Should I move up stakes for the bonus?

I practice pretty conservative bankroll management. I got a 150% bonus when I deposited about 75 days ago. Its good for 90 days and I've only worked off $20!! I've got 36 buy-ins for 10nl and wasn't gonna move up till I had 40 or 50, should I step up to try to snag another $20 of that bonus or just stay the course and get maybe 5 or 10 more? It really saddens me to think I won't have those extra bonus moneys to add to my winnings soon. But then again, they haven't really added much to my winnings anyways. Another option is to half stack at 10nl till the bonus is over and see what happens. I haven't short-stacked in months tho so that concerns me even more.

**Just looking for opinions or whatever creative rationalizations you guys feel like offering.

I don't see any reason not to play 10nl with 36 buy ins unless you're just really bad at poker. Sure, it's not extremely comfortable, but you can always move down if you hit a bad run which would just put you back where you are now.

Chasing bonuses by playing games (or limits) outside of what you typically play is a bad idea imo & just not worth it.
Stick with what you're playing.... & just try to put in some more time on them (&/or add a table or two). I'd never move up to try to get a few bonus $'s

I would give 10nl a shot, you have 36BI after-all. If it goes horribly and you fall below $300 then you can move back down. Don't think about the bonus too much though, they really aren't worth chasing/changing your plan or game for...move up because you are rolled for it.

If you have 36 buyins, move up for a 6 buyin shot or something, no need to go crazy.

Good BRM is about more than counting how many buyins you have. One of the other important factors is having the self-discipline to move up (and down) when it's appropriate to do so.

If you thought clearing your bonus was a solid reason to move up, you wouldn't have asked. So in effect, you already knew the answer.

I have played with a lot of sites and tried to take advantage of deposit bonuses. I think the first thing you should look at is:

(points required for completion) divided by (number of days until expiration -1) to find what you need to earn in terms of points each day. Don't change the way you play or the stakes you play (unless of course your BR changes enough). What you should be looking at is playing more tables and playing more hours. If you cannot really alter these things, then maybe play different games.

If you are playing SNGs or scheduled tournaments then these aren't going to earn you enough points per hour. Cash tables, IMO, are the only way to play through deposit bonuses, unless your BR is larger than the bonus.

The best games to fulfill the bonuses, by a long shot, are heads-up cash tables. However, this conflicts with the amount of buy-ins you'd need to set aside and the variance may make it less valuable.

The best strategy in terms of deposit bonuses, is to stick to one site and build your bankroll up there, then once you have enough of a bankroll to get the biggest pending bonus on a site, e.g., 100% up to $800, where you have earned $800, then move to other sites, and so on. Don't try to get involved in more pots.

Good Luck


James
individualequal

dont change, stay on track plus why lose 20 bucks to gain 20? why not just pay and with the 20.

What's your long term goal with poker? If you want to get better and move up the stakes to become a long term winning player, then shot taking is a good idea. Like tenbob said, just give yourself a 6 BI shot or something, and move back down if it doesn't work out this time. Chasing short term bonuses might not be the best plan, although obv you don't want to completely ignore them either.

Arjonius said:

If you thought clearing your bonus was a solid reason to move up, you wouldn't have asked. So in effect, you already knew the answer.

Click to expand...

Wise ass.

But your probably right. I'm super comfortable at 4nl and have the roll to get creative, try some stupid plays, etc. Unless I see a 40%+ table with a seat I'm just gonna keep grinding up to 50 buy ins.

Keep on playing the way you are, never change stakes to chase a bonus, you will end up losing more than you gain, beleive me I have done it.