Bankroll considerations for SNGs

[hurlyburly]

I searched but didn't find any posts. How do you calculate bankroll needs for SNGs? I started with a $110 deposit and have swung from a high of $230 back down to $30 and back up to $130. I'm switching between the 10+1, 15+1 turbos, and 20+1 and hitting walls everytime I start going on a roll.

I would like some input on whether I'm approahing this wrong, please. Am I starting with too little? Is mixing limits and games doing more harm than good? Should I stick with the 12+1 6 handed games until I have 10-15x the 15+1 games, and move up only then?

I play 3-5 tournys a day with an occasional day off. I am not looking to go pro or anything like that, just play for the fun and challenge and want to learn to manage my roll rather than make monthly deposits.

Sorry if this is a repetitive post, I really did search and found no advice on SNG B/R suggestions.

[viennagreen]

there are many threads about bankroll considerations. you should follow the links in the "sticky" thread at the top of the SNG forum.

but--- here is your answer...

most people say that you need between 20-30 times the buy-in level that you are playing at. for 10+1, that is a minimum of $220... and that is considering that you are a winning player at that level...

i disagree with the 20-30 buy-in guideline. i think that a winning player needs to maintain a bankroll of at least 50 buy-ins.

you need to stick to the lower levels until you have enough bankroll, and enough confidence that you're a winning player, before moving up.

[The Yugoslavian]

You will most definitely find *tons* of SNG bankroll posts if you search in the right way. It's like how the saying goes, "it's easy to search if you do it the right way."

Information on bankroll is also located in the SNG FAQ sticky so check that out.

Short answer to bankroll considerations seems to be:

Have at least 10xBuyin and more ideally 30xBuyin.

Since you have a regular job, your online bankroll only needs to be as big as the number of SNG games you want to play in for that particular day -- you have a regular source of income and can always deposit more.

Of course, if you are a losing player (not that you are, but *if* you are) Bill Gates' bankroll won't save you from going belly up eventually (although with his $$ you probably won't go belly up for several lifetimes).

Just like any kind of poker, SNGs have big swings and a high standard deviation. This means that it takes a couple thousand to *know* if you are a winning player and even the best players have periods of many SNGs where they are actually losing money.

And as far as when you can/should move up limits -- also check out the FAQ and do some more searching -- tons of posts on that too!

Hope this helps! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[poboy]

Everyone seems to say you need 20-30 buy-ins for the level you are playing. As for moving up and mixing levels,wait until you are sure you can consistently beat the current level you're playing. Mixing in a game or two from the next level up while your running good probably wouldn't hurt anything. Do not do this when you are running bad though. I don't know how many times I've done that thinking I would win back the money that I had lost at my normal limit by just playing a couple bigger games, all that happens is you lose even more money. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[housenuts]

check out this post:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1117576&page=4&view=colla psed&sb=5&o=14&fpart=1

it originally started as comparing $10+1 SNGs to ring games, but somehow evolved into bankroll considerations for SNGs. there were a couple schools of thought going on.

[hurlyburly]

Thanks for all the great advice! I kind of figured that I wasn't using an optimum bankroll, I just wanted the confirmation. I really appreciate the great input!

[housenuts]

what have you decided to do?

[hurlyburly]

I decided that since this isn't a source of income right now I'll just stick with the 10+1-20+2 circuits and play my best game. If I hit a bad streak I'll wait out the month and redeposit after analyzing my histories and filling holes in my game. I just filled a gaper last month when I saw that 9/12 times I had TPTK and I called a big reraise it was against a set or an overpair, didn't realize how bad this was hurting me.

I also made a concsious decision to avoid NLHE MTTs and focus on the softer O/8 and Stud H/L when I want to MTT. I hit a 20+2 O/8 final table and banked $178, which puts me at close to 20xBB for my current limit so I won't be moving to the 25+2 or 30+3 SNGs as fast as I have in the past.

I really am appreciative of the input, because my past mistake has been a 5xBB attitude, which left me broke and frustrated every month.