Quote Originally Posted by bigspenda73
Mods plz move this out of the Beginners section as it is a horrid read for anyone trying to properly build a bankroll and move up in stakes.

Maybe it should go in "tales of Poker" but here soon I'm sure we'll wanna put it in "it's all bad!"
I don't agree.

Cliff Notes:
1. don't worry about BR before you get to $10NL if you can beat the game (and if you can't just give up poker NOW)

2. experienced players should seriously consider withdrawing all or part of their money, especially if held in US dollar denominations, and especially where you have no problem re-depositing. The US dollar is depreciating like hell, and you also earn no return on your money

3. don't get fixated on your "roll". Most players, and especially at low limits should not think of the money they've deposited as a "bankroll", but more as a "stake". The concept of bankroll applies, IMO, only to professional and semi-professional players. And if one *is* a professional, I recommend being conservative: >50 buy ins.

I also happened to play $0.25/$0.50 limit on a $50 deposit. Because that was the lowest stakes at which I could clear bonuses. Fortunately, I ran decently for the first part of my career. So I'm certainly not going to sit in a glass house throwing stones.

Seriously, there is no bankroll management at these stakes. What is the point of having a "bankroll" of $50 and then trying to stay at 20 buyins, so you play $2 no limit until you get to $100 and then you play 5 NL till you get to $200? Bullshit. I say if you're reasonably confident you can beat the game at 10 NL, then DO IT! If variance kicks you in the ass and you lose your $50, you can always re-deposit.

Now don't get me wrong, Bankroll Management is really important, and I'm not suggesting it ought to be ignored just because the stakes are low. What I'm saying is that one should get over the conceptual hump of "my bankroll is $50". Think of yourself as committing $300 to poker, but you've just decided to deposit $50 for now, to save on transactions costs if you should go on a heater and never look back. I do think once you get to 10NL and are thinking about moving up, bankroll management becomes important.

I don't think anyone should limit themselves to $5 NL because they don't "have a roll". That's just silly. 2 exceptions: if it's really THAT difficult for you to deposit because you live in the US, or if you really don't have the $300 (i.e. $50 really IS all you can afford). Anyone who withdraws a lot of money and then tries to restart at $5NL thinking their remaining $120 is all that's left of their roll, KNOWING THEY CAN BEAT 25NL or 50NL SOLIDLY (and this is important), is IMHO wasting their time.

I play 400PL and I only have $5,000 across the poker sites because I keep cashing out. The fact it's not online doesn't mean it's not part of my "roll". If I hit a bad run, I'll be able to just deposit another $5,000. But why have $100,000 sitting in neteller earning zero interest AND worse still deflate in value because it's in USD? I'm glad I made all those cashouts when $10,000 USD = $13,500 AUD because now I can only get $11,500 for my $10,000. Add all the interest I earn and it's like a 25% difference!

I really do think bankroll management is overrated, unless one is proposing to be a professional or at least semi-pro. Even Greenstein in his Ace on the River, does not advocate a strict BRM regime.

P.S. can someone move this shit to blogs