The 300bb mandate

[jmgambler]

Dear All,

I have been playing $2/$4 PP and have had swings of $300 down, made adjustments and bought it back up to $600 now by all accounts I should be playing at $1/$2 only thing is I get killed at this level.

Has anyone here gone against accepted advice and started with much less than 300bb and is doing well/ok?

Should I be at $1/$2? and give it another try?

Should I continue what I am doing? or is it 300bb and no less?

Regards David

[Mangatang]

300 big bets is just a guideline to keep a safe cushion. The biggest downswing I've taken over the last year and a half is about 140 big bets, so technically, I could have survived with a bankroll of 150. But, I wouldn't have felt very comforatable at all playing with only 10 big bets worth.

I find your statement about not being able to beat the $1/2 unusual. If you can beat $2/4, you can certainly beat $1/2. In fact, there's probably no noticable difference between the two limits. It sounds like you don't have enough hands to determine win rate at either.

If you have anything less than 10,000 hands, then your sample size is way too small. Actually, you probably need more like 50,000 hands to get a good, statistically significant number.

[AngryCola]

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I find your statement about not being able to beat the $1/2 unusual.

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I think this is the biggest understatement of the day. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[jmgambler]

Thanks for your reply,
You are right I am approaching 10k for $2/$4..... Maybe its psychological the levels I mean..... it just seems that people play more "correctly" is that the right word? at $2/$4

Regards David

[jmgambler]

You are right also! *sigh*,
If I recall I played a week str8 at $1/$2 and got killed as time after time miracle river cards and players calling with 85o etc and catching their 2 pr.

I got frustrated and moved up a level where I thought people played with some semblance of normality and started winning and thats where I have been ever since.


Regards David

[Mangatang]

I used to think this way too, when I first started. I questioned if I should move up to the $10/20 table, because the "idiots" at $3/6 didn't know what they were doing. LOL

You know that you want your opponents to play incorrectly, don't you? If they all played "correctly", no one would win except for the house.

[Grease]

Feel the variance, embrace the variance...
It keeps the fish coming back.

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]
Feel the variance, embrace the variance...
It keeps the fish coming back.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrap yourself up in it like a warm blanket. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Kenrick]

[ QUOTE ]

I have been playing $2/$4 PP and have had swings of $300 down, made adjustments and bought it back up to $600 now by all accounts I should be playing at $1/$2 only thing is I get killed at this level.


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The golden rule of gambling: If you can't afford to lose big, don't bet big. And if you can't afford to lose, then don't play.

A $300 downswing at 2/4 is nothing. That's not even losing 100bb. It can and most likely will get much worse at some point. Whether that is fine and you can handle the swings is up to you and your bankroll, just never take variance lightly.

I see so many players who have played even 50k+ hands without a 100bb downswing and think it's because they are such great players, and maybe they are, but the downswing monster can still easily get them. I saw a maniac who most certainly did not play well win 150bb in 2-3 hours last week and then lose it all during the next 2-3 hours. It was insane. I don't know if I've seen a poker book yet that really prepares people for the potential swings involved in professional gambling. They all tend to be overly optimistic, in my opinion.

[M.B.E.]

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Maybe its psychological the levels I mean..... it just seems that people play more "correctly" is that the right word? at $2/$4

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Read this thread, particularly the posts in it by La Brujita and Lorinda.