[Nomad84]

My current move-up plan is pretty straightforward, but not set in stone. I decided on it because I feel that I play pretty well, but I am not being aggressive enough with my move-ups. Bonuses have added a ton to my roll, but I've still been hesitant to move up. I made the decision a few weeks back to be more aggressive. First, a bit of history so you know where I'm coming from.

I started at .5/1 and played it for something like 9300 hands or so. I moved to the 1/2 game and after a rocky, marginally profitable first 2k hands, I made the necessary adjustments. I also ran pretty hot and had beaten 1/2 for a very good rate after a total of around 6k hands. I had enough of a roll from that and from bonuses to be financially comfortable at the 2/4, so I moved up. A combination of bad luck and bad play left me at -50BB after 5k hands. At first I was just uncomfortable with the higher stakes, then I the bad results got into my head to some extent. I was doing to much at that time, including working full time an hour from home. I ended up not playing much more for the rest of the summer. When I started playing again this semester, I decided to start at the .5/1 again to get back into the groove of things and build my confidence. After that, I jumped back to 2/4 and decided on my move-up plan.

Basically, I took $1200 of my roll and set it aside for the 2/4 game. I played 2/4 until I reached a total of $1800 excluding bonuses. An insane rush of cards (including a 108BB day) had me there in no time. The plan was to take that $1800 to 3/6, but only take a 50BB shot. If I lost the 50BB before I reached a level of comfort, I'd drop back to 2/4 and win it back. If I had 2 failed shots, I'd start winning back more than the 50BB loss each time I dropped down. Currently, after dropping to a low of around -45 BB, I'm back to -15BB and building. Hopefully I can stick around. When I can, I will make the same move at 300BB for 5/10. After 5/10 I may reconsider, but I will probably try to keep this move-up strategy as long as I feel that I have a distinct edge at whatever limit I am playing at the time. I am curious just how far I can go.

This move-up strategy insures that I am adequately bankrolled for whatever limit I play (I have additional bankroll from bonuses too, so I'm actually overrolled by quite a bit) and it prevents me from hanging around the low limits too long and missing out on profit at the higher limits. It also is easier on me psychologically to have a predetermined move-down point. I find that it keeps me from second-guessing my play excessively and it keeps me playing better at the new limit. Basically it's one less thing to worry about. I don't have to be concerned about what to do if I go on a -100BB streak all of a sudden because I know it can't happen, at least not at that limit. It may not be the best strategy for everyone, and many people may feel that 50BB isn't a big enough shot, but I figure 50 is quick enough to rebuild that I can give it another shot relatively soon if it comes down to it.

Just my ideas on the matter...

[edit]I wanted to add that if I happen to go on another rediculous rush and blow through a level in less than 5k hands, I may stick around until at least 5k just to get a better feel for that level before moving on. I guess I won't know for sure until it happens though.[/edit]