a couple of interesting hands from the Bike (5-10NL)

[tap tap tappy]

I am going to sound like a jackass but....what is a blocking bet? Oh and at that stake table what kind of bankroll do you carry to comfortably take some swings should you dredge through the [censored]?

[lapoker17]

Blocking Bet noun

A bet that is designed to precipitate a cheaper showdown.

The idea is that it's far more difficult for an opponent to come over the top of your bet than it is to fire one of his own. So, if on the river, you're out of position, think your hand might me good, but do not want to have to call a big bet you fire a blocker. You are assuming that the bet you will likely face if you check, will be greater than the size of your blocking bet, but often, Villain, even when ahead will simply call your bet instaed of reraising.

In Riverboat's example, he bet $500, because he didn't want to call a bet from Villain of say $900.

[riverboatking]

[ QUOTE ]
I am going to sound like a jackass but....what is a blocking bet? Oh and at that stake table what kind of bankroll do you carry to comfortably take some swings should you dredge through the [censored]?


[/ QUOTE ]

a blocking bet is a bet designed to stop an opponent from bluffing you out of the pot with a worse hand, or forcing you to call a larger bet from a better hand that will call your bet but won't raise it and would have bet bigger had you checked.
in effect, what you are doing is setting your own price for a showdown. so if you were going to have to call his bet anyway, by making a blocking bet you often get to showdown cheaper, then if you were to check/call.

i am 100% sure that someone can define it better then i just did. basically you don't want to have to call a big bet so you make a smaller almost preemptive bet.

as for the proper bankroll requirements, its the same as any game, you should have between 15-30 buy-ins.
now since this game has a minimum buy-in requirement rather then a maximum buy-in cap, you need to set those figures according to how much you want to buy-in for.
your style of play also effects your bankroll requirements, if you play a style of play that lends itself to a high variance you need a bigger bankroll then if you are a nut peddler (duh!)