How to deal with SnG losing streaks impacting my bankroll

Basically I worked my way up from $47 to $112 in a week playing $2 9handed SnG's today I switched to the $5 as I'm using the 5% of bankroll to buy in. I had some bad luck such as my pocket aces losing to like K9 off suit also got a few 4th place finishes and I went from $112 back down to like $83 what should I do carry on with $5 buy in or going back down to $2 also should I buy in for like 2% of my bankroll from now on?

I touch on this subject in the book I'm giving away. You can find it in another thread in this very forum.

The main idea is that, unless you are mentally prepared to move up and down, you shouldn't move up until you have a sufficient amount to endure a downswing and maintain your limits.

Here is a sobering statistic:

For the highest limit SNGs, a crushing ROI is in the area of 3-5%. Now, as you move down in limits your ROI will increase. I think at the lower stakes, a ROI of 10%+ is crushing for single table SNGs.

So, if at best you're looking at 10% ROI it makes sense that you're going to be missing the money quite often in single table SNGs or breaking even on large samples of games. You need much more than 5% buy-in rule to start to see long term profit in your games.

My suggestion would be to keep 50 buy-ins for each limit until you get up to $22 and above. At that point start to keep even more buy-ins because as you move up, your ROI will drop.

So for $5 SNGs, I would want to have $250 plus an amount I could be comfortable with if I had to move back down to $2 (like $50 to $75). Meaning, I wouldn't move up to $5 games until I had around $300.

This may take a while to achieve, but what it will do is ensure that, if you are a winning player, you will only have to move up one time instead of having to bounce back and forth (which can actually take much longer than what I am suggesting).

While not all bankroll strategies are set in stone, this should provide some direction for you. If you are able to easily replenish your bankroll, you can take more risks as well.

Anyway, hope that helped. Here is the link to the other thread:
Online Poker Tournament Strategies for Low-Limit Players

Better BRM. /thread

(http://www.thepokerbank.com/strategy...ll-management/)

thanks dude!

How many did you play to go from 47-$112?

I don't think personally there is much difference between a $2 and a $5 SnG, however don't continue playing $5 with $83.00, you need to drop again. Are these turbos or non turbos?

Rake also plays a factor because you get stung quite a bit at the lowest levels.

I'm playing non turbos. Also around $10 from that $120 is from bonuses. I've played about 80 of the $2 games although some where 6handed. I kind of do see a slight difference in the skill level the $5 players seems to play a lot tighter like myself where as in the $2 people do stuff like go all in with pocket 5's pre flop. I still cashed a couple times today but I also had some bad luck and then tilted a bit and donked off in a few games.

I like to set my limits for the month, and try not to look at my bankroll until it's time to re-evaluate. By this logic, if I were you I'd keep at the $2s until a month has passed, then see where you are.

I also like to withdraw 1/2 my profit for the month -- this keeps you from moving up too fast. And it's fun getting a cheque in the mail!

hmm yea that's a nice idea I might try that.

The 5% rule isn't a good one for SnG players because of the swings you'll encounter - streaks where you don't cash for 10 or more games are standard and if you go on one of those using the 5% rule you'll have wiped out half your bankroll.

5% means you're only playing with 20 buyins. Most SnG players will tell you 50 is the minimum to consider yourself rolled for a level. Personally I prefer to have at least 100.

With your bankroll just stick with the $2 games.

yea I will just stick to grinding the $2 one until i can afford at least 40 buy ins for the $5

I personally think 40 ain't enough. Unless its just me and me being prone to tilting.. in the last week I've stayed true to the downswing I've had .. out of 40 games I've probably lost 25 situations where I'm 4-1 favourite or even better(either pre or from the flop onwards also in which all these situations have been the key part of getting into the money or pushing on) and ok maybe 5 of those its been 70-30 (which is normal) but still

But yeah I don't think I've tilted at all if I have I've thrown away very little and my BR has been slowly decreasing.. partly because I havn't had a first win in ages everytime I've been heads up my stack is like 1/5 of the bs and blinds are too high I'm always forced to shove wide and hope in pray.

I dunno but losing 1/4 of 40 buyins especially when you move up limits affects you more. cause it mentally appears to be a bigger chunk out of your BR

I've now moved back down to 3 dollar games and won't be touching the 5 dollar games till I have 300 in the account. at least that way even if a downswing doesn't happen I don't play scared money.. if ya know what I mean,

Like others have said I'd say the minimum you need is 50 buy in's. Personally I stayed at the $2 games until I had 70 buy in's and only then moved up to the $5. Even then I'd have a mix of $2 and $5 games at first as you adjust to the higher levels - I do agree with you that the play at the $5 games is generally tighter and tougher.

I guess I will try get 50 buy ins minimum then as I really don't want to go bust

I played sit n go's almost exclusively for a couple of years and the swings you will experience in them are horrendous, at the levels I was playing I was a good player but I often went on losing runs of 10-12 and up to 15 was that unusual.
I would highly recommend that you really do need 100 buy ins to deal with the swings, it might seem over cautious but beleive me it isnt.
I used to play with only 20 buy ins but as someone said go on a 10 losing run and that is half your bankroll gone which is a serious blow to both your finances and also your confidence.
Whatever you decide on good luck in your poker

Hey guys, I figured this may be helpful to post in here. If anyone is interested, I have a weekly group study session and this week's topic is specifically dealing with the ups and downs of SNGs, bankroll management, and the mental game of poker. You can check it out here: SnG Group Study Session: Every Wednesday

I would say go down a level back to $2 and grind it out. If you feel it is just a streak and you can beat the play, stay at the level and maybe take a break for a couple of days.

U need to stay 2's , u arent rolled for the fives, a bad downswing and ur busto and ull have to start from scratch

Should you still stick to a 50 BI strategy for DON sng. It seems from my short experience with both types that you cash far more regularly and so the downswings should be less frequent and smaller in size. The fact that half the players cash also seems to back that up. So is there a recommended number of buy-ins for DON?

usually move down a level or 2 is the best but i dont play sngs much anymore

I think u should move down a level, and get comfortable enough to go up again.

You seem to have a solid reasoning for doing what you're doing. 5% isn't horrible when you're willing to move down... but you have to have a solid read on how you're doing at your current level and be thinking of how you'll do at the higher level. It's best to work in a few $5 games while you're still playing at the $2 level, to get a good feeling for how you'll do when you move.

The reasons to move up a level are to challenge yourself and maximize your win rate. If you move up to $5 SNGS, but have a significant drop in your win rate, or have to cut back on the number of tables you play at once, then it probably isn't worth it. You also didn't list whether you were playing $2+.20 SNGs or $2+.25 SNGs. It's only a nickel, but it adds up... and that's a huge reason to move up to $5+.50. Some sites even give you a bigger break on rake if you're playing turbos. If it were just breakeven, you'd need a good rakeback or rewards incentive to make the move. But, you could still mix in a few from the profit you make at the $2 level just to test where you're at.

40 BIs really looks like a reasonable amount for the $5 level, but remember that's not $200... it's $220 because you have to factor in rake. You'd need $260, if your site is offering $6+.50. You can get away with less than 40 BIs, if you have to move back down to the $2 level, but you'd be under that threshold currently. I wouldn't let that dissuade you from playing $2 SNGs, but it's your choice how strict you adhere to that amount of BIs.

Also... someone mentioned cashing out above, and that's great advice for a player looking to move up, whether you play ring games, SNGS or MTTs.

In your case, I'd consider taking a shot with a portion of your profit instead of cashing it out. If you move down to $2s and find yourself succeeding again, stay at that level for a while, but take $27.50 out of that to play a session of 5 $5 SNGs, and keep track of how you do at that level. (You can take that $27.50 and play whatever you want, really. I just suggested $5 SNGs because you're interested in moving up.)

It's a fun way to reward yourself, just don't get too excited if you make a good hit off that "shot".

Hey man just take a deep breath! Keep playing good poker and adjusting to others. Your awesome hands will lose but you must keep playing through the downswings! If you keep an eye on your bankroll even if its going down for a bit it will go back up! Just keep playing! DO NOT TILT!!! My friends tilt so bad and I never tilt at all anymore! So good luck player!