How do you manage your bankroll?

[el_grande]

OK, I'm familiar with the 300BB bankroll idea. I use it. Well, maybe I use more like 200BB, but I play on party. :-)
Mathematically, 300BB is supposed to keep you afloat as long as you are playing fairly well.

Let's say you move up a level. I just did this. I started with $100 at party playing $.5/$1 and ran it up to $500, where I switched to $1/$2. Now I just started playing $2/$4 and my BR is 300BB for that.

I would not have started playing $2/$4 with 150BB, so what happens if I go on a horrible streak and drop to 150BB? I'd be in a situation where I'm playing a game too rich for my BR. So if you were in this situation, would you drop down a level? How low do you have to get to do this?

Is there a modification to the simple 300BB rule where you regress to previous levels when you hit a certain BR? Should there be?

[cocarondelle]

one time i was up to 400 dollars and then dropped to 315. i got pissed so tried my luck at blackjack and dropped back down to 140. now im hovering around 300. So i guess not playing blackjack when your down on your luck is one way to manage bankroll [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[SomethingClever]

I don't know if there's a hard-and-fast rule that people stick to, but if I had 300 BB at a level, and I dropped 150 BB, yes, I'd drop down.

[Jaquen H'gar]

If 300 BB's is the "optimal" bankroll (an assumption I don't necessarily hold), then for optimal growth of the bankroll, one should continually resize their bets to match their changing bankroll. i.e., if the bankroll drops by 50%, then the bets should drop by 50%. If the bankroll grows by 50%, then the bets should increase by 50%. Ideally, this changing of bets should occur after every session but of course this isn't practical since betting limits are predefined - $.50, $1, $2, $3, $5, etc.

Example: bankroll is $1200 thus indicated game is $2/4. If bankroll drops to $900, then ideally the game should be $1.50/3.00 but there is no such game so keep at 2/4 until bankroll drops to $600 then cutback to $1/2. If bankroll grows and reaches $1800 then jump to $3/6, etc.

If the fractional betting limits were available and the bets resized after every hand, this would theoretically be the fastest way to grow your bankroll so the best practical idea would be to follow this model as closely as possible. This assumes the 300 BB rule, of course.

[madcaller]

The 300BB bankroll comes from a combination of Kelly betting theory and risk of ruin calculations. Here are a couple of links that are interesting:

http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/refer/RevGROR.htm
http://www.bjmath.com/bjmath/refer/CalcGROR.htm
http://www.bjmath.com/main.htm

I would use a 300BB bankroll and move down at a minimum when your bankroll drops to 200BB. Of course this all depends on your win rate. The higher the win rate the more flexibility you have with bankroll size. However, if you are not a winning player you will need and infinite bankroll.

[Michael Davis]

I like to take risks, so I'm often calling for the hit & run, suicide squeeze, and hidden ball trick.

-Michael

[www.portal2poker.com]

I would play till i was broke and start over again at .5/1

[garyc8]

You should probably calculate your win rate, and your standard deviation. This will give you a better idea what your bankroll requirements are.

[Andy B]

I think the notion of maintaining a 300 BB bankroll to play $2/4 is absurd. Clearly, you're not playing for a living, so going broke isn't the disaster that it would be if you were. A reasonable buy-in for $2/4 is $100. How hard is it going to be for you to come up with another $100 if you throw off your bankroll?

If I had needed 150 BB to play in a game, I would never have been able to play anything.

[sammy_g]

[ QUOTE ]
I would use a 300BB bankroll and move down at a minimum when your bankroll drops to 200BB.

[/ QUOTE ]
Maybe someone can clear something up for me. I thought the whole point of 300BB is so that you can absorb any swings *without* moving down in limits if you know you are a winning player. If you are disciplined enough to move down in limits after losing 100BB, shouldn't you be able to get by with less?

One problem I see is if you are new to a limit, you don't know your win rate. If you don't know your win rate, you can't really calculate what bankroll you need. You can't play at a new limit until you know you are properly bankrolled. Sort of a chicken/egg problem.