More Bankroll Managment

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zzzaacckk

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So I have been playing on pokerstars for about 3 months now. I put in $10 to start with to play with friends and through 1c/2c nl hold'em as well as a few sngs and a few HU sngs I have built it up to $50. I can beat 1/2 pretty much all the time (disregarding the variance that is inevitable as well as the donky calls). For the sngs I haven't really been keeping track but i think in generally I am a bit above even (taking into account the high percentage of tourney fees that are played at the micro limit sngs).

My questions is what is the next step? When can I move up? The money in my account is not an issue at all, its a few bucks just to have fun with, but I would like to see how high I can get it and maybe if I hit a few hundred bucks I will cash some out. Should I think about taking a stab at 2c/5c? Should I try to specialize in sngs instead of playing 90% ring games? In my HU matches I am definitely up cash wise and I find that most of the times I lose, I hold KJ, call my small stack opponent who has J5 and just get outdrawn. I tend to get my money in on top over 60% of the time.

Thanks for the help.
 
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GoodWoodRR

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I hve had trouble with Broll management but Im taking a different approach. I m going to take my shots and if I have to reload until i hit the big score so be it.
 
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zzzaacckk

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I hve had trouble with Broll management but Im taking a different approach. I m going to take my shots and if I have to reload until i hit the big score so be it.

I am trying to play with as little reloading as possible. I would rather not because a) I dont wanna get addicted, and b) That doesnt sound like good BRM to me.
 
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danman7373

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I would say you are in a good position to try and move up to the next level of buy-in for a ring game or SNG. If you buy into a game for $2.50, that's 100 BBs of 2/5 - a comfortable buy in, while only risking 5% of your total bankroll. See how well you play for a few sessions, and if it doesn't go well, go back down to 1/2 and rebuild. Hope this helps, and keep up the good bankroll building/management.
 
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Inscore77

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Wait until you are at least up to $100, so you are rolled for 20 $5 buy-ins
 
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zzzaacckk

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Thanks for the advice. Hopefully I will take a shot at 2/5 sometime this month. Should I focus more of my time on improving my sng game? or should I stick to ring games?
 
infinate8

infinate8

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Might aswell try 10 sessions of .2 to .5 and try double up to $100 or there abouts then maybe try some sngs.

If bored of ring $50 plenty for a run of $1.75 18 mans.
 
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danman7373

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I like to play a good mixture of both cash games and SNGs. If you want to work on your SNG game, play for a small buy-in, and keep track of how many times you finish in the money over a given period of time, say a week, to see if playing SNGs is a profitable strategy for you. If not, I'd continue to build your roll at the cash games, while playing a SNG or two here and there for small buy-ins to continue working on that facet of your game.
 
SavagePenguin

SavagePenguin

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For the sngs I haven't really been keeping track but i think in generally I am a bit above even ...

My questions is what is the next step? When can I move up?

For the S&G's, look yourself up on sharkscope. While it misses the occasional S&G, it's a good estimate.

I looked you up. Your low-point was mid-way through your S&G career, and you are a little up from that, but overall you have a -12% ROI.

I had a similar slide at first, but worked on my game and managed a positive ROI.

As for the next step...

I think increasing the buy-ins for your S&G's is a mistake. Don't move up until you have a profit (IE, SharkScope gives you a positive ROI).

I don't think moving up to $.02/$.05 games is a bad idea as long as you're prepared to move back down quickly. The difference in play isn't substantial, so if you're doing well at the lowest limit you might as well increase the payoff of your good play.

What I would do if I were you would be to dedicate $20 of your $50 to moving up to $.02/$.05. If you burn through that $20, drop back down to $.01/$.02 until you've made another $25 or $30 ($5 or $10 more than where you were at before). Then try moving up again, but if you lose $20 drop back down and earn another $25 or $30 before moving back up. Then despite losing at the higher level, you'll still at least be making a profit.

Once you reach $100, try dedicating $25 or so to the $.05/$.10 games, moving down quickly if you lose, and adding more than you lost before moving back up.

If I recall, I started $.01/$.02 with $50. At about $75 I moved up to $.05/$.10 but vowed to move back down if I lost $10. That never happened. I planned to moved up to $.10/$.25 when I hit $300 (moving down if I lost $50) but I ended up moving up closer to $400, and I was pretty successful at it.

I had planned on moving up to $.25/$.50 at $1,000 and I'm within $5 of that now (thanks to a big suck out last night), but I think I'll wait a few months none the less. I'm still learning (from posters like ChuckTs and Zachvac), so I want to learn on the cheap until I'm comfortable.

There are several factors for moving up:
-One is bankroll, which can be fudged with as long as you are willing to move back down before you're under rolled for the lower limits.
-Another is skill. If you can't make a consistent profit at the lower levels, there's no reason to believe that will change at the higher levels. Losing money at a faster rate is not good management.
-A third is financial. If you don't with to jeopardized the consistency at your current level then moving up is a bad idea.
-Another is mental. If you feel you have more to learn, or feel unprepared for a higher level, or don't have the desire to play at higher level, then moving up isn't a good idea. But likewise, if the lower limits just don't grab your attention/interest moving up might be acceptable. Even if you lose money, if it's worth it for the level of entertainment you get from it (IE, if it's like putting quarters into a video game or paying $7 for a movie), then moving up is OK.
 
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zzzaacckk

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SavagePenguin, thanks for the great post and advice. I just took a bad beat while multitabling so I am down to 45, so once I get back up to around 50-55 I will take a shot at 2/5. I took a huge slide in the middle of my sng career playing HU sngs and hit a huge unlucky rut, getting my money in with the best and walking away with nothing. I have been to the sharkscope site but I cant find where I can check someone's stats. So much for not asking newbie questions I guess :s. Where might I find out how to check someone's sng stats for free on sharkscope?

edit: sorry, my browser was screwing up and not showing the sidebar at the site, I got it.
 
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