Buying into a NL Holdem game

I have always wondering what is a good amount of money to buy into a NL Holdem game. I usually buy in the middle of the min. and max buyins but was not sure what other people do or if there is a reason on what a player should buy in for.

Thanks Bulldog2782

Buy in for the minimum or the maximum (or 100BB if the max is higher than that). If you are the minimum, you can take advantage of having everyone's effective stack be the same amount, therefore not having to adjust your play, and you can also push relatively often without suffering big losses. When you buy in for the maximum, you obviously can survive many rounds of blinds if you are dealt poor cards, making TAG play more useful, since one big hand can pay you off for much more than if you were short stacked. Buying in for the middle amount doesn't really provide much of an edge and is usually a bad idea.

I keep it somewhere about halfway between min/max. Unless we are talking live play, then it is usually the max.


~H

half way btwn min and max is just terrible. You don't have enough implied odds to play many hands/situations correctly but you are deep enough that you can't play short stacked and stack of much lighter. Either max or min (or close to min) and either play shortstacked or "normal".

Why? If you can play better than your opponents at 50 BBs, then buying in for that amount would be optimal, because there are a lot of marginal commitment problems that people playing 100 BBs deep will have trouble with. The thing is most people suck at deeper-stacked play, so usually your edge is at the max, but just because you aren't able to employ the main strategies of 20 or 100 BBs doesn't mean buying in for 50 BBs is terrible. It just requires a different strategy.

But to the OP, unless you're in an extremely tough game, you'll usually have the biggest edge playing deep, because it allows you the max amount of room to exploit your opponents. If you're playing in an extremely tough game where the players are better than you, buying in for the min is probably optimal because you have an inherent edge and less tough decisions.

I like being deep.

Maybe it sounds simplistic but I think it is good to play with the stacksize you feel good with. I like buying in big. And I know a guy that is just a freaking shortstack ninja. Give him too many chips and he will lose them... give him a little stack and he'll quadruple up before you can say "implied odds".

I personally think it is MOST important to understand the implications of playing with a big stack vs small vs medium.

Also, if you are used to being a tourney player... I think it's important to make sure you don't play like you would in a tourney in regards to your stack (and also understand why).

Smarter guys than me can help with the details I imagine.

cAPS

Buyin for the min and enough for 5 blinds to see how everyone plays. If you bust you can always rebuy. The advantage of cash games. Rebuying will tell you this is above you and move to a softer table. Rebuying 3 times min will give you more allin opportunities than one big allin bet.

I like to buy in for the minimum and see how it goes unless I have been watching the table for a while and have found a target with a big stack, then I might go more towards the max buyin

Max, if you get the nuts and someone pays you off, do you want to double the min or double the max buyin?

Totally agree here, totally.

How much would you rather get into the pot with the nuts $500 or $1000?

I usually buy-in a little above what the min may be.

I'll get 300$ in the pot and get called instead of getting 500 or 1000$ in and folded around.

ya myself depends on my bank roll if i have really large roll i buyin max everytime if its kind of weak ill buying between min and max depending on how i feel also sometime min with carzy table and try too get reads on players depends though, but you want too make maxprofit so ive had many many time ive at into table with min and got AA and not got my big payout yet with midlow stack you get challenged by more player that think your just weak player trying too get lucky pushing in low stack

You have to build the pot to get it all in, its not shove pre or flop. Part of the strategy pre is figuring out how to get their stack in if you do nail it.

THIS.