Hi all my bankroll was up to $4200 from starting with $200 at 1/3 live since December. Unfortunately last night I took a really big loss in one hand and went on tilt, dropping my bankroll to $2800. I was already obviously playing above my bankroll to get to that amount, but I was not liking to have to do it. I was almost at a level where I would be comfortable with 1/3 but then blew it.

It hurt so bad because it was so much of my bankroll and I never want to do that again. Long story short, I don’t want to play online if I can help it. Is there any way to stay within my bankroll live and build it back up? I’m in California.

If you are playing in California, I am assuming that you are playing in drop games that rake a lot of money every hand.

It's really a race to the $5 big blind games. The games below the $5 big blind level in California are not really worth playing in terms of potential wintate.

I wouldn't use normal bankroll management for game selection. If you are fine with shot taking to make it to the $5 big blind level ASAP, then go for that strategy.

If you are not comfortable with the shot-taking, then I am not sure what else I can recommend.

Thanks, yeah I think I was prepared to hear that. I’ve been doing alright taking shots to get to here so far, but I guess last night’s bankroll bonfire scared me straight. I am wanting to be disciplined and do this the right way but in my situation of live only, I feel kind of stuck taking chances. I’ll be so much more comfortable when I’m properly bankrolled.

Even if you're a winning poker player, you are going to go through some very rough stretches at times. Especially in California with the huge flat drops, the key to winning more and thus building your bankroll is to move up to higher stakes while continuing to play well and improve at the game. But going on to higher stakes means accepting bigger swings.

You can try to limit your buy ins to a certain level and not just matching the stack to recoup your losses if that is an option.

If you have 3-12 months of expenses saved up, you can consider using some of your savings as a cushion to replenish your bankroll. You can also play poker a little less often if your savings aren't built up enough while you continue to grind 1/3 and if your bankroll does need to be replenished, you can use your primary income to add to it.

Bankroll on table 24/7

I play in San Jose where the drop at 1/2/3 and 2/3/5 is the same. I have stopped playing 1/2/3 for this reason, but yea, it's not particularly comfy playing on a budget lol.

A thing I do personally to avoid spewing off huge is just have the cash I'm comfortable losing on my person when I go in, with no way to get any more. I leave my ATM card at home and just have X amount, so when I lose I'm protected from tilting off a ton of cash, no matter how much I want to.