When is it time to move up?

[Warik]

I have a small bankroll of $100 to play $0.50/$1.00 games with a $20 stake each time I sit down.

When is it time to move up to $1/$2 as far as bankroll & experience are concerned?

Are the guidelines the same for $2/$4, $3/$6, and beyond, or does it all change the higher you go?

Thanks

[BottlesOf]

300 BB is the number commonly thrown around. That would mean $300 for .50/1.00 and $600 for $1/$2. However, a lot has to do with what limits you feel comfortable, and how much financial and emotionnal tolerance do you have for various levels of risk of ruin (losing your roll).

Generally, I've found players at 2/4 to be pretty poor, but the quality is a little higher than .50/1.00. The bottom line is you shouldn't move up to you build up some more money. 100 is VERY thin for 1/2.

[scotnt73]

my bankroll just hit 1k and im just about move up to 2/4 from 1/2. i wouldnt move up to 1/2 until you have at least 200-250$ if your a winning player..if your not a winning player then it really doesnt matter how much you have

[nykenny]

at these stakes, as long as you have a job and is a winning player, u can move up. bankroll consideration is over-rated at this level. any kind of bust can be recovered easily.

Kenny

[LikesToLose]

I think I'm in a very similiar position. I originally started online with $50 + $10 bonus. I didn't know that 300 BB was the recommended bankroll and I figured that if I couldn't win at .50/1.00, then I didn't have any business playing.

I still think that this is probably the best way to start, not that $100 is too much, but if you can't beat the lowest limit, why would play any higher? I origally planned to move up to $1/$2 when I got to $500, but I may change that to $600. Then, I would maintain a 300 BB bankroll from there on. If I could win my way up the limits, then I had the bank and experience to play there.

BTW: You can play with less of a bankroll if you are willing to either re-load and start over or move back down at some point.

Mark

[CORed]

It really depends on how much risk your are willing to run of losing your investment. Even if you are a winning player, There is a significant risk of losing 100 big bets. So, there is a very good chance that you will lose your $100 starting bank. If you are just starting out playing poker, it is likely that you will be a losing player until you get some experience under your belt, no matter how many books you have read. There really is no substitute for experience. The conventional wisdom is that a winning player should have a bankroll of at least 300 big bets. $300 for $.50/$1.00, 600 for $1/$2, etc. I definitely think that you should establish that you can win at a given limit before moving up. Another consideration is whether you are willing to move back down if you have a bad run. For example, if you move up to $1/2 when you hit $450, with the intent of dropping back to $.50/$1.00 if you drop to $150, you have a 300 big bet bankroll, 150 big bets at $1/$2, 150 big bets at $.50/$1.00. I would also point out that the time to make a risky move up is when you are still at the low limits. It's better to blow a $500 dollar bankroll than a $5000 bankroll. Keep in mind that the players, in general, get better as you move up. You may not see much difference until you get above $2/$4, but when you get above that level you will have to make some adjustments. Even the bad players are more agressive and trickier, and ABC poker will probably no make you much money when you hit the $3/$6 or $5/$10 level.

[gunboat]

I think you can move up when you have shown you can win consistently at the level you are playing. To me, this would mean take a shot when are ahead 100 BB and are comfortable. You can always drop back down and replenish if you take a hit.

[lefty rosen]

As the other guy said don't contemplate moving up with a 100 dollar roll, I would recommend minimum 200. Also if you have a bad run with the 200 and recognize that as poor cards not play don't let your roll get much less than about 80, since you will start playing like a scared rabbit and folding winning hands to aggressive play.

[Lunamondo]

Moving up can be done by winning the short run bankroll for the higher limit. That more or less takes care both of the experience/skill and bankroll. One might be ready to lose up to 200 big bets of other people's money before giving up. That means one needs to win e.g. 400 big bets at one step lower limit. One though shouldn't waste time if one knows one can beat this limit and probably the one step higher limit any time before the 400 bbs. Though one might make the same money weather playing 2-4, 3-6 or 5-10, but at least one is moving.

[Warik]

Well I'm up about $30 in 6 hours of play playing $0.50/$1.00. Could have been more, but I made a lot of beginner mistakes (naturally, since I'm a beginner).

I figure I will move to +$80 not including deposit bonus and then stake $40 at $1/$2 and wuss my way back to $0.50/$1.00 if I lose it.

[Eihli]

You will lose $40 at $1/$2. Don't move up with $40 unless you are only curious as to the play there.

If your bankroll isn't replenishable, I would play .5/1 untill I had $600, then try 1/2 and see how it is. If your bankroll is replinishable, it's up to you.

[Warik]

In that case I'll work my way up then. The BR is replenisible but let's just say I'm playing with "I quit" money here. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[fluff]

For micro-limits, you can do something similar to the OIC.

What they do is start out with $50 in the 0.50/1 limit (so 50 BBs), if you get to $100, you can move on to 1/2 (again now with 50 BBs).

If you lose 25 BBs, you have to go down 1 level and work your way up again.

Of course you might be more comfortable with twice the requirements for moving up and down. So start with $100 at 0.50/1 then move up to 1/2 when you hit $200, and be prepared to move down again if you lose 50 BBs.

[scotnt73]

1 of the main points of the oic is to play well shortstacked..i wouldnt play shortstacked with my real bankroll