Withdrawlin'

Ok, so I've 'turned the corner' and gone from a losing player , to a break even-player , to actually being up :P .

I lost $50 + $50 at Paradise Poker (Nov-Dec 04), then discovered FTR.
Lost another $50 at Paradise (Jan-Feb) and decided to move to Empire.
Kept reading FTR.
SLOWLY lost the $150 deposit I made at Empire, and freaked out a little (Feb, Mar, April).
Empire had a Re-Buy Bonus and I threw in another $100.
Thats when things turned for me.
Worked off a $25.00 bonus, and worked my bankroll up to $300.
Then I took my money on over to Party and worked the bonuses.
New Total: $500.
Empire had a bonus, so I moved the money back, and I'm up $100 so far while clearing it.

I should have around $700 when I'm done with the bonus. This is a record high for me.

So here's my question: Should I make a withdrawal to 'cover' some of my investment? Or let it ride. Most bonuses can be maximized for $500 or less, so I'm thinking about taking some out. I don't need the money to pay my electric bill or anything. I just wonder if making a withdrawal is a healthy way to make the chips feel real?

Of course having a 'bullet in the chamber' of $500 at Neteller while I play with the other $200 would be a good idea too.

EasyT

Originally Posted by EasyT

Of course having a 'bullet in the chamber' of $500 at Neteller while I play with the other $200 would be a good idea too.

EasyT

Sounds like you're a bonus whore, so keeping $500 in Neteller is a good idea for that. Then you don't have to play the damn bankroll shuffle game to get your deposit in on time, you just make a deposit.

Originally Posted by "alias2211

Sounds like you're a bonus whore

Proud to say the newest whore on the block :P . I didn't really understand whoring until maybe two weeks ago. In two weeks, I've cleared (uh, almost cleared) $260 in bonuses, opening just one new account.

But its really about the poker, baby. I'm not just whoring up the money. I want to improve my skills and learn as much as possible. But getting a bonus while I learn and play is better than no bonus.

If you're looking to learn I think you should move up stakes rather than withdrawl, but I don't see that it matters whether you leave it on the site or move to Neteller.

Originally Posted by drmcboy

If you're looking to learn I think you should move up stakes rather than withdrawl, but I don't see that it matters whether you leave it on the site or move to Neteller.

I wouldn't move up until you have your initial investment cashed out.

To me that says you had too much money on the site to begin with if you need to get your money back out. You shouldn't be gambling(especially starting out!) with money you can't afford to lose. Once you're run your 100 to, say, 1K, why would you take it back out? If you're comfy at the stakes you are playing, fine, but he stated he wants to learn - learning means playing against better players, and to play better players you need to move up.

As a rule, I never keep more money on a poker site than I need to play my usual slate of games. For example, that means $1000 to play up to 4 5/10 tables at Party.

I only keep money on sites that I actively play. I keep the rest of my small roll in Neteller. By roll I refer to the 300-400 BB I need to actively play my current stakes. Roll does not mean every cent I am willing to devote to poker. The "poker money" I have above my roll goes into an interest bearing account. I occassionally withdraw from this account for things I wish to pay for with poker earnings.

There are several reasons I don't keep more on a poker site.
[*]Your money is more exposed to loss on the poker site than in Neteller or a bank, IMO.[*]It's handy to have money in Neteller to chase a bonus or play in a high overlay MTT.[*]You should make your money work for you by earning interest.[*]Spending a little of your earnings makes poker more rewarding. Just make sure you don't eat into your bankroll too much.

You need to wait until you've had a longer string of success before you start moving up. If you're up $100 but you've collected $260 in bonuses, you haven't really proven anything yet.

Originally Posted by koolmoe

If you're up $100 but you've collected $260 in bonuses, you haven't really proven anything yet.

Good point. Let's see, you're up to $700 now, you originally deposited $400, and $260 is bonus money, that means you've only made $40 in true poker profit. Be very careful, cause that $700 mark is where I hit the Newbie Circle of Death, right after I made my first withdrawl. Crashed all the way back down to $50. Stick to your guns and what you know best, and don't get over confident just yet.

However I do believe, like koolmoe mentioned, that withdrawling a little something (and buying something tangible, not blowing it on a night at the strip club or something) should be done at sometime. It helps you see what you're doing all this hard work for. You can always say, "hey, I bought these speakers or these shoes with my poker winnings" and even if you go broke down the line (knock on wood) you have something to show for it. If I were you, just a little friendly advice, I would keep plugging along for a little while longer. Maybe get up to $1000, and then take out a little for yourself. Just my .02

But congrats anyway man, I'm sure you're feeling good about yourself for turning the corner. Keep it up.

Originally Posted by drmcboy

If you're looking to learn I think you should move up stakes rather than withdrawl, but I don't see that it matters whether you leave it on the site or move to Neteller.

TERRIBLE advice imo.

I recommend cashing out what you put in. Then you can play with bonus money/money you've won. Don't go up stakes until you're sure you're ready to. It's a recipe for bankroll deletion.

Originally Posted by storm75m

Originally Posted by koolmoe

If you're up $100 but you've collected $260 in bonuses, you haven't really proven anything yet.

Good point. Let's see, you're up to $700 now, you originally deposited $400, and $260 is bonus money, that means you've only made $40 in true poker profit. Be very careful, cause that $700 mark is where I hit the Newbie Circle of Death, right after I made my first withdrawl. Crashed all the way back down to $50. Stick to your guns and what you know best, and don't get over confident just yet.

However I do believe, like koolmoe mentioned, that withdrawling a little something (and buying something tangible, not blowing it on a night at the strip club or something) should be done at sometime. It helps you see what you're doing all this hard work for. You can always say, "hey, I bought these speakers or these shoes with my poker winnings" and even if you go broke down the line (knock on wood) you have something to show for it. If I were you, just a little friendly advice, I would keep plugging along for a little while longer. Maybe get up to $1000, and then take out a little for yourself. Just my .02

But congrats anyway man, I'm sure you're feeling good about yourself for turning the corner. Keep it up.

Storm75:
Exactly the advice I was looking for!

A tangible goal to shoot for, with a healthy dose of 'be very careful' mixed in. I will beware the Newbie Circle of Death. If I get past it and reach $1,000, I will withdrawl some and buy something tangible: A new pool cue? Or a nice barstool (I play at my home-bar, and a long session kills my back).

The basic addition/subtraction to $40 is pretty un-bragworthy. I knew this because of poker tracker. If I look at ALL my hands, I'm up around $70 (I didn't have poker tracker at first when I was losing). But if I look at just April and May, I'm ahead maybe $350 or something. Poker Tracker tells you like it is, and does not count bonuses!

I'll also take koolmoe's advice and NOT keep money at poker sites I'm not actially playing.

Thanks!!

Oh, and I was not even considering moving up. I've only JUST started winning consistently at the level I'm at. Look for that post in a couple of months, though!!

EasyT

Ps - thanks for that avatar too, storm!

Glad I could help, with the advice and the avatar
This post just seemed like EXACTLY where I was at, right before I hit that wall. I was sooo excited to be making money consistently. Now, I think what I'm going to do (and I read this on someone else's post a while back) is set a goal, and once I reach that goal, I keep half in my bankroll and withdrawl half for myself. For example, say my BR is at $1000 now, I'll set a goal of maybe $1400, and once I get there, I withdrawl $200, and keep $200 in my BR. Or it could be a 75/25 split, or however you want to do it. This way I feel like my BR is growing, and I also get to reap some of the rewards of all these long countless hours. (Plus I gotta give the wifey something to keep her off my back!)

People are different, but i'm under the opinion that you shouldn't withdraw and spend your money until you have a large number of hands under your belt, a really big bakroll and you are completely confident in your game.

I've been playing for about 3 months, and i have about $4400 now, but the only "withdrawl" i've made was for poker tracker. I think i will probably start withdrawing when i get to 10k or so, and even then only in amounts that are almost irrelevant to my bankroll.

However, if you feel you want to withdraw your "losses" thats fine, i just don't agree with it. As long as you still are properly bankrolled (ie. a minimum of 15 buyins) for your stakes you can withdraw as much as you want.