Starting Bankroll

[lind0 0]

I would recommend a bankroll of atleast 50 buy-ins for tournaments to give yourself a fairly low probability of going broke. 100 buy-ins would be even better and would give you a very low chance of losing all your money. 200 buy-ins would give a good player virtually zero chance of busting.

[Kwest4chipz 0]

I just started playing online again after I discovered I had abandoned .85 cents on an account. This isn't a brag post, its just about my strategy with hardly any money. That .85 cents is 2 weeks later at 50 dollars. I play one MTT for a 1.10 rebuy...and I don't buy in for more than 3 dollars..If I go out before the bubble I go to a .01/.02 and grind out the buy in. Before, i would enter another MTT or SNGs trying to get it back, and that usually ended up in my roll dropping very fast. Now I take shots at SNG's for a dollar, or MTTs for a dollar and if I don't cash, I get the buy in back through micro limit cash games. I don't enter another tourney til I've recouped. Its worked well so far.

[SuperJon 175]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm going to seriously look at dropping down a notch and then rebuilding. You said there are alot of spreadsheets on the board, do you know any by name I can search for? I actually for a year been writing down every single game I play, be it MTT, SNG or Ring Game, how many players, where I finish, how much I started with and how much I finished with, so something on the computer would be nice.I'm also thinking of trying the poker tracker. Any ideas what the best add ons are and if it is really worth the investment? (It looks like for NLHE, PLO8 and Stud I think, it's $50 each or a deal for 2 or 3, just going on memory since I haven't looked at it in a while. Does it really help alot of people out there?

That made me 'lol'Seriously, poker tracker...or the poker tracker is well worth the money.

[PillyPill 0]

I want to thank everyone who posted here. After my semi-infamous post in regards to my poker life and me getting flamed to death, this post is very helpful. Little update. I am up about $200 this week. So that is great in my mind. Going to cash out some soon as a part of my cashout-every-week plan. But I may change that to like a cashout one week, build up BR the next week, and alternate that way. But we will see. Hoping to get into the $750k this weekend on FTP.

[BobVersion1 0]

you'll fit in just fine around here.

Thanks, I appreciate that (Although I hope that wasn't sarcasm lol)

[BobVersion1 0]

I would recommend a bankroll of atleast 50 buy-ins for tournaments to give yourself a fairly low probability of going broke. 100 buy-ins would be even better and would give you a very low chance of losing all your money. 200 buy-ins would give a good player virtually zero chance of busting.

Once my wedding passes (7/7/07... oh yeah, I'm a dork... or a tie in to gambaling? Hmmm...), I'm going to look into finances and see what happens.A little update, I started today with $19.13, went down to $1.63, my friend sent me $5 and I got above $50 again which after this week, feels more like $500 lol.Thanks so much for the help guys, it's opened my eyes alot to where I should be focusing.

[BobVersion1 0]

I just started playing online again after I discovered I had abandoned .85 cents on an account. This isn't a brag post, its just about my strategy with hardly any money. That .85 cents is 2 weeks later at 50 dollars. I play one MTT for a 1.10 rebuy...and I don't buy in for more than 3 dollars..If I go out before the bubble I go to a .01/.02 and grind out the buy in. Before, i would enter another MTT or SNGs trying to get it back, and that usually ended up in my roll dropping very fast. Now I take shots at SNG's for a dollar, or MTTs for a dollar and if I don't cash, I get the buy in back through micro limit cash games. I don't enter another tourney til I've recouped. Its worked well so far.

That's impressive. I did that a while ago, but it wasn't grinding it out at Ring games, it was dropping to real low SNGs to gain back my buy in. For some reason, Ring games do not fit me well. I do alright in them, but I think the way I play, once my money is in the pool for the MTT, I feel like I can just focus on the game instead of worrying I'm going to lose $20 or whatever in one hand.

[BobVersion1 0]

That made me 'lol'Seriously, poker tracker...or the poker tracker is well worth the money.

Tomorrow is pay day so I think I might look into that this weekend. No better time then the present to start with it.

[Kwest4chipz 0]

yah i've been streaky at ring games lately, i'm mostly converting bonus bucks. I'm trying a few low dollar sng's as well.

[SuperJon 175]

The problem with strictly playing SNGs is that you really need to have a high ROI to show much profit. You also need to play a ton of them to get a proper sample size. I love playing them, and play whenever I get a chance. But I'm more apt to playing in a ring game or an MTT.

[Kwest4chipz 0]

yah i mix it up a little bit, and low stake sng's can be a bit of a lotto as well...I don't know if higher dollar sngs are. I'm kinda wondering if trying new games at the micros like omaha and others is a good idea? I took a little bit of my ring winnings and took a stab at PLO, should you try new stuff at play chips or do you get better exp. by playing micros?

[SuperJon 175]

yah i mix it up a little bit, and low stake sng's can be a bit of a lotto as well...I don't know if higher dollar sngs are. I'm kinda wondering if trying new games at the micros like omaha and others is a good idea? I took a little bit of my ring winnings and took a stab at PLO, should you try new stuff at play chips or do you get better exp. by playing micros?

You're so much better off playing micros over play money. The only thing play money is good for is getting used to a new site. I know it's boring, because I'm in the same boat, but playing micro limits can definitely improve your game. It pains me to say that, because I used to not agree with it. According to PT, I'm a pretty strong player, and I guess I'm "crushing" my current level.

[HermanKahn 0]

I just started playing online again after I discovered I had abandoned .85 cents on an account. This isn't a brag post, its just about my strategy with hardly any money. That .85 cents is 2 weeks later at 50 dollars. I play one MTT for a 1.10 rebuy...and I don't buy in for more than 3 dollars..If I go out before the bubble I go to a .01/.02 and grind out the buy in. Before, i would enter another MTT or SNGs trying to get it back, and that usually ended up in my roll dropping very fast. Now I take shots at SNG's for a dollar, or MTTs for a dollar and if I don't cash, I get the buy in back through micro limit cash games. I don't enter another tourney til I've recouped. Its worked well so far.

Congratulations...that's cool! Just curious, what made you choose the tournament route over cash-games-only? It seems kind of time-intensive for the payoff, but it's obviously working well for you. I built my bankroll with a minimum deposit on one site and mainly stick to cash games. If I could start with .85 cents I would have-- just to have the right to say "everything I ever earned in poker in my entire life came from less than a dollar". As a cheap b*stard and world-class miser, I find that very appealing.

[11 to 1 0]

Well that is nice to hear. If it's felt with that Bankroll that it is managable to really climb, then I will stick there for now. I'm seriously considering investing in Poker Tracker and the add ons since people really seem to stand by it..

YES - much better use of your money! My game has seriously changed recently (better) and it was after getting Poker Tracker. I'd sit for hours and play every single hand I lost over and over, analyze every street until I really got out of denial about why I was doing what I was doing. Also, I found out just how much it cost me to keep completing from the SB "just to see the flop." All of a sudden, I started cashing in tourneys. Nothing huge, but adding bits and bits and bits - my cash game really improved. You know it animates the hands, right? I'd watch it and think, "Who's that moron calling that raise - oh yeah--it's me!"Another good thing is recognizing donkitis in yourself as soon as your ears start to grow and just getting the hell off the table. So cool. If I can be garrolous for one more second-(or spell it) if you want to invest more of something - invest time.

[fitzinabox 0]

My advice to strating a a bankroll would be to basically just play every skipament u can...

[Suited_Up 2]

I usually have a 30-buy in rule with NL and PL games, as well as sng and MTT's. A good way to quickly jump up is to try and satellite into big MTT's; if you can make a big score there, then you'll be in great shape. As for moving up in cash game limits as well as being able to take out money, start with a certain amount, let's say 100$. Once you double it, take out half your profit, leaving you with 150$ to "start over". From then on, every time you double your bankroll, take out half of your profit. It has worked for me thus far, hopefully it helps.

30 Buyins????!!??!?Geeeez!!! I get 3 buyins and i'm like... ehhhh, I can take a shot!!! You people are crazies! lol.

[Kwest4chipz 0]

You're so much better off playing micros over play money. The only thing play money is good for is getting used to a new site. I know it's boring, because I'm in the same boat, but playing micro limits can definitely improve your game. It pains me to say that, because I used to not agree with it. According to PT, I'm a pretty strong player, and I guess I'm "crushing" my current level.

Cool, i just wondered about that...its kinda catch 22ish, cuz if you don't understand the game and play micros you could lose some money...If you play the playchip tables, it doesn't seem like people play like they would if they were playing with actual money. (which could lead to bad habits?) i'm thinking.

Congratulations...that's cool! Just curious, what made you choose the tournament route over cash-games-only? It seems kind of time-intensive for the payoff, but it's obviously working well for you. I built my bankroll with a minimum deposit on one site and mainly stick to cash games. If I could start with .85 cents I would have-- just to have the right to say "everything I ever earned in poker in my entire life came from less than a dollar". As a cheap b*stard and world-class miser, I find that very appealing.

Oh, i just take a stab at a daily one that i'm fond of...its cheap and i've been pretty consistent in it..the field is alot smaller so it is a little more hard to cash. Fields of about 220 or so, and i put my stop loss at 3 dollars since its a rebuy. Start with 1500 chips with a goal of 4500 chips before the rebuy is over. (thats just because you can double rebuy and start with 4500) Then I do a double rebuy at the break. If i busto before that I don't rebuy. Don't get me wrong, I've lost a grip on UB since i first started playing there. I took a break and used up all the money on the site because I was obviously doing something wrong. Part of it was playing black jack when UB made it available. Now after joining this site and reading all the valuable (and invaluable) information, I reformulated my strategy. Found the .85 and made it a quest to make bank roll management my No 1 priority. Someone posted on the "one big mistake" in tournament play and that hit home with me, because its what I was doing...Even though I don't play tourneys all the time and usually sit at micro tables, its helped me focus when I'm in a MTT. I've learned to lay down some pretty big hands that I probably would have gambled with before and waited for a better spots. I still don't feel that i'm playing at my full potential in MTTs just because I can't seem to get my stack over the average or at a comfy spot where I can coast, and sometimes that causes me to panic. But yah this .85 cent journey has really put things into perspective for me, I don't think i'll ever play outside of my roll and when I move up in limits if i'm outclassed, I have no problems taking it back down now...Far cry to the approach I had when I first started playing.

[scottyno 0]

the only difference between starting with 50 or 500 should be what limit you start at, if you can't win starting with 50 you probably wont win starting at 500. Just figure out what game is your best and play that game at a limit where you won't go bust, maybe .25 .50 limit if thats your game, or .05 .10 nl or $5 sngs.

[BobVersion1 0]

the only difference between starting with 50 or 500 should be what limit you start at, if you can't win starting with 50 you probably wont win starting at 500. Just figure out what game is your best and play that game at a limit where you won't go bust, maybe .25 .50 limit if thats your game, or .05 .10 nl or $5 sngs.

Thank you. I guess the one thing I should have put in my original post is the reason I was thinking of putting $500 on, was I'm wondering if mentally you play better when you have a comfortable bank roll, compared to losing a couple SNGs and all of a sudden feeling like you HAVE to win to get back to a comfortable spot. I wouldn't neccesarly jump my level of tournaments ($5 level to $50 because I have 10 times the amount), I would stay the same level where I am until I feel comfortable to move up, but just the thought of having a cushion, do you think that changes your game much? Sorry if confusing.

[Kwest4chipz 0]

personally I play alot better when i don't have cushion. If I do have a safety net, I almost gotta tell myself i'm playing short just so that I don't alter my playing style. I think I'm prone to take more risk if I know I have a safety net, another slight tweak in my game that i'm working on. I dont' know if this answers your question.

[scottyno 0]

Thank you. I guess the one thing I should have put in my original post is the reason I was thinking of putting $500 on, was I'm wondering if mentally you play better when you have a comfortable bank roll, compared to losing a couple SNGs and all of a sudden feeling like you HAVE to win to get back to a comfortable spot. I wouldn't neccesarly jump my level of tournaments ($5 level to $50 because I have 10 times the amount), I would stay the same level where I am until I feel comfortable to move up, but just the thought of having a cushion, do you think that changes your game much? Sorry if confusing.

this makes sense, I definitely agree that if you have a cushion then you play better because in order to play the best you can you can't be worried about losing, if you're playing without a cushion then you'll probably play more scared poker and play too tight. If you play the $3 or $5 sngs on stars with $50 you still start with either 10 buy ins or 13 which should be enough of a cushion for you to play comfortrably at that level. If you are a decent player you should be able to beat these games without too much of a problem since most of the players suck and slowly grind up a roll.

[fleung22 1]

You realize of course, you gave us no information to work with, right? Cryptic posts are so 2004. What games do you prefer, what limits do you like to play? Do you have any nude pics of yourself that you can send out? Seriously, if you are gonna get your answers, we need these questions answered.I'll take a shotLimit poker- 300BBNL poker- 20-30 buy insSngs-20-30 buy insMTTs- Unlimited helps.swings are bigger in short handed cash gamesSo seriously, about those pics, let me know.

LOL