How Big Should Your ROI Be?

[RPatterson]

Before you decide to move up in limits?

[chill888]

Depends how many games you have played....

It should be positive (lol) and you should "know" (at first I put feel) confident that you are a winning player over an extended period of time.

Still for me, games selection is more important than level. I usually play about 75% / 25% --> $50
/ $100. But only play in the $100 when i recognize bad players sitting down and don't see any great players (based on my tracking software). I will also occassionally play $200 if i have a good scouting report.

[Jason Strasser]

Depends on the limit. As you move up in limits your ROI will move down.

I would not judge when you should move up by your ROI, but by your bankroll. I like to have 50 buyins at the limit I play at, but my ROI is probably lower than yours. I would say a solid 30-50 dollar SNG player should have somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-50 buy ins.

So if you are just beginning, I'd suggest to cash in 300-500 bucks, play the $10 sngs, hopefully multi-tabling when you get used to it, and move up each time you eclipse the 30-40 buy in mark for the next level (so the $20 level would be $600-800). And on and on...

-Jason

[chill888]

Not sure i totally agree. Of course you need a big enough bankroll to play at a given level, but...

Lots of people have huge bankrolls (ie they are rich) but they are no good.

Far more important (IMHO) to RELIGIOUSLY track your results and make sure you can beat a level before moving up.

Of course your method may work as your bankroll will increase as you win at a certain level.

regards

[Hood]

The problem is you can never make sure you can beat a level before moving up. See the thread regarding varience of ROI for more details. But basucally you need to play hundreds - or even thousands - of games to be confident you're beating a level - way too long if you just want to move from 10+1 to 20+2.

[chill888]

I hear you, but someone SHOULD play hundreds before making too big a leap. I'm certainly not saying that moving from 10 to 20 is a big leap, and no-one says you have to play all 100% of games at a higher level.

I don't think we really disagree, I just think too many new people rush up levels - and then don't have the maturity to ever drop down. Net they get trapped at a level that is too tough before they have put in their time at low level "University". It is then too late and too expensive to learn and they lose.

For NEW PLAYERS, winning a $1000 bucks over a long period of time at low levels is worth more than a $1,000 - it is getting paid small amounts to learn and have the skills to move up.

Regards

[durron597]

What I think Jason was trying to say is that by the time you have won a bankroll of the appropriate size, you can then consider moving up. He's not saying just buyin for $600 and then jump right in the twenties.

That being said, I would want to have at least 200 games if my ROI at a particular low level is below 30, and at least 100 games if it's between 30-50. That way you can have a WINNING confidence of well above 90%. Once you get to the higher limits I would say you need more games to be convinced of your winningness at that level because your ROI will be lower.