When to drop down a level due to bankroll loss?

[vindikation]

We prety much accept that you need 30 buy-ins to play a certain level. So to play $20+2 SnG's you need a $660 bankroll and for a $10+1 SnG's you need $330 bankroll.

If you are playing the $20's and you hit a bad streak and lose a number of games, at what bankroll level would it be a good idea to jump back to the $10's?

My guess is $330, but I'm curious to hear what others think, thanks.

[zaphod]

I think it will be good to go down when you are having long loosing session, even though you might be way above the 30 x buyin limit.

So if you say to yourself that the moment i loose x buy ins, it is time to move down.
Say you are playing the 20+2$ and have a 2000 dollar bankroll. You have been regulary winning, but then hits a loosing run, and looses a few hundred dollar. This looks like a good time to at least go down for minimum a day
or two, and see if you can start winning again, and then gaining confidence in your own play.
I think how much you should loose before you move down
varies from person to person.
I have noticed that i often looses when i play my first SNG in the "morning"(strangly enough not many people agree with my defenition of morning). Ideealy i should not be playing then, but i make a compromise and plays a lower buy in than i normally do. My otherwise loosing first SNG of the day then makes me a small profit instead.

[Texas Pete]

As long as you make a plan before hand and stick to it, it doesn't really matter what you do. Sticking to the plan is the important part. Everyone has different money management goals and constraints so there is not a single answer that fits all. If you come up with a plan that guaruntees you can play and improve every day, that's a good one.

[Sidekick]

I personally am in the 50 times buy-in camp myself. I want at least 50 times the buy-in for my new level when I move up. I will slowly build up my BR until I have the amount I need to be at 50 buy-ins for the next level of SnGs or I have have a ROI that I'm content with (whichever comes later).

If I hit a losing streak that drops me down to 40 times the buy-in for my current level then I will move down until I get back up to my safety zone of 50 times the buy-in for my former level.

This is a very conservative strategy, but it keeps me from worrying about my BR.

[Poolgod32]

I was only ITM in 4 of my past 20 SNGs at the 20 level. I dropped down to 10s and got ITM in my very first two, That alone was worth dropping down. I think bad streaks can shake your confidence and for some reason you can often play better at the next lowest level when they happen.

[Myst]

Its all psychological considerations. I like to maintain 80 buyins at my current level, and drop down to the previous level if I hit the 80 buyin mark for the previous level.

Tilting is not a factor for me anymore, as I feel I always bring my A game, despite the run of cards I may be facing.

[curtains]

You may need 30 buyins to play at a certain level, but I think you should have much more. If you plan to move down if you hit a bad run, then 30 buyins is okay. I'd move down if I lost 10 buyins. But I am biggest wuss in world, I always wait for around 100 buyins before playing any level.

[Pete]

With a $2k bankroll you only play $20 sng's? Very Interesting. I would be playing at least $50 but more than likely $100sng's. Just not enough money to be made on the $20's

[Vetstadium]

I had a strategy once........a very bad one jump into 10-20 or 15-30 and get it back in like 15 mins could be reason why I hardly ever play ring anymore. That must have been my former gambling self creeping through. I no longer do that just have to grind out back to my buy in level.

[Cry Me A River]

I drop down due to play, not bankroll. I've comfortably played at the $10+1 level with 10 buy-ins for extended stretches (due to repeated cashouts). "Officially" I now play at the $20+2 level with occaisional forrays into the $30+3's (if my bankroll can take it and I feel on top of my game), however I drop back down to the $10+1's whenever I feel I'm playing poorly. ie: If I make a particularly horrendous play (regardless of the results, good or bad) I'll drop down to the $10's for a couple games to refocus and make sure my game returns to normal.

I'm trying to treat poker as a part time job (I work full time) so I'm trying to get in a couple hours a night plus ~15 hours on the week-end and I'm really trying to work on my consistancy, and "play through" any problems. Dropping down really helps, both refocussing and ensuring I don't go blowing a bunch of buy-ins when I'm not playing up to snuff. (If I'm playing really garbage I'll take a break, but I'm talking mistakes I should know better by now, brain-farts, etc...)

(I should mention that my ROI at the $10's and $20's is pretty high and I generally feel really confident playing at those buy-ins. If you're not so confident or your ROI is middling/low then 10 buy-ins is probably a really bad idea...)