Cash Game Advice

Hi,
I started playing cash games at the .02/.04 and .05/.1 micro levels. I've been at it for a few weeks and I seem to be doing ok. This is really the point of my post. I have no way of evaluating how well or how badly I am doing. In general terms, I have had one marginal losing day out of 16 and I generally more than double my money in 100 to 150 hands. In the last few days, I focused on the .05/.1 tables and had similar results- as in, I bought in for 10 and left with 20+ in 100 to 130 hands.

My questions are: while I am glad to be ahead, what would the standard sustainable win rate (as in BB/100 hands) be at these low levels? Bankroll considerations aside, how long should one be winning at one level before considering moving up one level?

Is this DM gimmy acount?

I would stay at a level for atleast 10K hands before moving up,10K is a small sample but u should be able to see if your a winner at that level given your not running hot/bad.

Try downloading PT3 or Hem if u whant to analyse your winrate further.

well if you are winning at 50BB/100 then that is probably not sustainable, and while I never played the micros, from what I have heard is 5-10BB/100 is sustainable.

While I agree that it may take 10k hands to get a better grasp if you are a winning player, I honestly dont think you need to wait that long at these levels. If you are rolled and feel you are crushing the game then I would just move up, chances are you are a winning player if you are beating it at levels you speak of. Just move back down if you are over matched as you move up.

Agree that you should get Hem of PT3, they both have free trials so you might as well.

At least 30k hands at a level minimum IMO, 10NL + below should be beatable at 4/5BB/100.

You definately need a piece of tracking software if you are going to consider moving up and taking this game seriously. HEM > PT3 IMO but download both and take advantage of the free trial periods.

Also hop into the micro stakes thread in the learning poker section

Thank you for all the advice. As tempting as it is to let a few good days convince me that I am ready to move up, I will take your advice on board and will stay where I am until I have played many thousands of hands at the .05/.1 level. Also, thank you for the advice on the software.
Might I also say that this forum seems to be much more friendly and decidedly less elitist than others.
Thanks again.

donkus i am at the same point in my cash game play though i play limit,i play 4FL and have loads of questions ,only when i post a thread it is hit and miss on if i get answered ,and even when i am answered and i try to elaborate on the point ,it is ignored . i even pmed memebers to thank them for the advice and recieved no reply !or acknowledgment in any way ,good luck in your game pal pm me if you want to bounce ideas around . as for cardschat being"the most friendly poker forum on the web" well ive been nothing but polite and friendly on here and thats got me nowhere , good luck

At the uNL tables, pretty sick winrates are sustainable. I played way too many hands of .02/.05 on stars, and my winrate is 12.2BB/100

You can definitely sustain in that 10-15BB/100 area

Lol jack,

I think it's because almost everyone here plays NL. I left a pretty solid post on your ROI thread a couple minutes ago. Just for you, I'm going to find your other posts and see if I can help you out on those too.

I don't see any problem with taking some shots a level or two higher provided you're prepared for the possibility you'll lose. After all, it's generally not meaningful money to move from $10NL to $20 and to lose a buyin or two. If that amount of money really does mean a lot to anyone, then maybe playing poker with it isn't the greatest choice in the first place.

Fellow Gamblers,
Thank you for your replies.
Since my opening post, I have put in another 1200 hands approx, split almost 50/50 over 4NL and 10NL. This puts me at over 5000 hands since i started a few weeks back. I am still doing well- even with a string of bad beats. Happy enough with that for the time being. If I keep this up, I'll be rolled for 20NL soon, so I'll make my move then.

To respons to some specific replies:
JJFlash- happy to bounce ideas around anytime.
Arjonius- I take your point and I could easily roll myslef for 20NL if I made a small deposit. However, while I have already played a few thoudand hands, I'd like to reach 10k hands before going anywhere. Honestly, I feel like I couldd beat 20NL now, but I want to exclude the possibility that I have just been getting lucky. I also need a bit of time to close a few leaks in my game and I would prefer to have them punished (which is how I learn) at 4NL/10NL than at 20 NL.

All the advocates of tracking software- I have been looking into this area, also at HUD because I may wish to multitable. I have been playing 2 tables at a time in the last few days, and it is not that bad.

have u tested the PT3(60day) and HM(15day) free trials?
Also if u dont whant to pay for a hud google realtime hud, its a free hud that works just fine.

Hi Sindri,
I'll have a look at that. I am slowly developing the ability to work out different styles by observation, but it would be certainly cool if I was to find that my various "reads"/guesses were reflected statistically. I play on Betfair. Do you know which HUD works for that site?

im doing the same as you at the min mate 4FL and im running at 8BB/100 ive only played 3000 hands but i,ll need to play another 5-10 k more before i move up a limit ,its been fairly straightforward so far ,just got pt3 and already im liking it ,im looking at where i need to plug leaks and have identified key areas ,so ill see if it works for me
good luck

I have never really played FL but 8BB/100 sounds good given the restricted nature of the betting.

Where can I get more info on the PT3 software? I've been using it for about a month now (mainly tourneys) but I'm still not sure I understand all the info it gives me. I see you talking about how your BB/100 should be at a certain level before moving up. I want to play cash games as I'm building a bankroll in the tournaments. How do I learn all this?