Best strategy for small bankroll at 1/2?

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wsvickery

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I have been playing live 1/2 and 1/3 for a year or so now, with about 250 hours total since March 2015. After a big upswing at the start I naively decided to take a shot at 2/5 and promptly lost two buy-ins, or $1,000. I currently have about $800 set aside for poker, but could get a bit more if I absolutely have to. I've been very up and down lately; this number has recently (last two months) been as high as $1,500 and as low as $300. I've been getting brutally sucked out on lately (stuff like getting top set cracked by a runner runner flush and straight for pots of $450 and $300 respectively) and these beats mean so much more to me now that I'm running a bit low on money dedicated to play with.

I've been trying to mitigate the danger these beats pose to my total BR by buying in short for $100-$150 in 1/2 games, but I don't think I play as well with 50-60 BB's as I do with 100-150.

So, what do you guys suggest? I can get more money for my bankroll but would like to avoid doing that if I can. Should I keep buying in short and playing tight, ABC poker so I can just take good top pairs to the river in low SPR pots? Or should I put 25% of my bankroll on the table and risk playing scared money? I know ideally you would just have a larger bankroll, but I'm trying to be more realistic.

Any and all advice/stories on what you guys have done in my situation is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
Mr Sandbag

Mr Sandbag

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Your highest win rate can only be achieved when you can always top up to the max stack size and focus solely on making profitable decisions rather than the size of your bankroll.

It's up to you whether you want to risk what you have left in poker or use it for other life purposes. Just keep in mind, variance is relentless and real and your chances of going completely bust are high, even if you choose to short stack it.
 
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wsvickery

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Thanks Mr. Sandbag, that helps a lot. Have you/anyone else ever been in the position I'm in now? If so how did you handle it? I'm only 19 and have been playing for fun for years now, but have only studied the game deeply for maybe 6 months. I understand that optimal play is achieved by not allowing bankroll considerations to enter into your on-table decisions but that's just not realistic for me right now. Every time I play, I find myself playing scared money to avoid the occasional 80% < 20% suckout that could take a huge chunk of my roll. Anyways, any practical advice you might have for me assuming that $800 is my max available current commitment to the game would be hugely appreciated. Thanks.
 
Mr Sandbag

Mr Sandbag

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My roll was down to about that much at one point. I just decided that I'm going to keep playing and if I lose it then oh well. But honestly if you're so scared that you are avoiding 80/20 spots then you should consider quitting. Win rates are built off much less favorable spots so you'll have no chance of profiting. I can understand playing a tad bit tighter than usual, but you need to reach a place mentally where putting in your money in favorable spots becomes habit.
 
JustBeatIt

JustBeatIt

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I think you took your shot at 2/5 and need to get back into the groove at 1/2 for a bit and get yourself to the point where you can take a shot again. That is the best plan to ensure that you will get to continue having a shot to get up there again. The other route is to push it to the higher level and still buy in deep where you are comfortable, but just dont stack your chips off unless its a good favorable position.
I also agree that putting it in on 80/20's should be snap no thought calls/pushes. :)
 
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MinhANguyen

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I mean, you could always try to build a bankroll online. But online is hard work; the competition is pretty tough. I think with a limited bankroll you are going to go broke at a high %. Variance is really tough. A lot of people don't realize that, especially players that do not play online and don't play a ton of hands. Just last night I literally lost 6 all-ins in a row when I was a 65-80% favorite at 100NL. I counted. I lost every single all-in that night over 6 hours for full or almost full stacks. Pretty tilting and annoying, but was only down 2BI for the day. And when you're playing scared money, getting sucked out on is going to be super tilting and is going to hurt your bankroll pretty badly.
 
newbie in training

newbie in training

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grind 1/2 w 100 big blinds play tight abc poker obv and dont be afraid to shove the chips in also note that top pair top kicker will increase the variance so two pair or higher on a dry board with an ace or king with no ace might get paid off with 4 or 5 bis Id take the least variance route possible limping and hoping to flop a monster if not fold....Ive noticed while playing a home game limping is the norm
 
Aaron Soto

Aaron Soto

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One common kind of rule that I like to follow on a 1-2 table.

1: tight poker is good poker
2. All-In before the flop is strictly with Aces or Kings. Queens will do against a short stack too.
3. All-In on the flop is strictly for Set, Flush-Draw with Open Ended Straight Draw, Top Two-Pair on a non risky board.
4. Play wise solid Poker, Only call when you have pot odds.
5. If you do have implied odds to win a lot, I say you go for it.
6. Stay focused and stick to your game plan do not play weak hands from Early or Middle Positions.
7. Don't call huge bets before the flop with a hand you know is behind. Pocket Pairs I will say are an exception if it is multi-way.

These are just some game types of kind of poker rules that i follow for myself. Maybe they can help you also. Good luck.
 
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