Quote:
Originally Posted by amirsal
So about a month ago I've made a decision to chase my dream and become a poker pro.
This requires a relocation since there's not casinos where I live.
The plan is to move to Barcelona for 3-4 months and grind 1$/3$ (it's their smallest game) and move up from there, if i'm profitable.
I'm very confident in my skills and I believe I can beat 1/3 for a start.
What bankroll is necessary to play at those stakes? Currently waitering my way to a decent bankroll.
Any insights or comments are welcome!
I went pro roughly 18 months ago with 10k bankroll and 20k life roll but this was in Tampa FL and starting in 1/2 games. Playing 5/T now.
Anyway...bankroll requirements depend on your winrate and risk tolerance. If playing with a small roll will stress you out and cause suboptimal play, which it probably will, you need a larger roll. If busting will cause major problems like, say, homelessness, compared to say having to work part time, you need a larger roll.
A few basic guidelines, assuming you win at 10BB/HR which is a huge assumption but generally where you need to be to start moving up in stakes
1) 15BI minimum bankroll, 20+BI recommended. If you buy in 300 this means 4500 / 6000, if you buy in 600 this means 9000 / 12000, etc. You could play with less but I would strongly caution against it. I've experienced 2000+BB downswings twice and a 3000BB downswing once since I started and I'm winning over 10BB/HR in every game I play.
2) Don't tilt, ever. Easier said than done of course and for many people this is impossible, but you can figure out the signs for when you're tilted and leave the game. Tilt removes your edge or worse you start punting stacks. One punted stack (say 600) is 20 hours of solid work down the drain, and if you're truly tilted you can punt off weeks of work. Don't respond to needling comments, don't educate the fish, generally don't talk about poker period regardless of how good or horrible some line is. Your goal for mental game is to get where you can get it in with the nuts, lose your stack to a 1 outer, laugh and fist bump the guy who stacked you.
3) Consider taking shots at 2/5 when you have 10BI for 2/5 AND have established you're crushing 1/3. If you get above 15BI, stay at 2/5. If you drop below 10, go back to 1/3. You need to get out of rake trap games ASAP. The rake at 1/2 and 1/3 is usually horrendous but I have no clue what it is in Barcelona.
4) Have a separate life roll of one year's cost of living + emergency expenses. Personally I'd have been wiped out by a concurrent downswing and hospital stay if I didn't have a life roll. How much you need in Barcelona I have no idea, but I imagine cost of living is quite high. Making it grinding 1/3 will be difficult even if you're crushing it. You'll want to move up in stakes before your life roll runs out if possible. Otherwise it will be very hard to build a roll and meet expenses simultaneously.
These are just my personal recommendations from someone who's gone pro under similar circumstances.
Good luck to you.
Last edited by Shai Hulud; 03-17-2019 at 06:43 PM.
Reason: Typo