LL buy-in concerns

Hello.


It is my understanding that in general, when you buy in to a game of Hold 'Em, a good starting point is 15-20 BBs. Ok.


I play low limit 3-6 in Michigan. I am crusing along losing a good fraction of my rack, but am at peace of mind and in acceptance that I am an overall winner, and that there are swings, even in the loosest most passive games. Ok.


How low (in units of BBs) should I let my stack get before I rebuy?


Thanks...


-Ryan!

How much money do I need for the best hand? That is how I judge when rebuy time is. If I get low on chips and am dealt a great hand I want to have enough chips in front of me to make 'em pay through the nose to play their hands.


There is a minority who like to make very small rebuys so they can only lose so much on each hand. If they run out of of chips post flop, they get a free ride to the river. To me that's a sign of playing way too loose and cheating themselve's out of potential profit.

You do not want to run out of chips when you have the best hand. If where you are playing allows a bet and 3 raises it could cost as much as 12 BB to play the hand if it was capped on every betting round. If they allow 4 raises that would be 15 BB. Also if the hand becomes heads up there is no limit on the number of raises.


On the other hand if there was only a bet and no raises on each round it would cost 3 BB. So the amount to trigger your rebuy should be somewhere in between and will depend on how aggressive the game is.


In an aggressive game 8 BB will probably suffice. In a passive game 6 BB would probably do it. You can never tell when a normally passive game will turn aggressive. It is a shame to run out of chips when you hold quads and your opponent has a full house.

Re-buy when you get down to 5 or fewer big bets; or at any time before that when you feel yourself getting low. Never let yourself get below 4 BB, ever.


-MD