Hello, I would like to help. (I am giving my strict opinion based on information I got from good sources that have helped my game).
Please when thinking of variance, also understand that the "variance" is something you can only measure(or experience) when you put on VOLUME on the games you play.
Think about the mtts you play and how many a week (if you have a poker schedule).
- Nr. of games per week/month/semester (depending on how you want to evaluate your results);
- Avg Buy-In;
- Avg number of players.
This understanding, will first give you the base to think about your ROI (Return on Investiment).
To consider what might be a good ROI, you first need to put down the numbers and analyze them. Be ready to play at least 500 mtts before you do that.
ROI = ( (profit) / (Investiment) ) * 100
where,
Profit = your winnings
Investiment =Buy-ins
*Try this site to play on the number of mtts and the possible Variance it might have in the games you are playing:
https://www.primedope.com/tournament-variance-calculator/
Many sites/players/info around will tell you that for micros, if you have a ROI around 20-30%, it would mean that you are doing very well in the field you are playing.
That number will vary based on the tournaments ABI and field size (the bigger, more expensive, the harder you will profit).
Take a look around, google a bit about ROI and Bankroll management. I think, for those who are building a way of playing poker on a schedule, it is the most important thing to learn.
Now, if you don't have any poker database and also do not have many games I suggest to not think about these things until you have played a reasonable amount of games.
*(You will never be able to measure your poker history truthfully if you pick up only a small amount of games to check. I think, at least 30-100K hands to be able to start reviewing your game.)
*And again, be careful with some answers here in the forum in general. A lot of them answers are just to get the approval for the freerolls and might confuse you with some non-sense one liners.