ya if your an agressive korean donkey that chases gutters for mass money
no offense to korean ppl and it might just be some of them by this is like 90% true if u play at Alantic city New Jersey or Delware Park

lol wut.

I'd say if you lose more than 4 BI's (I generally quit at 3) you should call it a day unless you play loose and know you're a good winner over time.

To respond to OP, his is pretty much what I'd suggest you do if you want to play seriously, it sounds simple but it works:
(1) Add an extra $600 to your $900 BR to get 10 BI's together but consider buying in for 75bb's on a proper 100bb/10BI roll if you're worried about going busto.
(2) Play a TAG game until you get over 20 BI's.
(3) Start playing a little looser and switch back to your TAG game if you go back to 20 BI's.

The reason I think you should keep 10 BI's is because if you lose 10BI's your fundamentals probably aren't right and you want to minimise your losses if you aren't any good, if you lose those 10 BI's put 1 live BI ($200) online and play .05/.10 NL online until you can double that money that before thinking about going back to the casino (if you hit ridiculous coolers then maybe you can think about investing more but be honest with yourself).

If you can afford to lose more than $600 you could make the initial number up to 20 BI's but I think that would be the upper limit, I've hit swings of more than 10 BI's playing 1/2 and 2/3 (I just moved up to 2/5) so it's possible but not likely if you're playing tight.

Also check out Sklansky's small stakes hold'em book, after playing at least 700 hours live I still think it's a good read and helped my game when I was starting.

Sorry to bring the bad news to you my friend.
A $900 cannot be considered a bankroll unless you play for fun and have a job and a paycheck coming to you. Almost all poker players that are in this game for fun suffer from a common malady – they overestimate the effect of luck in the long run and underestimate luck in the short run. While anyone who is losing after 500 hours is probably kidding themselves when they blame their bad cards, because it is much more likely they are not playing well enough to win. On the other hand, anyone who is winning after 200 hours is probably kidding themselves too when they think they have the skills, because it is much more likely they got good cards or they're playing with total morons and dudes around them. Even the best players have occasional losing streaks and a big bankroll is a must to overcome this.

So the bank now:
1) For fun doesn't matter. You always can replenish your chips from your paycheck.
2) For a living where you take money out to live and pay things I would say you need 40 or more buy-ins and be ready to drop if your encounter a losing streak and your bank gets smaller. So, have $8,000 to $10,000 before moving here in Vegas to be free like a cloud, enjoy life and start grinding the 1/2 NL with $200 buy-in but expect to make at best, I say: AT BEST!-- man!, about $20/hour if you are very good with lots of experience in this game. Actually, 10bb/hour is a tough number to reach over the long run. You've got to be real great player. But if you are then I see no reason to worry about. Go ahead and make your move and I assure you that you gonna have the ride of your life. But be smart because it will be extremely hard to return to normal life like having a regular job and taking orders from a supervisor after you've been a free boss at poker tables in Sin City. Be smart and you'll make it. There's not difficult and hard games to beat out here in the open at 1/2 NL. This I know for sure, but Vegas is the absolute place to start this thing going.

But, $900 is not a bankroll for 1/2.

I actually start my full time play about 25 years ago and $6,000 plus a good car without payments to make was all I had on my name. And believe me, I had some tough times and bumpy rides along the way till I reach 50 buy-ins and learned how to win.

Che,

4k absolutely.

True story: First time I go into a casino, I sit down at $1/$2, buy in for $200 and wait for BB to come around to me. 2nd hand ever at a live table, I have KK, someone raises to $15, I reraise to $100, guy behind me cold calls, and original raise cold calls. I insta raise all in on flop, both call. Turns out guy in BB spiked a Q for his QQ, and I lose the pot. about 10-15 hands later (20 mins max), I raise with AdQd, get one caller. Flop comes Jd6x3d. I bet, super aggrofish check raises me all in (probably 3rd time ive seen him do this). I call, he shows top set and hits the FH on the turn. IMO I played both hands perfectly, yet there goes $400. Good thing I hadnt bought in for the cap, or I wouldve been down $600 (which at the time was my entire live bankroll investment) in 20 minutes.

You may think you cant run bad enough to lose 4k in a downswing, but you are wrong.

If you want to play it safe, and play regularly 4k is the correct amount. If you are playing for fun, only go once a month or even less often, and dont have a problem reaching in your pocket during a downswing, you can keep the bankroll at 2k and be just fine. Its a personal decision. For example, I personally plan to start playing $2/$5 once I reach a 5k bankroll (and move down If I go down to 2k or so), so I am not really practicing completely safe BRM.

like i said if u cant fold a nut flush draw than you will need mass money. when the agro fish raised u all in u dont prolly dont even have the correct odds for calling this hand the only thing u beat is a bluff. u have 9 outs with a 32% to hit the turn and 18% to hit the river. depending on bet sizing u shoulda folded the flop here.

AQ vs Villan
1/2 NL
Hero -$200
Villan -$200

Hero raises $6
Villan Calls $6
FLOP - Jd 6c 3d
Villan Checks
Hero raises? ( there is now $15 in the pot thats putting u and the villan out of the blidns with a standard raise pre)
so lets say u raise pot $15
Pot is now $30
Agro fish reraises $194 All in....
u call? lmao if u play like this than sure u will need 10k to play 1/2 live.

Ya you can loose 4k but theres a couple things i noticed. This was ur first time playing at a live casino. Your mass overbetting with KK. If you woulda played KK to where you coulda got a feel of what the other players had than u might have been able to fold it.

if i 3 bet KK to 100 and i get 2 callers someone prolly has AA KK QQ if the flop hits Q X X and they go crazy its prolly AA or QQ either one you are beat and you fold? You shoulda 3 bet the orignal raises to $45 when the flop hits fire out a decent bet $60-$65 when u get repoped all in here you should be debating your options on AA / QQ

??????

2k bra

bout three fiddy

I played it like a set!

On bankroll issue, why are people bringing up risk of ruin. This is 1/2... Get a job, take a shot, if you bust you will be back next month at the latest. 1/2 is so soft in most casinos that you have to run ice cold or play like a maniac to lose 4 or 5 buyins in a row.

surprised it took that long for that answer lol

There's no ****ing way you're a live pro and quit acting like you are. Two overs and a FD is a statistical favorite over one pair and the guy you quoted said some aggro donk had c/r all in like 3x in the span of 20 minutes. If you're min 3betting KK because you're afraid of getting it in postflop when SPR is ****ing 0.333 (never even heard of SPR getting this low in an online game on the flop) then you suck at poker. No pro in the world would purposefully put less money in preflop as a 80% favorite because they're afraid of getting sucked out on.

You're just one of those old 1/2 losing regulars who claim they're pros that I see every time I play.

4k+ bankroll for 1/2 sounds perfectly fine to me. I'd play it with less, because my weekly income is enough to deal with swings, but if it's a sole source of income, I'd probably go with $6k+

A few years ago, there was a weekend session at 1/2 tables where I got 17 QQ+ pairs all-in on the flop/pre-flop vs other pocket pairs (and always ahead), and 13 of them got cracked. Epic downswings happen every now and then, and are more likely at donk stakes, imo.

I felt very fortunate to get that one in,

Most people playing at this level don't understand BR management. If you want to not go broke and build your bankroll, it's best you save up and play with 20X the max buy in for 1/2 which is presumably $200. That's 4K minimum to play comfortably and stick to your game/strengths. Otherwise you'll reach a bad streak and play scared. Bankroll Management is more important than the cards, the reads, the betting patterns, the rake, the casino, the players... You get the picture. Trust me, this is what will determine how long you play.

Thanks, Doyle.

Have next to no experience about this but id be taking shots quite light.

OP says he plays 25nl online. If he loses he just take a break and rebuild online. In my limited experience if you can beat 25nl then you can, not just beat most 1/2 games at the local casinos, but get crazy winrates.


Totally agree that it depends on the tables though. Whenever I've sat down at weekends there's always been a ton of fish who are fresh off a roulette win or totally smashed. Easier tables mean you don't have to push thinner edges and reduce your variance?

Doyle..hahaha...

I speak from experience. I went broke once playing 5-10 and ruined a perfectly good chance to play everyday and pursue bigger paydays. Now I'm married, have a good job, american dream, etc. My poker days are very limited now. So, I want to share and make sure anyone who's reading can learn from my mistakes.

I figure if a guy plays within his bankroll, he can learn all the other lessons needed to succeed (odds, reads, etc). BR Management is the only thing that can stop you from playing poker. The cards can't, the competition can't; it's just practice and having another bullet in the chamber to use tomorrow.

You have to suck balls to go on a 2k downswing at 1/2 live. I have seen decent players do it, but it was becuase they lost a couple buy ins and started playing like s**t. 1/2 live in most places is about as soft a game as you can find, you have to take very little risk to build a roll. I only play a few times a month and do not depend on the money to live. I know people who play 20-30 hours a week that make ~30/hr, and are not even that good, seriously.

I get you BigTuna, you're right. 2K in 1/2 should be safe.

However, 10 buy-ins in 2-5 or 5-10 NLHE is nothing more than recreational speculative play. A serious poker player knows they are destined to go broke that way. If you start slow while on a 10 buy-in diet, the pressure starts mounting and then it affects your play. Statistically, you're in big trouble, unless you're playing in really soft games or are in lock-down mode.

If you're serious about not having to get a job and playing poker long-term, I think you need *at least* 20 buy-ins.

2k for 1/2 at the casino? Maybe if you buy in for $200 and only play AA. Which is an alright strategy I guess but definitely not a $20/$30 an hour strategy.

Every 1/2 game I've ever played max buy in is $300-$500 and there's usually at least 2 or 3 stacks above max. With 5-8x opens the norm playing with only 100BB seems like playing the shallow tables online. Get $500 or the max on the table at all times. Most players playing 1/2 live can't really afford it, no one understands anything.

Most of my profit comes from playing deep vs. donks. They have no clue what they're doing to start with let alone when your 500-800 bb's deep vs them.

Buying experience time with conservative bankroll management. Great advice.

Once again, thanks Doyle for your wisdom.

Duly noted

The point of having a big BR is so that if you lose 1K to bad beats or coolers you don't get tilted from having lost half your BR in one night. The psychological effect of realizing most of your BR is gone makes you chase everything hoping to break even and/or monkey spew it on insane bluffs. You have to have the patience of a buddhist monk to not go on tilt from losing a significant portion of your BR.

Lol at people saying losing 2000 is next to impossible, you have not played enough poker. My bankroll is 8000 and I still want it to be more for 1/2. You will go on bad runs against donks that you simply can not avoid. I can remember countless times getting all my money in with top set post flop and guys hitting flushes or some a open ended straight draws. A lot of these players just want to gamble because they are young and stupid which is what I want but will also bring many bad beats. Just wait for the live doom switch to come it happens to everyone.