When to move up (or down) in limits

So in the past few weeks I have grinded the 2NL stakes and just recently after hitting $200, I've been playing the 5NL stakes. The play at 5NL is not much different, just people with slightly larger stack sizes. Oddly enough, after analyzing my stats in HEM, I've found that I'm beating 2NL a lot easier than I am at 5NL. I've found that it's easier to buy in for the full amount at 2NL and set mine or nut peddle and stack people (a lot of whom don't mind stacking with TPTK). At 5NL, they at least seem somewhat conscious that their top pair isn't the best hand. Maybe I'm just being crazy, but is it wrong for me to continue playing at 2NL with a bankroll of over $200? Or should I be concentrating on moving up limits and learning how to play better poker. Right now I just want to hit my goal of $500 and it seems 2NL is bringing me there faster.

Another question I have is this, when do you guys step down in limits if you have to? If you have less than 20 BIs? 15 BIs? Thoughts appreciated.

30 views and not one single reply? C'mon, people...

Okay, basically you should set yourself BR goals. Read up on BRM carefully , work out your style and how much of a cushion you want to have at a certain level. How much are you willing to lose when moving up? These arent question someone can just answer for you, in short.. its up to you. If your just playing 2NL becasue you can crush it, and dont want to move up in case of losing that fine, but you must realise that youll gain money at a much slower rate at 2NL, whereas if you put some time in to learning and crushing 5NL the $$$ come much quicker.

Now i was in your situation about 3 weeks ago. Mr BR was brushing $200 and i was getting tired at 2NL. However i realised that if i moved up id only have 20 full buy ins. This is plenty for some people, but im a bit of BR nit, so i decided to stay at 2NL and grind out another $50, before hitting 5NL (25 BIs). I also set myself strict rules, if i dropped under a certain amount id drop down, grind back what i lost, and move back up again. Indeed I dropped down twice before settling in for the long run. Now my BRS up to over $600 (this includes 10NL adn some tourney wins) and im having a looka at 25NL maybe in a couple of week. Seriously you have to work out your own BRM, and stick by it. Spend a day doing research, looking at your game, then write a small doc. in work setting out a plan, goal, and fall backs. It will REALLY help your game.

If you want my opinion on 2NL adn 5NL they are basically the same, just with bigger stacks. Dont be afraid to make or call bets at 5NL just because they look bigger, thats only in relation to 2NL. There's just as many (if not more) fish at 5NL as 2NL, and its really crushable as long as you dont play scared.

Not sure how much of that made sense, ive been drinking . Ill look at this tommoz and clear up what i mean.

I came up through the Stars micros, and if you can beat 2NL, you should be able to beat 5NL, and you've definitely got the BR for it.

I've found that there is a noticeable difference once you move to 10NL. It's still full of bad players, but there are a few who play a smart game, and they can be dangerous. There are also lots of nits who basically waste a seat, so it can be harder to find an action table. There's is the bonus of earning FPPs, which are few and far between at the 5NL and lower stakes.

But, there's no shame in staying at the lower stakes. I moved down a while back after SNGs had crippled my BR. As long as you're happy with your win-rate, you can play wherever you want.

20 bi or 15 bi in 2nl or 5nl doesn't matter Just play the same way you have been playing and you will catch all the fishes you can get

I never played 2 or 5nl, but the play at 10nl was non-sensical to me and wasn't worth playing. I don't think I am alone in thinking that 25nl is where some "real" poker is played, but the general guideline for moving up is having at least 20 buyins for the next level. Others suggest 25 and even some suggest 30 buyins.

If you know winrate+SD you can then calculate the exact BR with a risk of ruin. But it's not really necessary. The thing to take from it though is that the higher the winrate, the less BR you need. Most likely the higher you go the lower your winrate will be. This means that at the higher limits you'll need a bigger BR in terms of buy-ins. 20 buy-ins were fine when I was crushing 10nl, but now at 100 or 200nl I'd feel so scared with only 20 buy-ins. Letherass, a pro online player wrote something about how foolish it was that people with only a $2 million BR were playing the $200/$400 games. Note that 20 buy-ins there would be $800k.

Basically I think 20 is a bare minimum, and that you should be comfortable playing the stakes and ok (not happy, but at least wouldn't go on monkey tilt if it happened) losing a ~4-5 buy-ins. Moving up at ~25-30 and setting a ~5 buy-in stop loss could work, but it's all about how well you play and how comfortable you are losing money.