computer and you find yourself in the right mood again, the chances of losing a lot more than you already have are much greater than the chances of you getting AA three times the next 5 minutes and getting paid without getting at least 1 nasty suckout