First try at NLHE cash games: graph/story/questions

[PhantomGoose]

My first 21,000 hands playing cash games. I had been mostly studying and playing a few freerolls and cheap tourneys for the six months prior. On a $50 budget so I figured I'd see about playing .01/.02 and this is what I have so far:



Break-even for a while, but I started figuring out that I should occasionally fold to big river bets, which has helped. Then I started on this littler heater for a while, but I think I've got the hang of it.

I read everything like 5 times, did a bunch of work with pokerstove. I've worked my bankroll from $50 to about $140, and am halfway to clearing my $50 bonus.

I know the sample size is small. I was hoping that other forum members could help me answer some questions... I've done searches the first one, but there's a lot of numbers people are throwing out and I can't tell what's right from wrong.

1) How do I determine what kind of bankroll I need?

This .01/.02 has a max buy-in of $5, whereas $1/$2 games have a max buy-in of $200 - in one case you can buy in for 250 big blinds, but in the other, it's only 100 big blinds. I'm sure this should affect BR requirements.

2) .02/.05 has a max buy-in of $10, as does .05/10 - does that mean the BR requirements are the same? When I move up, what will I need? I'm confused.

3) Obviously my winrate is not going to be sustainable at this level. With only 21,000 hands, with what amount of confidence could I say I'm at least a winning player? Or, put another way, what is the probability that I am actually a losing player having a freakish upswing?

Some of my stats:

VP$iP: 24.3%
PFR: 5.1%
SD: 93 Big Bets/100 - I guess this is a lot??

I don't raise as much as some other successful players I've seen, but I feel more confident post flop than many of the players I see. I'm somewhat passive preflop actually, but I'm pretty aggressive on the flop and like to see them cheap. I'm okay with laying down big pairs if I think they're beat so its working out.

I'm very disciplined playing and have abandoned SNGs and tourneys for now. I've been trying to follow all of the good advice I've gotten from books and posters here at 2+2 and I appreciate it.

Honest answers please. It's okay if you laugh at my limits but it's all I can really afford to play. I figure I can move up if I play well.

[PhantomGoose]

There's a few places I could have posted this I guess, but this was the best bet to get the specific answers I was looking for. Mods please move if you think it would be better in Micro Stakes, Beginners, etc.... thanks