[TNixon]

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I'm just curious, are any of you guys that use these 10 bi methods sticking around in bigger games, or are you just perpetually near busto every few days?

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After the dozens, if not hundreds, of posts that have been made on this topic, it honestly surprises me that so many people still just automatically assume playing 10 buyins just automatically means a very high risk of ruin.

If I have $300 with a 10/7 BI rule (step up at 10, back down at 7), I don't go busto if I have a 10BI downswing. Moving up and down at the appropriate times means I would basically have to have a 25 BI downswing to go bust (and that's only because I would rather redeposit than play $2s. If I play through $2s, that adds another 10BI pad). Dropping 25 is certainly possible, but the risk is pretty small, and the potential upside is huge. Also, waiting for 20 or 30 buyins really doesn't buy you that much more safety. Simulator runs show that over 1k games, you can be trading as much as doubling your final bankroll on average, for less than 1% added to your survival rate (that's already pretty high anyway, due to the extra stepdown padding). So instead of going bust 1.5 times in 100, you go bust .7 times in 100, but with a *much* lower average ending point.

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From a cash player perspective, a 100 buyin bankroll sounds nice.

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This is pretty nitty by most people's standards (including quite a few people who pay their bills through poker), unless you don't think your skill level is high enough to be a winner at the next level.

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I like only risking 1% of my roll on a game.

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But this trumps anybody else's view of nittiness.

I can tell you with 100% assuredness that by waiting for 20 or 30 buyins to advance through a HUSNG level, you are passing up a TON of potential value if you're going to be a winner at that level, and a smaller amount of value if you still need an adjustment/learning period.

I can also tell you that playing 10 buyins has you moving up and down in levels on a fairly regular basis, and that it's nowhere near being "perpetually near busto every few days".

But only you can decide where your comfort level is, and that factor will outweigh any amount of statistics.

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But if you should drop to 5k just go back to 50's.

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When I hit 5k, the only reason I can imagine continuing to play $50s is if it's too tough to find opponents on a regular basis at anything higher. So far, I haven't had too much trouble with my shots at $100s filling up, so I don't imagine that will be an issue.