Growing Pains? my bankroll is suffering

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That all depends on your comfort level. You should have a bankroll of at least 300BB, IMHO, especially when you are just starting out. So if you are going to play 3-6, then you need a bankroll of $1800.

I am currently playing .25/.50 with a bankroll of $150. I could probably afford to put a little more into my roll at this point, but I don't want to until I feel more comfortable with my game.

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Wow, $1800 for 3/6 limit? I usually will deposit anywhere from 100 to 200 on a daily basis. If i lose it, i start over the nexy day. I think i'm approaching this the wrong way.

[aargh57]

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These are all great replies.

I think i may be trying to rush into the concepts outlined in the books and trying too many things at once. Another part of the problem is actually remembering so many hands that i've played and going back to the book to read about it.

Gonna take it slower, section by section.

How do you guys feel about this? for instance, concentrating first on pre flop play only as outlined in the book.

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I think that's a good idea. I read a post in here once that related poker to playing basketball. The first step was getting your fundamentals down. In basketball that would be practicing dribbling, freethrows, etc... In poker, that would be starting hands, counting outs, memorizing the pot odds charts. From there you can move on to the more advanced parts. I would suggest applying WLLH for a while before moving on to SSH. Even SSH's intro says it's not a beginner's book. WLLH is so short and concise that you should be able to absorb most of the sections of it. In the reviews Malmuth gave the 3rd edition a good review so I'm hoping you have that one. If you don't have it buy it or GSIH and try to apply those concepts. I never read GSIH but I believe it's quite a bit bigger (probably better with more info too) but I'm sure it's easy to apply. If you have the 2nd edition it will teach weak-tight play. Just remember this if you decide to go with it. One of the main things, in my opinion, that's different with WLLH is that it doesn't stress pot size enough. Anyway, I think I'm getting ahead of myself. Learn to walk before you run, play at a level that won't kill your bankroll, don't worry about the downswings so much, and have fun.

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Wow, $1800 for 3/6 limit? I usually will deposit anywhere from 100 to 200 on a daily basis. If i lose it, i start over the nexy day. I think i'm approaching this the wrong way.

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I think we may have stumbled onto your problem here.

The proper way to do this as a beginner is to establish a certain chunk of cash that is to be your bankroll. That is the money that you can afford to play with and that is ALL the money you will play with.

That bankroll should then determine the levels you are playing at.

So if you determine that you only can afford to put $500 in your bankroll, then you should be playing at .50/1 or 1/2.

In my case, I specifically chose $150 as an amount that would allow me to play pretty much .25/.5 exclusively. Once I get that up over $250, I will then move to .50/1 - then if it drops below $200, its back to the quarters.

I chose to do this because I WANT to learn at the lowest levels. I know that I am going to make plenty of mistakes, so I want to minimize those costs.

aargh57,
thanks for the tip. I think i will move back to WLLHE, i have the 3rd edition. Might be better for me since it takes a more tigther approach to SSHE. As for SSHE, i will hold off as I have started to read it but find myself lost at times, at least with WLLHE, i understand the gist of things, now i need to try and apply them.

Hank_Scorpio,
Yeah, will definitely be moving dwn in limits. But i think the hardest part is knowing that i've lost thousands of dollars playing at the higher limits with an insufficient bankroll. I need to start thinking long term here and forget about the prior losses or else i end up losing more since i go into every session trying to win monster pots to try and make up for previous losses.

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aargh57,
thanks for the tip. I think i will move back to WLLHE, i have the 3rd edition. Might be better for me since it takes a more tigther approach to SSHE. As for SSHE, i will hold off as I have started to read it but find myself lost at times, at least with WLLHE, i understand the gist of things, now i need to try and apply them.

Hank_Scorpio,
Yeah, will definitely be moving dwn in limits. But i think the hardest part is knowing that i've lost thousands of dollars playing at the higher limits with an insufficient bankroll. I need to start thinking long term here and forget about the prior losses or else i end up losing more since i go into every session trying to win monster pots to try and make up for previous losses.

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With that, I would also add that you probably need to do some serious reading - trust me, it will change the way you look at poker COMPLETELY.

[aargh57]

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aargh57,
thanks for the tip. I think i will move back to WLLHE, i have the 3rd edition. Might be better for me since it takes a more tigther approach to SSHE. As for SSHE, i will hold off as I have started to read it but find myself lost at times, at least with WLLHE, i understand the gist of things, now i need to try and apply them.

Hank_Scorpio,
Yeah, will definitely be moving dwn in limits. But i think the hardest part is knowing that i've lost thousands of dollars playing at the higher limits with an insufficient bankroll. I need to start thinking long term here and forget about the prior losses or else i end up losing more since i go into every session trying to win monster pots to try and make up for previous losses.

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Launchpad,

That's a rough way to start out (losing a couple grand) but at least you're on you're way now. The "big score" mindset is a very bad one to have at poker. It's almost like tourists at the craps or blackjack tables that make one big bet to get even. When you take this mindset in poker you're probably not doing much more than what these guys are. It's going to cloud your judgement. When you get AK you're going to be more reluctant to fold it to try to get back in the game. The tips that Hank gave you about bankroll management are good advice. I think you should probably be playing at the .5/1 level at the very most. It may seem like you're not winning much at those levels but you should be able to get that money back within 6 months if you play about 10 hours per week. I suggest playing only one table for the first 3000 hands or so (more if you're uncomfortable). I also suggest going to bonuswhores.com and following their bonuswhore101 guide (I'm beginning to sound like a salesman, I'm really not though). By bonusing you will definitely help cushion the blows to your bankroll and eventually become a good source of your earnings when you can beat the game.

Awesome guys, thanks again for the tips. I will deinfitlely applying all the suggestions you guys recommended.

Last question though, I am thinking about heading to AC this weekend, do the bankroll requierment change if playing live?
I will probably be playing at 2/4 limit since this is probably the lowest spread in AC casinos. Thanks.

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Technically no, it wouldn't change for live. However, I don't think that you are looking to make it your normal game. I think you are going for a fun weekend, and hope to play some cards.

That said, I usually look at trips to AC as an entertainment expense versus poker bankroll building. I try to win, and if I do, it generally goes towards the weekend expenses/poker bankroll. I normally just take about $100 per session I want to play. AC tables tend to have more action than online games, at least from my experience. Solid play will usually do you pretty well in these games.

Maybe people will disagree with me, but that's my 2 cents about how I'd approach it.

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Technically no, it wouldn't change for live. However, I don't think that you are looking to make it your normal game. I think you are going for a fun weekend, and hope to play some cards.

That said, I usually look at trips to AC as an entertainment expense versus poker bankroll building. I try to win, and if I do, it generally goes towards the weekend expenses/poker bankroll. I normally just take about $100 per session I want to play. AC tables tend to have more action than online games, at least from my experience. Solid play will usually do you pretty well in these games.

Maybe people will disagree with me, but that's my 2 cents about how I'd approach it.

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That's exactly what i was thinking as well. For me, playing live poker is more fun the enjoyment of the game, like you said, entertainment purposes.

I would rather spend 100 playing cards then go to a club in the city and pay for entrance fee, over priced drinks, etc...

If i lose the 100, well, no biggie as long as i had fun playing for a couple hours. If i win, even better, i can fill up the gasoline in my car for the ride home.

[bholdr]

everyone's replys have been great, and i have very little to add...

so:

The first poker book i ever read was supersystem. it totally screwed up my game. then, i read Theroy of Poker. that helped a lot. After i read TOP, i was able to go back to SS and discern which advice was applicable to the games i was playing. Reading and re-reading TOP has helped my game more than any other book, but not on it's own. Think of it as a user's manual for all other poker advice that you recieve. a thorough understanding of TOP helps to contextualize the often-contradictory reccomendations in other books. I would strongly reccomend reading it.

Also, i do not feel that WLLHE is worth the price. much better advice is available in other books, such as Ed Miller's 'Getting Started in Hold'em".

GL