Are Small Bankrolls Even Worth It??

[egordo877]

this might be contrary to the conventional advice, but I would borrow and play the stakes that you want to play at (being reasonable of course). when you play on a short bankroll you tend to put yourself through more emotional stress needlessly, win or lose. but at the same time, i can relate to needing to play big enough so that its interesting.

also, there is nothing wrong with buying in shorter.

if you can't borrow though, you simply need to exert some discipline and grind your way up. And hopefully when you do have your desired several thousand dollar bankroll you will have the willpower to stay at that level for a while and be sure that you can grind out a nice earn for yourself, rather than continually wanting to move up to bigger games when you are not properly rolled for it.

[Poker Fool]

OP respect the game or get a proper bankroll.

Of course it seems you dont beat the lower games and you dont beat the bigger games, different excuses for why of course.

[BJK]

OP: My advice is to learn to beat the small stakes games and then move up. Yes, small bankrolls are worth it. Believe me when I say that you will respect your bankroll more by earning it the hard way.

You may scoff at my advice. You may say, "I know how to beat those limits, I just get bored." The fact of the matter is, if you are losing because you are getting bored, you haven't learned to beat that level.

Poker is all about patience, and the most worthy adversary I've ever had to conquer at the poker table is boredom.

[MediaPA]

I have a fairly large bankroll (for me) after some purchases and things. You will rarely see me play regularly much above 100NL/PL. More typically I'll just play 25 games. I've sat as high as 5000 NL and 200/400 on a short roll, so I have gambled.

I still consider myself a gambler, but one who has seen the dark side. Be several thousand in the hole and see how you feel. I kept gambling and playing on a short roll. Fortunately for me, I ran good for a while and got in the black. If I would have just ground up the levels, I feel that I'd be playing at a much higher level than I am currently. I know that I like to gamble on occassion though. Because of this, I don't play high for more than a session/buy-in. When I feel like gambling it's normally an amount within 'normal' bankroll standards if I lose. And I have an expectation that the money can easily be gone.

So figure out where you want to be. On one hand, you can gamble, playing outside of your roll and probably start a pretty bad cycle (or maybe you run hot for a while). On the other, you can take the advice of many people who have gone before that have been in some rough spots because of bad roll management.

In no way to I claim to be a great player, just one who has been in a deep hole (for myself) and wish it upon no one (even the biggest pricks in the world).

[engineer_mba]

[ QUOTE ]
I try with my small $400-$1000 BR I get bored of the games

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, I cannot imagine considering $1000 a small bankroll I have spent months building up from $50 to just under $400. I definitely understand the boredom of playing for a couple of cents, but those times were important for my development. I would far prefer to lose a few dollars to misplaying than blowing a few hundred.

Just my two cents,

Leo

[engineer_mba]

Hi Fast Eddy,

Thanks for this post. I also started with $50 and am following a similar structure where I only move up after I have 300bb for the limit I want to play at. Its slow, and I seems like I have been stuck at $0.5/$1 forever, but in the end I know that I will eventually grind enough to move up. Your post is definitely encouraging as someone who has done exactly what I want to do.

Also for the OP, is there is a reason you don't do tourneys? You could play a $6 or $11 tourney, and if you win get $1k+. I am not encouraging this, but you mentioned your friends used this system, so why haven't you followed their lead?

Cheers,

Leo

[Vince.]

If you are a decent player it shouldn't take too long to move up from 25NL. 3 or 4 table 25NL until you have a little over 1k, then move up to 50NL and do the same until you have 2-3k and just keep moving up when you have 20-30 buyins for each new level. If you want to be a winner you have to have patience.

[KingGordy]

[ QUOTE ]
I personally have been trying to stick to real BR management lately, playing with 15 full buy-in to NL ring games online, but every time I try with my small $400-$1000 BR I get bored of the games I am supposed to be playing in and move up. Then of course I get one bad run and im broke.

Is it even worth it to try to play within my weak bankroll, or should I keep trying the go broke or get rich quick method until I do finally get a real manageable bankroll?

Also if I am doing the build of fast or go broke method, what should I play? $20-40 buyin tournys on stars or just cash games?


ps- I'm a much better LIVE cash game player than online cash game player, but my only good cash game near me is $100/$200 buyin 2/5NL and I don't have near enough cash for that game.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you're good and play a decent number of hands (5K a week or so), it should only take you like 2 weeks to dig your way out of the micros. Just suck it up and grind it out. If you're not good enough to grind up your own bankroll for the higher limits, you're not going to be good enough to beat the higher limits.

[AlanBostick]

[ QUOTE ]
It is extremely risky to bring a $3000-$4000 bankroll to play $2/$5 NL. Your chances of losing it are really good regardless of your skill level. Obviously, you have little regard for experienced players telling you to build your bankroll properly but you'll probably just have to learn the hard way. Good luck

[/ QUOTE ]

Bear in mind that the typical brick-and-mortar $2-$5 NLHE game is a lot easier to beat than the equivalent-sized game online. If OP can beat .10-.25 online, he's in great shape for this game, assuming he has either an adequate bankroll (more than about 20 buyins) or he has enough disposable income from his day job to replenish losses.

(I say this over and over again, and no one seems to notice: A cash flow of $25 per week in disposable income is the equivalent of a bankroll of $25,000 cash on hand.)

[ianlippert]

[ QUOTE ]
If you are a decent player it shouldn't take too long to move up from 25NL. 3 or 4 table 25NL until you have a little over 1k, then move up to 50NL and do the same until you have 2-3k and just keep moving up when you have 20-30 buyins for each new level. If you want to be a winner you have to have patience.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya it really shouldnt take you longer than a month if you are a winning 25NL or 50NL player. Like everyone else said, just stick with it. If you dont have the discipline you are going to go busto the first big downswing you run into.