What is the least comfortable amount of chips in entering a

What is the least comfortable amount of chips in entering a...

$1/$2 NL

$2/$4 NL

I usually just sit at the 1/2 tables and buying in for 200/250 bucks.

I prefer to have at least 100 BB, but usually closer to 200.
So for $2/$4, I would prefer to buy-in for $400, but at the game I usually play in, the max is only $200, so I buy-in for that. If I could, though, I would probably buy-in for $500 - $800, assuming other players had relatively deep stacks and I believed I was the best player.

I am like Diamond. I always buy for the max on the 2/4 or 5/10 tables I frequent ($400 or $1000). I don't want to miss an opportunity to maximize my earnings on a big hand.

That being said, it depends what you are really comfortable with. To avoid playing "all-in pre-flop poker" on any hand you choose to play, you should at least have 20 BB's on the table at the very minimum.

I think the most awkward buy-ins is about 30-50BBs. If you play short stacked well, having 20 or less BBs isn't very entertaining, but it's not too hard to make it quite profitable. Deep stacks can complicate life, but assuming you're good it maximizes your edge, and gives you a lot of leeway in your options.

Around 30-40 BBs has all the fun of short-stacked poker, with extra variance, and no options, ever.

Coincidently, I just wrote an article about this very topic of comfortable stack size.

The best bet is to check all the stacks and then go in with the most chips, this way nobody can bust you out, you always want the MOST chips when going into a game>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> buck

I'm no expert, but I like to start small, maybe 30-50xBB, kind of like a warmup, to see what kind of frame of mind I'm in. If after 20 mins I bust out, I decide whether I'm gonna smarten up and rebuy, or smarten up and try another table, or just give it a rest for a while and come back later on.

If I'm playing decently, by that time my stack should be up near the table maximum anyways.

I prefer to start with 3/4 the max, or about 75 dollars at a 100 max table. This forces me to play tighter. I tend to call raises with hands that I shouldn't if I have a bigger stack. I won't try too many positional raises (which rarely seem to work for me), and it also helps me keep from chasing without the correct odds. Also alot of the bigger stack will call allin with only top pair, thinking you are bluffing. I try to keep my risks low and my wins high. Over I seem to do well.

I agree that going in with a shorter-than-maximum stack, sometimes a big stack will try to bully you around assuming you're playing above your head...