Getting back into the game

So, it's been a while since i have been here, years. I had a medical emergency that drained my bankroll of nearly 5k, and i'm about to start over. I'm working on getting my bankroll back up to 4k, so that I can sit down at the 200NLHE live games at my local casino.

I can aggressively start putting money back to start playing again and have the 4k by July, or i can be a bit more conservative and have the full 4k by December.


I suppose the question i have is, should I wait until the last penny is deposited into the bankroll account before I start playing, or, would it be safe to play a bit earlier than that? It's been nearly 3 years since i've played.

Follow your gut instinct. I personally would wait. Why risk it ? You already have a set plan I'd stick to it. Save yourself the stress. Good luck bud hope you win huge 💰💰💰

This depends a lot on your goals and your personal financial situation. The issue at play should primarily be: how difficult is it for you to replenish the 4k out of pocket, and would it put any financial strain on you.

I don't expect you to post details about that here. But basically if the 4k itself is of no consequence monetarily, there's nothing wrong with subsidizing it immediately so that you can start playing earlier. Also, even if you're out of practice, starting with a little less money for 1/2 NL live is reasonable. Even with 2k you can get started.

However if subsidizing your bankroll out of disposable income proves to be more difficult, then waiting longer makes more sense because you want to have a time/money buffer in case things don't start out well, which is always possible.

I would say that you can start earlier if you have a plan for subsidizing your bankroll. I'm in kind of a similar situation. I'm stacking 6k to play 1/3. I'm at 3k right now, I'll only play live once a week at most and I bring 2 buy in with me. Other than that, I play 10nl or 20nl online to sharpen my game.

One way to figure out how soon to start before you have 4k could look something like this:


You need to calculate your risk of ruin for a 2k bankroll which at 10bb/100 (if you're playing 200nl live that's realistic in fact, it should be higher) and the same terms for a standard deviation and your Risk of Ruin (5% RoR) you need 14.96 buy ins.


So for a static 2k br your RoR would be a little bit over 13% with the same 10bb/100 and standard deviation.


However since you are not on a static 2k br, you could basically calculate if you should play or not by setting your own parameters for RoR and bb/100 dependent on the size of your br that day.


Pick a reasonable RoR. I would go with 5%.
Determine what your win rate goal is (bb/100 or $/hr)
Use the same terms for your standard deviation.


So let's say you have 2.4k today.


10bb/100 win rate
Standard deviation in the same terms
5% RoR


You need 14.96 bi to play today. You only have 12 bi so you stay home.


If you are comfortable with a higher RoR then best of luck to you.


So from what I've researched, you need 3k before you start to have a 10bb/100 win rate at the same SD to have a 5% RoR. I wouldn't recommend playing above a 5% RoR.

Go with your heart. I wouldn’t think that starting a little early would hurt you, but it’s based on how you feel and what you think.