My Story -- Bankroll help!

So about a month ago I turned 18 and opened a checking account at the local bank and soon afterward deposited $100 into a partypoker account and started playing the NL25s and a few SNGS (5s and 10s). I had just read SuperSystems and took every word written in that book as truth.
By the end of the day, my 100 was gone. I took the book too seriously, especially the part about making a loose/gambler table image and to play the next hand after winning one because *STREAKS HAPPEN*
So I almost immediately deposited another 100 and played more conservitavely and started building it back up, slowly.

Over the next week, I picked up a few book (HOH, Theory of Poker, Advanced Tournament) and began studying the game from the point of view of much more conservative players. I began playing this way and making more and more money. Once I got up to about 250-300, I moved to NL50s and started dominating. I tried doing 2 tables at a time and it was working fine. Then 3. Then 4.
Once I hit about 500 I moved to the NL100s. I was playing the same game, no matter what the stakes were, and it was working quite well. The problem was that I was moving up the stakes WAY too quickly without a big enough bankroll. Before I even had a grand in my account I would play with 2 tables of 400 EXTREMELY tight. It was rediculous. I ended up getting my rankroll to its peak at 1.2 grand (therefore 1,000 profit) within less than 3 weeks.
And I kept doing this. Multitabling with my whole bankroll on the table! I ended up catching a bad streak of cards and losing some giant hands. After losing my first 400$ hand, I finally realized I was doing somehting wrong. I stepped it down to NL100 (which was still very high for my bankroll, which was now about 600). I even tried the 6 person tables and played MUCH more agressively, bluffing way too much.

Needless to say, I lost it all. I was down to 30$ one night when I decided to invest it into 3 10+1 tournaments (which I, of course, played at the same time). I told myself that if I lost this, I would take a LONG break from poker and get my mind right. I forget how I placed in those tournaments, however I know that I won them. I stuck with the 10+1s and within about a day turned my bankroll back to the 200 I started with.
I played the 10+1s for about a week straight and had a good win streak going.

So, to make a long story short, I have been consistently winning since then (about 2 or 3 weeks) and have built my bankroll back up to about 800. I cashed out most of it and have about 200-250 in the account now.

My question to ya'll is what stakes should I be playing? I'm multi tabling the 25s now and killin the donks just playing real solid poker. TAG.

How many buy-ins would you guys recommend to have before moving up in the stakes again?

Thanks in advance.

[btetreau]

Interesting story! Yeah, you were playing way above your bankroll.

The standard is 20 full buyins for any level, which says that you should have at least $500 to play the NL25s. If I were you I would multi-table the NL10 until you got up to around $400 and then switch over to NL25.

Check out the sticky FAQ here, it's got a small bit about that.

Good luck.

[phillydilly]

bankroll has been discussed a ton, but i'll sum it up
with 250, some will say you're underrolled for NL$25, but i think you're fine, just play how you know how to play and not stupidly
when you hit a grand (dont worry sooner than you think), move to NL$50, at 2K move to NL$100
just have 20 buyins for the level you are at, if you drop to 10 buyins, move down a level, rebuild, move up
and repeat,
if you want to play super safe, keep it at 30 buyins, drop down if you hit 20

[TheWorstPlayer]

Check out THIS post in this really NOVEL thread!

[JeanieJ]

Stay where you are. You made quite a few mistakes your first time around, and you made them quickly. We all go broke from time to time. What matters is that you learn from those mistakes.

As for your question, I think you should stay at the 25NL until you have 25-50 buy ins. This may be a little conservative, but I've been a pretty conservative type person since going bust a little over a year ago.

Move up when you feel comfortable. Take your time. There is no hurry to make it to the top. You're not a professional (and shouldn't be planning that at your age anyway). You have all the time in the world to move up limits. The longer you take at each limits the more you will learn.

[TheWorstPlayer]

[ QUOTE ]
The longer you take at each limits the more you will learn.

[/ QUOTE ]
I generally agree with your post but this last bit is very VERY VERY wrong.

[-Skeme-]

Read the FAQ, sir. It's there for a reason.

[JeanieJ]

Care to share why?

[UOPokerPlayer]

For bankroll advice look at the FAQ. I hate to bring you down, but most likely you've been incredibly lucky so far. Looks like you're on the right track now. The money is at the 6-max imo, and for you, someone who craves action it looks like; that's the way to go.

Also, if you have the checking account. Get a NETeller account. It takes a while, but it's worth it. That's because once you get that, you are able to taste the sweetest plum. Bonus Whoring. That's really where it's at for a 25 level player right now. Go to www.Bonuswhores.com and check out their bonuswhoring101. This is what i wish someone would have told me back in the day.

Final piece of advice. Stop cashing out. If you want to move up, you need to build your bankroll to where it's safe enough to take the swings of nl poker. Check the FAQ for the exact numbers. Good luck.

[TheWorstPlayer]

[ QUOTE ]
Care to share why?

[/ QUOTE ]
You seriously don't know why?