building a bankroll

[juggo 0]

for those you you who have built(and kept) a good bankroll...i have a couple questions.1. How much $ was your initial starting point to build upon?2. Did you play online/or B&M? sinlge table or multitable? one website or a number?3. what game and what level did you start at?4. weekdays or weekend? thanks

[speedz99 145]

1. How much $ was your initial starting point to build upon?

$200 - but $275 with deposit bonus

2. Did you play online/or B&M? sinlge table or multitable? one website or a number?

Online with the bankroll, B&M for amusement only. Party Poker mostly but recently Tital where I got some free cash to start with.

3. what game and what level did you start at?

$0.50-$1 LHE

4. weekdays or weekend?

Whenever I have time...usually weekday nights and weekends when not too busy and/or drunk. For me, poker is the last option in terms of what to do, but there are plenty of times when relaxing in front of the tv is improved by turning on the laptop.

thanks

I doubt I was much help, but you're welcome.

[hotbacon 0]

Started with a 75$ deposit on party and got my ass kicked playing .5/1.Read some stuff, month later deposited 50 into stars and grinded up starting at .05/.10

[NDIrishdogg 0]

1. $3002. Online, cash games (except 1 final table in a MTT), I use Party as my home base, but have been bonus whoring so I've been on about 5 different sites this month. If you want to pull down some quick cash, that's a good way to do it. Check out www.pokersourceonline.com. And if ya feel like it tell 'em NDIrishdogg sent you.3. Online 1-2, 2-4, limit, but be forewarned that this is bad bankroll management. I just decided to take a stab to get a roll faster because I could afford to lose the $300. Now I play 5-10 limit and have about 400 bb in my bankroll. 300 is the minimum for bankroll management, or so the conventional wisdom goes.4. Both, though primarily weekdays because I try to actually have a life occasionally on the weekends.

[bulldog999 0]

for those you you who have built(and kept) a good bankroll...i have a couple questions.1. How much $ was your initial starting point to build upon?2. Did you play online/or B&M? sinlge table or multitable? one website or a number?3. what game and what level did you start at?4. weekdays or weekend? thanks

It's been nearly 45 minutes.........where's Shiny Chicken?

[Jdr999 0]

1. $100, but lost that. Then deposited $200, and have kept onto that.2. Online only, and I single table Limit Hold'em, and some Pot Limit Omaha. Also play some tournments and SnG's.3. Started playing $5 SnG's, and .25/.50 limit.4. Whenever I have the time, and I'm not drunk.

[DDiabolical 0]

Free $50 from a site. Multi-tabled $10 NL/PLHE on any websites with good enough bonuses (think I mainly did Prima) and on any/every evening.

[Tommyhawkers 0]

1. $502. Just online, B+M to have fun when friends want to go. I now 8-10 table as many $400 max buy-in NL tables I can find, and if I can't find enough I start opening $200 max buy-in tables.3. $25 max buy-in at party poker.4. both. usually just weekdays, weekends on saturdays/sundays, but usually not the weekend nights unless i feel like making some easy cash.you're welcome

[Napa_Don 688]

1. $25 on FCP, so about $67 with bonuses.2./3. I play a homegame a couple times a month. We usually play an eclectic mix of games, all no-limit, with about $20 being the buy-in. I usually play 1-2 tables of .10/.10 PL HE online with the occasional SNG. I moved up to $1/$2 for about a week, don't recommend doing it without the bankroll, and increased my bankroll considerably. Variance started to hit so I'm back down to .10/.10 PL HE with a much more adequate bankroll and some cool shit.4. I have some free time during school that I play and sometimes at night.

[checkymcfold 0]

after i busted a bunch of times as a terrible and only recreational player, i deposited 20 dollars on pokerroom last february and played a 5.50 MTT, which i was lucky enough to win for 500 bucks. after that, i played .50/1 and the occasional 5-10 dollar MTT, had a very good run, won a few of the 20-50k guaranteed tournaments, and got my roll up to 16 grand by the end of the year while withdrawing enough to have a bunch of fun in the meantime. i now play s/h 10/20 and full ring 25/50.but why my story?if you can handle going bust, i actually do think that taking risks at the donkfest lower buyin MTTs is the way to build a roll fast, if you know what you're doing. up through the 50 dollar buyin level, i'd say that MTTs are VERY beatable if you just play solid poker through to the end with only the occasional bluff/semibluff against a predictable opponent. if you see a lot of cheap flops and push huge edges, you'll crush the competition in the long run. it gets more difficult after the 50 dollar buyin level usually, but i think that taking risks is perfectly acceptable if you're not committed to never going bust and can handle redepositing if need be. if you can't, though, grind it out at the lower limits (and to answer your question about days of the week, friday nights and weekends are usually the best time to play, but the difference between those days and during the week is amplified more at higher limits) and take the occasional stab at a MTT if you have the time and can focus for that long.as for sites, i play pokerroom via betonbet because i get 40% rakeback, which makes it worth not playing the better games at party. i am also a more read-dependent player than most, so having fewer players on pokerroom allows me to compile very extensive notes on pretty much every player i'll ever see at my tables (raising ranges from all positions, what flop and turn raises mean, whether busted draws will be bet on the river, etc.). i personally find that to be a lot more helpful than pokertracker, but others may disagree. for that reason, i prefer online and only 1-2 tabling to B&M, but the play is fucking terrible live, in my experience, up through 20/40 and 30/60. but of course, you're seeing fewer hands which really cuts into your wins if you're looking to make money and measuring things in terms of $/hr.some other tidbits:-if you learn o/8 or o/hi and get a lot of experience at it, you'll find that it's fast becoming more of a money machine than a lot of HE games out there. stud is similar, but sometimes it's hard to find games for those.-as i'm sure you've heard numerous times, you should internalize the stuff in sklansky's SSHE and theory of poker before setting out for the grind at low limits. for tournaments, harrington's books are far and away the best out there.-the most common problem i see in a lot of players, and this includes many i play with regularly at 25/50, is a failure to quit when you lose your edge. take too many bad beats? is it making that q8s look like the ticket to winning back your losses? if that thought so much as crosses your mind, stand up, and come back tomorrow. your bankroll will be better for it, trust me.and of course, good luck!

[drewjax 0]

Started with a 75$ deposit on party and got my ass kicked playing .5/1.Read some stuff, month later deposited 50 into stars and grinded up starting at .05/.10

This is the way to go IMO. These games can be tough. But it will teach you discipline. Its a grind but it will allow you to gain confidence without much risk. I started with nothing. I got $10 free from a Prima skin, and Pacific gave me $20 (after I played a few freerolls). Anyway I grinded and grinded my way up, a dollar at a time. It gave me the confidence I needed to KNOW I could win, not THINK I could win, like we all do lol. Anyway, I think you need to start small, as small as possible. Try to track your progress in terms of BB or big bets, NOT $. You didnt win 1.20 today, you won 12 BB etc. Remember its a marathon not a sprint.And Bankroll Management is of the utmost importance. Do a search for for some tips on this, they are plentiful.GL

[jackofhearts 0]

I have a similar question to those who have been sucessful.I am a 20 year old college student. I've been playing poker with my friends at school and at home for a few years (usually $5 buy in tournaments and cash games), and have been pretty sucessful lately. I've played online poker at various sites, but have always had the same problem: I've gotten a great start, then slowly lost my entire bankroll (some through bad beats, some through poor playing). I've always wanted to get involved in higher stakes poker, but I don't really feel safe doing so online, and my friends are too wussy to play for any more than $5. Also, I don't really have enough money to be gambling very much. Any advice?

[three2 0]

$300Started at 15/30 Limit Hold'em. Lost. Reloaded. And repeated. Now I usually put in $250 and play 10/20.I have no bankroll management. See "Are you a compulsive gambler?" thread.But, heck, I do ok.

[NDIrishdogg 0]

I have a similar question to those who have been sucessful.I am a 20 year old college student. I've been playing poker with my friends at school and at home for a few years (usually $5 buy in tournaments and cash games), and have been pretty sucessful lately. I've played online poker at various sites, but have always had the same problem: I've gotten a great start, then slowly lost my entire bankroll (some through bad beats, some through poor playing). I've always wanted to get involved in higher stakes poker, but I don't really feel safe doing so online, and my friends are too wussy to play for any more than $5. Also, I don't really have enough money to be gambling very much. Any advice?

If you can't learn discipline, you'll never be successful long term. You shouldn't be busting out due to bad play. That means that you probably both lack discipline and aren't practicing good bankroll management. If you want to get yourself to the point of playing good enough cards to play higher limits and make real cash, I suggest putting $50 in and playing micro-limits for about a month. If you can tolerate that and keep your play sharp, you'll have learned how to be disciplined. Then you can throw some real cash in and hope for success.

[NDIrishdogg 0]

$300Started at 15/30 Limit Hold'em. Lost. Reloaded. And repeated. Now I usually put in $250 and play 10/20.I have no bankroll management. See "Are you a compulsive gambler?" thread.But, heck, I do ok.

Also, 15-30 with 10 big bets in your bankroll? You got more balls than me man.

[BMFx2 0]

I have a similar question to those who have been sucessful.I am a 20 year old college student. I've been playing poker with my friends at school and at home for a few years (usually $5 buy in tournaments and cash games), and have been pretty sucessful lately. I've played online poker at various sites, but have always had the same problem: I've gotten a great start, then slowly lost my entire bankroll (some through bad beats, some through poor playing). I've always wanted to get involved in higher stakes poker, but I don't really feel safe doing so online, and my friends are too wussy to play for any more than $5. Also, I don't really have enough money to be gambling very much. Any advice?

Not that i have been very successful. I think i pretty much suck at online poker. Its too easy to play stupid. But i do win consistently live. If you dont feel comfortable online then i wouldnt suggest getting into it. But you are in college, get the word out that you play poker. use those social skills you have developed and find other people to play with that are willing to play for more money. i had the same problem as you, but know i could play poker live almost any night of the week if i had the money and time. hope that helps

[Abbaddabba 0]

Jackof hearts - If you havent beat the lower limits against the bad players in the past, dont expect to be able to beat higher stake games. And even if you could, if you dont have enough to lose, it's a recipe for disaster. I started on a friends account at his house, where we split whatever it was we won in a free roll party was running (when they had the good ones). The free roll was cancelled, but we were credited with $2.15 (or something) in cash to compensate for how many chips we started it. Conveniently enough to buy into the 2+0 tournaments.... which we finished in 2nd, for $400 of which i kept $200.Several months go by, tens of thousands of hands get played at .50/1 through 2/4, a half dozen final tables are cashed in...And things are looking good.Ive cashed out upwards of $7,000 and ive got $3,500 sitting in there now. And ive never even made a real money deposit. :!: ...And yet im still playing 2/4, because im a big lame-wad.If you have the time and the will power, you can get there from scratch. Ive heard good things about www.instantbankroll.com before, even though i have no clue about how it works. There're lots of ways to get small amounts of money in your account to begin with without having to deposit. I believe that there are some places that buy large sums of pokerstars play chips... for small amounts, but it's good practice. It's like you're playing super micro limits. Ive got about 8 mill stored up from before i played for real money, and i think based on what i saw, they get roughly $10 per million playchips. Things might've changed since then though.

[sdnuol 0]

I have a similar question to those who have been sucessful.I am a 20 year old college student. I've been playing poker with my friends at school and at home for a few years (usually $5 buy in tournaments and cash games), and have been pretty sucessful lately. I've played online poker at various sites, but have always had the same problem: I've gotten a great start, then slowly lost my entire bankroll (some through bad beats, some through poor playing). I've always wanted to get involved in higher stakes poker, but I don't really feel safe doing so online, and my friends are too wussy to play for any more than $5. Also, I don't really have enough money to be gambling very much. Any advice?

im sure as hell not sucessful (yet), but keep on grinding out and building at a lower level and you will get there soon enough if its meant to be and you are playing good poker. if 20 years from now and your still digging in your pockets to build you bankroll in a $5 home game then you should probably just play for recreational purposes. just my .02......gl

[therrinn 0]

I have a similar question to those who have been sucessful.I am a 20 year old college student. I've been playing poker with my friends at school and at home for a few years (usually $5 buy in tournaments and cash games), and have been pretty sucessful lately. I've played online poker at various sites, but have always had the same problem: I've gotten a great start, then slowly lost my entire bankroll (some through bad beats, some through poor playing). I've always wanted to get involved in higher stakes poker, but I don't really feel safe doing so online, and my friends are too wussy to play for any more than $5. Also, I don't really have enough money to be gambling very much. Any advice?

Most schools have very active poker listhosts, and unless its a really tiny school, you should be able to find at least a .25/.50 cash game going a couple times a week. And just because its .25/.50, don't scoff the amounto f money that gets put on the table - a full table and that can easily become 5-600 dollars over the course of the night. Also, our listhost usually has people who are planning trips to casinos - both local and Vegas. If you want to try it, you can usually cut down on costs by going as a group.

[Ouch-8s 4]

I started with $100 @ party. Hovered around even for a while, then lost it all.RepeatRepeatThen with $1.18 left, I played Blackjack to build to 6 bucks, played a SnG, gradually brought that up to $100 and moved to FCP.I'd been hovering around even at FCP for awhile before I went on a "big" downswing and was down to $20 or so. I then discovered a leak, plugged it, and now (about 2 weeks later) am at $150. I look forward to being in the black soon. I'm a pretty occasional player obviously.I now play almost only MTT and SnG (I find I don't generally do as well in cash games). Almost all NLHE with a (disastrous) experiment in LHE. $10 or $25 max buyin cash tables and $5 - $10 SnG and MTT.Never weekdays. Often weeknights. Occasionally weekends.Only one time at a B&M; did well until my top 2P were beat by trips for my stack.Home games (tournaments) I play 2x week for spending money.

[koolromeo 0]

i started out playing small buyin live tourneys with friends. most casual players really suck at poker. i did quite well. always make sure the top 3 get paid, it takes some of the luck away from the idiots. also, i went to any game i was invited to and took down the names and numbers of the WORST players there, who i then invited to my games. i ran my bankroll over 10 grand doing this in a year.

[Guest]

Started out with an initial deposit of $50 on party poker. Played .5/1 limit hold em in the beginners section, brought that up to $130. Then i started playing the $10+1 STT NL hold em SnGs, had an amazing run which brought me up to about $1000. Withdrew most of that, leaving about $200 left in PP, also put some money into poker stars.I mostly play SnGs to build my bankroll...sometimes i play limit/NL shorthanded cash games when i feel like it.And i mainly play on the weekends because i rarely have time on weekdays

[cdd1976 0]

I'm gonna show my inexperience by asking this question, but I'll ask anyway. I'm wondering what other sites/offers/promotions/etc that people know about to start building a bankroll with no investment. I've done the www.instantbankroll.com thing on party, and lost it, not from playing poker but their d*** blackjack side game (don't ever do this). Of course, learned my lesson the hard way, but now I want to give it another shot without investing money out of pocket (let's just say I have a wife who monitors every expenditure).Any suggestions other than the instantbankroll/party promotion?Thanks

[Abbaddabba 0]

Most schools have very active poker listhosts, and unless its a really tiny school, you should be able to find at least a .25/.50 cash game going a couple times a week. And just because its .25/.50, don't scoff the amounto f money that gets put on the table - a full table and that can easily become 5-600 dollars over the course of the night.

Our school games (actually on campus) last year got nuts.At one point, the friendly .25/.50 game turned into a 2/4 NL with no max buy in. There was easily $5,000 in the pot at one point. Plus there were smaller games (1/2NL and .25/.50NL) going on the side.

[shinychicken 0]

1. How much $ was your initial starting point to build upon?Started with the money from instantbankroll and I've turned it into over $6000 since June '05 with bonus wh0ring and a few other things.2. Did you play online/or B&M? sinlge table or multitable? one website or a number?I play online and mulitable on almost every site as long as I am earning rakeback or working on a bonus.3. what game and what level did you start at?.5/1 limit 4. weekdays or weekend? Whenever I can.