When to move up the stakes?

[Anonymous]

Hello fellow poker players,
This past friday the 27th I was refered to empirepoker. I deposited $50 and at first didn't do so well went down to about $21 which sucked but decided to call it a night. Next day I decided to play and made my money back and got up to about $72. After a struggling battle with lots of bad hands finally I started getting some decent cards so I could finally play and not fold all the junk like I was getting. Well overall I am currently +$72.97. I already cashed out $50 when I doubled up and the 72.97 is what I am currently playing with till I double up again then cash out and so forth. The thing I am wondering is how long do you think I should play the .50/1.00 tables before I move up to the 1/2? I am a bit hesitant seeing my buddy play that one and loose more than he was making from the .5/1.00. However he plays carelessly. Any tips for a rookie.

Are you playing limit or no limit?

Use this: http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...pic.php?t=4971

[ensign_lee]

Well, if you keep doubling up, then cashing out that profit, you'll never be able to play 1/2. Actually, you shouldn't be playing .50/1 right now. If you're only willing to lose that $70 or so dollars, you might just wanna cashout and redeposit at stars...maybe try a crack at the $10 +1 SnG's?

But to answer your original question, if you're limiting your bankroll to what's in the site and you keep cashing out your profits once you double up, you're never going to be able to play 1/2

[Anonymous]

I'm playing limit .5/1.00 right now.

[Anonymous]

Well how much do you recomend me getting up to before I move up. I am wondering because I know I will loose money and win time over time i'm not worried about that I was just told by a friend everytime I double up I should cash out to keep my winnings up. Is that not a good call?

[a500lbgorilla]

{Moved from the Commune}

-'rilla

[EasyT]

Drippy - Did you even read the link in Dwarfy's post?

[Element187]

read the bankroll management post. and if you read it already... read it again, it obviously didnt stick.

[Ibsu Bai Hui]

If you can play with $50br in .50/1 then I suspect you can play with 100-200br in 1/2. I probably went into 1/2 when i hit 100, perhaps 150.

I did read that idealy you'll want to accomodate 200 hands, or 200x the bb..

Don't forget that in 1/2 you'll hopefully be making faster money too, so you can still cash out that $50 whenever you hit 200 or whatever

The best advice I can give is to experiment.. we can't describe 'how much harder' different things are really. Although I did have some bad luck in 3/6

In retrospect, why on earth did I skip 2/4nl.....? Here's a tip: don't.

[JeffreyGB]

If you can play with $50br in .50/1 then I suspect you can play with 100-200br in 1/2. I probably went into 1/2 when i hit 100, perhaps 150.

Holy hell! There's a fair amount of luck that went your way to keep you from busting out completely here. The general recommendation is that you have 300xBB for the level you're playing. So at .5/1, that's $300. Then you want $600 before moving to 1/2. The reason is two-fold: first off, it pads your roll enough that you can have some variance and not go bust; second, it makes sure you have the experience behind you to know that you're actually beating the game and not just getting lucky.

I've had sessions where I made 35BB/100 for a couple hundred hands. From your recommendation, one such session of lucky cards and crappy competition would mean it's time to move up? Umm...no.

Read the bankroll management thread people keep referring to. It's g00t.

[Ibsu Bai Hui]

Well, perhaps it depends:

I started with $50 from a friend. I played .50/1 and in 1-2 hours I was down to $16. It was a heavy grind, but I kept going and didn't allow myself to tilt. I made a comeback [perhaps I should be more specific: I learnt how to play] and the next 6-8 hours I experimented with higher tables and a $50 heads up. I ended the session on rounds again with $222.

The next morning (couldn't sleep properly, you know how it is when you first start playing) I went straight for 3/6 and saw a gradual decline to $130 from $200. I put this largely down to terrible draws/luck, but I realise now how tight higher level play can be. I ended up being 'forced' all-in by a guy with $700+ for a showdown. I also now know that I should very obviously have folded to him. I tilted the remaining few bucks down the drain.

I believe I progressed a huge amount during the session, and learnt a lot. The 2 weeks since then I've learnt even more - read up on positioning, outs and odds, player styles, use of cards and so on.

My friend did tell me that a large % of people will fail with their first $50, so I'm extremely happy to have been able to achieve what I did. Not the slightest bit worried about losing everything in an hour the next morning - I knew perfectly well the risks of going into 3/6 but I'm the kinda guy who just has to test his limits ;p

I really wouldn't ever put it down to a lucky session. I had crap cards a great deal of the time.

Anyway. You're totally right of course, and if I play again I'll be a lot more cautious in my progression.

Um, and I'm also still looking for a 31c donation on pokerstars as IbsuBaiHui :s ;P

*scampers*

[JeffreyGB]

The point of proper bankroll management is to prevent you from busting out. Yes, moves upward are slower than they could be, but you also don't move downward at an unbearable pace. If you're willing to redeposit, you can play above your bankroll, but in some ways, you're only slightly better off than buying a lottery ticket. Variance happens. If you don't allow for yourself to handle it, you're asking for trouble.

Oh, and for the record, I started with a $25 deposit, built that up, moved up too quick and fell all the way back to $10 for my mistake. I paid closer attention to doing things at a rate that kept it manageable, and am currently knocking on the door of $1700. It may be that everyone has to make their own mistakes, but trust me, you're best off playing within your means.

[a500lbgorilla]

Well, perhaps it depends

Nope, it doesn't. A lot of players over estimate their abilities (in both extremes) becuase of the variance. The longer you play under bankrolled, the more likely it is that you will bust.

-'rilla

[m3laNcholy]

Simply put if you are playing $0.5/1 (or $1/2 for gods sake) it is statistically INEVITABLE that you will go bust sooner or later. And that is ASSUMING that you play better than the average opposition. With your BR I suggest you move to a site with lower limits and play sth like $0.1/0.2 and $3 or $5 SnGs.