Keeping a BR

I deposit $10 a month into stars, and often get up to $50/$60max, and play a few $6.50 STT's and a few $2.20 Mtt's and below, and try my luck at 5c/10c cash games. I then drop below $30, and play $1.10 MTT's and $3.25 STT's and then 1c/2c cash games, but sure enough this eventually goes. How can I keep the money I make and then build on it to make a profit?

Thanks

Also, I tend to do much better at the $6.50 SnG's than the $3.25 ones, I lose most money on the MTT's and cash games

play tighter, play lower stakes

Deposit more, $10 is not a BR, neither is $60. Read on CC about proper BRM. Deposit at least $100, $200 would be better.

I can't or else I would.
Anyone offer any help with what to do with my $10 initially, and then the $50/$60 I can sometimes reach?

Save for 10 months. If you want to play recreationally and recognize it's okay for you to lose 10$ a month no big deal. But if you intend on being more serrious about it you need a bigger bank roll. Don't .05/.1 when you have 50$, play .01/.02 that's all you are bankrolled for

So basically, I can't build a decent roll from $10?

realistically? no..unless you make a nice cash in an MTT

Ah well.. Thanks for the replies.
I'll just hope to get lucky in the MTT's

Yes, you can. Just not overnight.

Read what Jesus Ferguson has to say on the subject. http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/pro-tip/ChrisFerguson/100

He did it with zero. Nothing. $00.00. OK, so we're mere mortals, not Jesus, but it can be done. Follow the rules that JF lays out and you will eventually make it.

Stick to one variant of the game & keep playing it until you're able to win at it. Also of course practise decenet bankroll management because even (hypothetically speaking) if you were able run with ROI +15% at $6 turbos STT for 100games, be prepared for a 10, 15, even 20 game downswing.

I wouldn't switch back & forth from MTT to SNG, to cash table. Pick one & stick with it.

^ This.




$10 isn't enough of a roll for anything, but $40+ is. That's not a bad thing, keep depositing your $10 per month, build it up a bit and if you're a winning player your expectation of losing it past $20 or so is low at 1c/2c, you just don't want to be playing with only 10 buy ins for very long (or you will lose it).

$40 is the smallest safe cash game bankroll, I really do think that if you don't want to go bust that 20 max buy ins is the minimum for a bankroll but any more than that and your risk of going bust if you're a winning player is very, very low.



Honestly if you've got a pattern of making a little bit of money then going bust, that sounds like poor bankroll management and losing long term with the $50/$60 spikes just being positive variance. If either of these things are true then holding onto a bankroll is impossible until you stick to BRM and improve your game to better than losing or break even.

Well I just typed out a long, nice message but then my laptop decided to go back and I lost my whole message. Basically, you can make a BR from $10, but its leaving it up to the poker gods for the most part for hoping that your not on a downswing. I've recently turned $30 into just over $200 in a week because of a large MTT cash, and through playing fairly tight.

If your depositing $10 then i'd be playing $1 double or nothings, $1 sngs and $1 MTT's. Thats it, I wouldn't even consider playing 0.01/0.02 with $10 as you could lose it far too quickly. I'm sure other people will disagree, but i've had quite a bit of experience having a low bankroll, and sng's are the way I play until around $100.

I started my UB roll with 10 bucks and it has taken quite a bit of time to get it up to 29 bucks. I have done that through playing a lot of 50 cent SnGs. It takes a long time but I am getting my game in order in the process.

ive had this same problem. i put $20 on got up to $96 and have been just taking incredible beats lately nd am now down to $55, never consistent

Look, Jesus Ferguson took $0.00 and turned it into $10,000, so it can be done with any amount.

The bigger question you need to ask yourself is: why am I playing this game -- Fun? Career? A little extra side money?

Answer that question and then make your decisions based on where you are headed.

If you are truly locked into a $10 max initial stake, then discussion about bigger initial stakes are irrelevant.

If it were me, and I needed to triple my $10 to $30 in the safest way possible (short of the freeroll route), then I, personally, would play .02 cash with a min. buy-in till I could expand my range.

The 45-person .25 MTT would be #2.

The $1.10 SNG #3.

Fun and to make a bit of extra cash. I'm gonna have to be more strict with my BR and hope to get a bit lucky on the way.

Thanks for the replies

It's tough to build a BR from 10 bucks, but it can be done. I am a freeroll whore, and even though I am not that good a player, I did manage to accumulate about 100 bucks on FT without depositing a dime. (About half of that came from the lucky break in 10 cents tourney, where I finished 7th out of 3600).

I think it is a lot tougher to build a bankroll from (virtually) scratch on Stars. Their micro tourneys have terrible payouts compared to Full Tilt's. Probably the best way to build up your BR is via cash tables. SNGs are way too swingy imo.

there always bankroll managment. by chris F..It's help me build my bankroll pretty good.

I agree that $ 10.00 is a rather small bankroll but it is your bankroll and it is important to you. I would recommend sticking with the lower limt poker...like .01-.02 and freerolls until you can build a bit more.

Dont play MTTs at all untill you have like 100bucks then play some $1 ones aspecially the 100 cap on stars, untill then play STTs I dont know how small they are but u need to be playing <$1 imo. That is still not enough but its ok.

If I were you I would save for 5months at least and have 50 then play STTs maybe even the smallest DoNs not sure how low the stakes go but these are excellent for building up. Get lots of experience playing low stakes STTs less than a dollar buy in. If you play well and not tilt etc before u know it u will be at a 100 then play the odd micro MTT if you wish like $2 7.5k $2 8k on pokerstars $1 2k or $1 1000 cap and see if you can get a nice score, but carry on with SNGs to maybe up to 5bucks if your playing well and playing 1 table SNGs.

At this point if you decide you like Multi table better then get to around 200 from grinding single tables and switch to 2/180s and 3/45s on pokerstars they are both very soft and can be beaten as long as you put in the volume. Once you are beating these if you prefer non turbo at like 250-300 take some shots at 4/180s, which are non turbo if you prefer that format. Once you are playing 4/180s and 2/180s regularly you should be at around $500+ and then you can basically play any MTT $10 or under on pokerstars imo AS LONG as you keep mixing in $2, $3 and $4 MTTSNGs to reduce your varience and this will keep your roll growing.

This will not be easy OP and would be much better if you could set like $200-$300 aside and start grinding 2/180s and 3/45s straight away but it can be done if you keep improving and playing within your roll. Some people may say what I have suggested is not enough BR to play certain games but I think if you are a wining player (which you can be if you play alot small stakes early and post hands here etc) these are fine.

i have went into detail about MTTSNGs and MTTs here as thats what I have experience in but you can stick with STTs or cash but I wouldnt be able to give advice. If you would like to talk about this more on AIM or Skype or w/e just shoot me a PM and I can try to help.

GL man and just remember we have all been here and worked through it and you can to if you want it enough, keep us posted

TD

Play much lower stakes at the beginning and stick to SitNGos or low cost tournaments (like 25 cents). Tighten up your play. Use the low stakes games to improve your skill. Otherwise, you are basically saying "I don;t play well enough for the games I am in and always lose" duh, try something less expensive and work on your game. Have you read a book about poker yet? If not, pick one up. Keep in mindy that the winners at your tables probably studied a book as well as played the game. You need to know what is in the book to be on an even playing field with them.

i'd recommend doyle brunsons first book

Stick with what gets you the money. If you lose the most on cash games and MTT, stay away until you've built up your bankroll for a few months at the SnG's. Heck, if you're killing the SnG's and enjoy them, why mess around? If you really must play MTT, the $.25 45-man on Stars is pretty soft and goes pretty quick. I'm working my way up at PS from 10 bucks, too, so I know how it goes. Good Luck!

Try a different site, Full Tilt for example, I started there with $0 and have built to over $300 in a year, it take time to know the right tournys and sit&gos to play, Start with the $0.30 Sat to the Daily Dollar its the easyist to cash in i think. Good Luck

This thread might inspire me to issue a $10 BR challenge -- first one to $200 wins. No re-stakes! (You bust to zero and you have to freeroll your way out!)

Or even tougher, a "Jesus Challenge" -- $0 to $200.

Any interest?

Wow I can't believe I've had so many helpful replies!
I suppose I play cash games because sometimes i go on tilt ( or used to ) and put a $5 on the 10/25c tables and made $15/$20 quickly, but then think I can play at these high limits, which i know i can't continue.
I'm going to stick to $1.10 DoN's, $1.10 MTT's and $1.10 STT's and below until I get to at least $50. The reason I want to play the MTT's is because I like how much play I can get for $1.10, even though I usually make the cash, it's often only the first few levels of cash like $1.70 return. And I can waste that in 1 hand at the cash tables unfortunately.
I am up for any bankroll challenge on a side note! Bring it on!
(I've also just ordered Harrington on hold em vol. 1 and the sklansky theory of poker book)
Thanks again for the replies

I like the MTT's also, it's fun to go deep, makes up for all the times you just win your buy-in back, but I like the cash tables for a little more consistent $$$, even if it's only on the 1c/2c tables.
I'd be up for the BR challenge, sounds like fun.

1. Jesus is a beast and his conquest took months of patience.
2. Cash games have too much variance to play with ten dollars.
3. MTTs are notoriously difficult to cash consistently in, especially with no experience.
4. Get bigger roll, set yourself up to fail a few times, learn from the experience and move on.
5. Read books/articles/forums. It can't hurt and usually helps.
6. Play freerolls (not as much for cash as for getting used to being patient and building playing stamina for long tournies.)

This sums it up well. The Chris Ferguson $1 to 10k thing was awesome and inspiring but he's Chris Ferguson who's knowledge of the game and self control are way beyond most (if not all) micro grinders.

But your 2nd point about cash games being too high variance is wrong imo. Yes, with a $10 roll even at $2nl you've got to expect to go bust but as long as that $10 can be reloaded next month treating it as a bigger effective roll is fine. Other games may be more suitable (SNGs are commonly used as BR builders), I'm not sure, but variance shouldn't be the reason not to play cash.

Eh I suppose if you're going to reload... but honestly 2nl with 10 dollars is five buyins... i can go through that in 2 hours... much less a month. in fact, i did go through 10 in two hours when I first started playing lmao.

But cash games arent my specialty and I dont bother trying to pretend i know all their idiosyncrasies

i think pokerstars is the best site for a BR of $10. they actually have buyins for tourneys for as little as 1cent. but with $10 i'd stick the the 25 cent 45man games(or 90mans) until your rolled enough for the $1.20 9man SNGs(maybe about $30). i wouldnt start playing the 1c/2c until you got atleast about $50 or so. i've been trying to build my pokerstars bankroll from a very little amount too.

With all due respect -- that's exactly the point. To be good at poker, you have to learn patience and acquire the knowledge to build your bankroll.

Not saying that you have to start with $0 or hit $10K by a certain date, but emulating what JF did is a pretty good model for getting better.

And anybody can do it on a smaller scale -- I did. I took it as personal challenge. And I failed many times when I jumped up too quickly and lost too much (usually after some nice wins that "proved" I was ready for the next level).

The bottom line is -- if you can't beat the micros, and you can't learn to be patient about doing it, then you probably aren't going to make it.

If poker were quick & easy, we'd all be rich.

do you believe chris ferguson really done this because the way they play at the lower stakes up to nl25 they give out to many bad beats and he use this own account or somebody elses?

It took him like 10 months to get anywhere past like 200 dollars, he did it himself.