How did you start your bankroll?

[LgBassMan]

Started playing online back in 2005, have deposited somewhere in the range of $18 - $20,000 over the last 5 years. Always played outside of my bankroll, always in large field MTTs, never bothered to work on my game because it was all just for fun depositing large amounts to play the big Sunday tournaments and such.

Joined this forum in February of this year, started taking my improvement of plays more seriously and better BRM and am proud to say I have not deposited anything since February. So here's to continuing to go up and up LOL

 

[Staneff]

Best starting of bankroll is winning freeroll tournaments and making alot of money only from that as a beginning and then just keep playing in higher level tournaments.

 

[torosanti012]

deposited $100 on full tilt at the start of last month, played about 350mtts and got to around $1200 and just lately i've been playing HU Sng's currently on $1500, hoping to play the miniFTOPS

 

[Ubercroz]

I deposited $300 on pokerstars and began to work to clear my bonus. I finally cleared my full bonus and had about $270 in my account - meaning that I was almost a breakeven player if you counted my bonus. I withdrew that money and moved it to full tilt. I deposited $270 and then cleared that bonus and had about $200 in my account.

So over my first 6 months or so of online poker I lost around $600. But I was only "down" $100. I moved the money back to pokerstars because I liked the site better and continued to lose money there for about another 3-4 months. I was too aggressive and really had no idea what I was doing.

After a year I had lost around $1,000. Though, it only cost me about $500 to do it. After that I started to get better. I was actually starting to break even and then beat 2nl. I continued and struggled at 5nl for a long time, had about a $120 bankroll and finally managed to beat that level and moved up to 10nl when I had about $250 in my roll. I was still bad at poker.

I went on to break even at 10nl for a long time, I was learning and really trying to improve my game but just was applying all these new thoughts I had in ways that didn't work, but I didn't know that then.

Black Friday hit and I lost my bank roll on stars, I think I am still down on that site (overall) like $350 or so.

I started playing live more, and I started to understand how to actually play. I was able to understand why I was doing things and played a little at Bet Online and a few other sites.

I beat 10nl regularly and then figured out the game in a pretty solid way. I continued and beat 25nl and on up to around 200nl - which I never really play online anymore.

I enjoy playing live 200nl and the games are soft and easy. I play on Bovada and have been playing 10nl there recently because microstakes players complain how hard the games are, and I wanted to get a good sample to decide for myself. I'm about 15k hands in and am winning about 12bb/100.

Poker was much harder in 2008 than it is now. Or I am much better. Maybe both.

All told, it took me about 18 months to become a breakeven player and then another year before I was "winning" and I think it was probably about 2012 (4-5 years of really playing) before I considered myself pretty good.

My wins are now ahead of my losses

 

[PsychoVas]

FREE_ROLLING!!!
What a trip that was! I wish I could keep it up for more than a year, though.
Check all about it in my Free Roller's Diaries.
Good Luck at the tables!

 

[CrockPot]

Freerolling for a long time...I do not recommend unless you can't deposit.

 

[Ubercroz]

Congrats man, hopefully I overcome my losses as well, and become a winning player.

I wanted to let people know that you can get better, and not be discouraged if you are losing now. Don't be ashamed most people are not phenoms.

In the last about 6 months I average about $1,200/month in live poker winnings. Which works out to be $18/hour. I was down for about 3 months before I got the live game too. Then it was like something clicked and everything started making sense.

EDIT- down for three months after I had been beating online poker finally and shifted more to live.

 

[BigJamo]

Went broke to start with. I was terrible.

Did some studying, watched a lot of Vid, read the forums (mostly here, Thanks Guys). And went back to it.

Got it back to over $180, through shear persistance from what I had learnt & lots of poker to get it right.

 

[LgBassMan]

I wanted to let people know that you can get better, and not be discouraged if you are losing now. Don't be ashamed most people are not phenoms.

In the last about 6 months I average about $1,200/month in live poker winnings. Which works out to be $18/hour. I was down for about 3 months before I got the live game too. Then it was like something clicked and everything started making sense.

EDIT- down for three months after I had been beating online poker finally and shifted more to live.

How did you come up with the figure of $18/hour?

Is that based upon your time playing or based upon the 2200 hours in a work year (canada)?

($1200/month*12 months)/2200 hours = $6.55/hour

 

[magicius]

He played 67 hours per month

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[Ubercroz]

How did you come up with the figure of $18/hour?

Is that based upon your time playing or based upon the 2200 hours in a work year (Canada)?

($1200/month*12 months)/2200 hours = $6.55/hour

I play may 15-17 hours a week at the casino.

I am there on tuesdays and thursdays for about 5 hours a week (10 total a week, normal month is 40 hours of the month). I also go up on some saturdays and will play for around 5-6 hours or so (2 times a month is 10-12 hours a month, puts the total at about 50-52 hours) and I occasionally play on a sunday or another week night, not that often though (I figure that is the other hours I am playing).

So, I might be undervaluing my time at the casino. I don't play full time, I don't make a living doing poker.

I am guessing at the hours, but I track on a spreadsheet what I make and lose and the date of the visit. But I think at 17 hours a week for four normal weeks in a month and the avg is ~$1,200, seems pretty close to $18/hour.

 

[locha2013]

I also try to make some money out of freerolls, especially cardschat freerolls. Than I often try to win some satellites. One week ago I was the third at the cardschat freeroll at full tilt poker and than I have won a satellite for about 11$. Now I maybe will try a big tournement and hope I have a chance to win more.

 

[WinglessSoldier]

Each poker site is different!

Before I had good bankroll management, I deposited 100 into my 888 poker, played with 5 buy-ins per level and build it up to thousands of dollars.
Now with almost a year with real money experience, I signed up with pkr through bankmob, and got a 10 dollar bonus for free. From there, I built it up to 100 dollars playing 1/2 and 2/4 cents tables as well as playing blackjack- it took about a day to build it up too.

 

[ravpl]

I started by freerolls on Fulltilt and PS because i try to learn how to play and i won some $ so i play 10c 360 turbo for while. Now i have deposit some cash and good bm for low stakes

 

[waterboy73]

Well, when it comes to online, every single one of my bankrolls aside from once, was gathered from grinding freerolls. And this goes back to the FTP and PS days for U.S. players. My live bankroll is now supplemented from online cashouts, as I have been fortunate to grind out, small, but decent profits from the various sites I have and had played at over the years. I would consider myself a casual player (with aspirations of more) but just don;'t have the bankroll. Hopefully in the future that will change. As I vow the next time I grow a substantial online roll, to not cash it out right away, and actually take a shot at really jumping stakes. BTW, good topic, as I have enjoyed reading the various responses.

 

[zarzar78]

It was by finishing 3rd on a 20k freeroll on pokerstars 8 years ago and won 1600$, i widhdraw all of it and play just small stakes on other sites like pokerstars just by depositing 10 to 20$ no more and by playing premier league on pokerstars where i have make some money 250$; 150$ and sometimes just 20$ every month.

 

[n3rv]

I initially made a $20 deposit from casino winnings but lost it instantly. Ever since then I realised I'd only be profitable if I started from freerolls. I grinded them for a month and made $250, then raised the stakes and tilted it down to $100 with poor bankroll management... now I am more profitable and less tilty at micro-stakes I am on $400 - most of that is still from winning freerolls and ticket tourneys though.

 

[AtiFCOD]

From freerolls. 5 years ago when I started playing poker, there were lot more freerolls than nowadays...
I remember there was a first depositor freeroll at Ipoker where the first got a Peugeot CC. There was also a Lamborghini freeroll at Pokerstars...
Those good days...
But I think it's still possible to build bankroll from frees.

 

[pokertrack]

I got $20 from freerolls and played micro cash-tables in NLHoldem to increase my bankroll, in private freerrolls is easy to arrive "in money", current time Im playing sit n go tournaments.

 

[rzepa1881]

I did 5$ bankroll@ freeolls . Then went to play some 0,11$ and 0,27$mtt and built it up to 100$ now im playing 1$ Mtts and s&g maybe in near future ill mobe to 2$ : D

 

[annvr71]

The best way is with freerolls
and small buy-ins if you have won something
You can also win tickets often in freerolls
increase for larger tournaments and if your bankroll
but be sure to play small in the first year
because the greater the buy-in
how different is it to play them
annvr71

 

[magicius]

The best way is with freerolls
and small buy-ins if you have won something
You can also win tickets often in freerolls
increase for larger tournaments and if your bankroll
but be sure to play small in the first year
because the greater the buy-in
how different is it to play them
annvr71

Best way is to deposit money... If you are serious about it... You will save yourself a lot of nerves rather than grinding donkfests...

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[magicius]

I did 5$ bankroll@ freeolls . Then went to play some 0,11$ and 0,27$mtt and built it up to 100$ now im playing 1$ Mtts and s&g maybe in near future ill mobe to 2$ : D

Whoa from 5 to 100 playing those limits... I sugest you deposit 200-300$ and start making milions...

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[horizon12]

Best start this first micro limit, enough 10$ bankroll on pokerstars, this 100 BI for MTTSNG 0.10 360p , enough for climb limits and study game...

 

[magicius]

Best start this first micro limit, enough 10$ bankroll on pokerstars, this 100 BI for MTTSNG 0.10 360p , enough for climb limits and study game...

Pretty much this,but i would deposit 20$ and play 2nl zoom nit style

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