[memphis57]

[ QUOTE ]
This is one of the most frightening posts I've ever read.

Start with a coupe hundred and play the micro limits. If you're good enough there you can add an extra hundred bucks a month to your spending money and be happy. I cannot believe someone jumping into poker would consider using student loan money or jumping right into such high stakes.

Does nobody else feel that the OP is asking for all sorts of trouble?

[/ QUOTE ]


I think several of you misread his post - either that, or I did. Didn't he say he's already been playing for a while,and that he's up like 17K? And that the 4K of student loans he's thinking about as part of his bankroll is money that he WOULD have spent for school except he spent poker winnings instead?

Kane, I think your true bankroll, from what you said, is $5K - what you could lose without changing anything about your lifestyle or having complications. Now, since you don't have a ready source to replenish it if you happen to lose it, you should probably be more conservative than the 300 BB rule of thumb - I'd say 500 BB if you were playing limit.

Since you're playing NL and SNGs, you'll have to figure an equivalent to that and then probably pad it some more, since I would think those games have a higher variance than limit (although I have heard the SNGs have a lower variance, I'm not sure I buy that but I don't have much experience to contest it). I would play it safe and aim for the equivalent of a 600 BB limit bankroll.

Also, even though you do seem to have a very good record win-rate-wise, you have to be VERY sure that you are a winning player at whatever game you settle on - bankroll calculations are based on the assumption that you're beating the game, no bankroll is big enough for a losing player.

I think that means that you should move up very slowly, track your results, and play enough hands to get a statistically significant conclusion that you are still beating the game at the higher level. Then move up again. If you run into loses that hurt the bankroll, evenif it's just variance, move down and rebuild.

For example, if you follow my 600 BB suggestion, if you lose 200 BB of that, drop down and build the roll back to 600 before trying again.