beginners bank roll and game selection

[wyattjames4]

i am a beginning player of about 3-4 months. i play at hawaian gardens casino in orange county and have been playing 2-4 limit holdem. i am looking at starting a bankroll soon. my problem is that i am a recent college graduate and have more than my fair share of debt, so a bankroll is somewhat of a luxury. how much should a bankroll be to absorb wins and losses and how should you determine when to add to or take from your bankroll if youve been winning or losing? also, its apparent that the rake is a major consideration, as it decreases proportionally as you move up to 3-6, 4-8 etc. i have had a decent amount of success in the 2-4 game, but find I am a little intimidated of the higher games. what factors should i use in choosing the level that I play at? thanks ahead of time for any replies to this question.

wyatt

[stinkypete]

i'm not sure about the games at hawaiian gardens, but when the rake is taken into consideration, the 4-8 and 3-6 games are probably more beatable than the 2-4 game. i highly doubt the level of play is significantly higher at those limits, and i don't see any reason to be intimidated.

the general rule around here for bankroll size is 300 big bets at whatever level you're playing at. that should be enough to cover any swings if you're a winning player. do a search for "bankroll" and you'll find about a billion threads on the subject.

[Festus22]

I would recommend playing online. It has a much lower rake proportionally and you'll see a lot more hands per given time interval.

One word of caution though is that the skill level when comparing the same stakes is NOT the same. $2/4 online will play much tougher than live $2/4. I would suggest starting with $300, play $0.5/1 and take it from there.

[Bob T.]

I would recommend playing online. It has a much lower rake proportionally and you'll see a lot more hands per given time interval.


Which means that you will get about twice as much experience over the same time frame. When you are playing low limit live, or microlimit online, the money, isn't really the biggest benefit. (although winning is nice) The biggest benefit you can get from those games is what you learn from the games. The .50/1.00 games also have some reasonable players, and the play probably is stronger than in the lowest live games, so when you can beat the microlimit game, you can probably beat the live game also. The tuition you pay while you are learning, is cheaper at .50/1.00 than it would be in the live game, so the online game is a bargain that way also.

I would suggest starting with $300, play $0.5/1 and take it from there.

I don't think you have to commit this much to your first buy-in. If it's all you can spare, buy in for $100. If you lose it, you also have the advantage of having to wait and reflect on your play, before you buyin again.

You mentioned that your budget is kinda tight right now, because of bills, etc.. Don't move up until you have that 250-300 BB bankroll at the next level, and don't cashout, until after you have moved up a level or two. ( Except maybe your original buy in, just so that you can see that cashouts work.)

Finally, the 300 BB bankroll is for a winning player that isn't planning on replenishing their bankroll. IF you are willing to replenish your bankroll, or you are willing to drop back down in limits fairly quickly, then you can play with a thinner bankroll, but I don't think many of the longtime posters do that.

The cool thing, is that if you are good, and lucky, maybe a couple of years from now, you will be making regular withdrawels, and have a very comfortable bankroll for the limits that you play.

( a little interlude for bragging )
Four years ago, I was playing 2-4 live, and .50/1.00 online, and had a 'bankroll' of $500. Now, I play at limits where I have 500 to 1000 BBs, and I have paid all my mortgage payments this year from my poker accounts.
(interlude over)

There are also players around here, that play better and make more money than I do. A lot of the players on this site, are winning players, and have a lot of experience about how to go about winning. One thing that you will notice, is that they all play differently, and finding a stlye that works for you, is probably as important to your success, as playing the exact right way all the time. But at the same time, if they all tell you that A9offsuit is unplayable in early position for a raise, you should probably listen, because if they all come down on the same side of a decision, it is very likely that that play isn't going to work.

Good luck,
play well,

Bob T.

[Festus22]

Wyatt,

What he said in a manner more effective than I.

Nice post Bob.