Hey guys! Just put in a 1k hand session, +$2.50, b roll at $66.50 now . Have around 9k hands played now at 2NL. When do you guys think I should move up to 5NL?

Hey man!

5NL is different from NL2.

I think a 50K sample would be good before you try out higher.
When you have about 30-40 buy ins for NL5 you could make like a 5-10 shot and see how it is.

About $100 bankroll is enough for 5NL i think. You could go with $125 or something if you wanted to be more conservative. That would probably be better sizing for a more LAG player as well due to LAGs having more variance. Congrats on the profit so far!

Yeah, good point as well, whatever the bankroll, don't move up until you feel you can consistently beat the level you're at!

Finish school first OP

Leave off man, this forum is meant for helpful posts, OK?

Stop focussing so much on your bankroll man, seriously. Just focus on improving and having fun with playing. Obv from time to time check you br as to whether you can move up soon or not, but other than that there's not really a reason to check your BR often.

Btw I'm building a bankroll again atm, also starting from 2nl, but I'm playing 4 tables of zoom and will only move up when I reach $150 (because variance can be a bitch) and will move down once I hit $100. I guess I'm being a bit more conservative than you are but then again I got absolutely destroyed last time at 5nl zoom so I want to have some protection against going busto ). Anyway if you're going to 6-table 5nl I do think you need more than just $100. It also depends a bit on how many buy ins you would like to use for taking a shot.

Fair point You do need a bigger bankroll for zoom than normal tables though, that's true. I reckon bankroll management depends on the player. For me, I tend to take a low variance approach at microstakes, and a higher variance approach the more i move up the stakes. So, for micros I'd say 20-25 BI is fine (I'm not taking shots for my challenge though, so you may well be correct in adding a few more), but then at 100NL, 40 BI is a better number perhaps!

Hey guys, I've been noticing lately that I'm really unsure about how to play Flush draws. When I have a flush draw, i'm always unsure whether I should be calling the raises or shoving?

It all depends on whether you think you have fold equity. You always want to be playing flush draws in position, that's vital. That way you have the choice of calling, raising or checking behind if he checks. If you think you have some fold equity with your flush draw, betting and raising can be good plays. However, a lot of the time, just calling and checking can be a good line to take, when you think your opponent has a hand like top pair or overpair. The thing you don't want is to bet a flush draw and then get raised, because at this point due to pot odds, you'll usually have to shove. I would advise taking each situation and analysing it, asking: Do I have fold equity? What hands are in his range? Which of those hands will he fold if I bet? If you like the answers to those questions, take an aggressive line, if not, take a passive line.

Hope I helped!

Chris

Hi op! Having high goals and expectations is sometimes good, but trying to make 10k starting at 2nl in 8months with no experience and no volume is impossible. Not trying to let you down or make you feel bad, but you should try achieveable goals. Rather than amount of $ you want, maybe go for #hands or WR after x sample... somethings like that.

Gl! keep up the grind!

TBH even #hands, something that you CAN control (whereas profit and winrate not b/c of variance), is not a very good goal for beginners as it shifts the focus from learning, improving and enjoying to just mindlessly playing hands, trying to achieve that #hands goal.


I might sound like a boring old nitbitch but I think this is pretty important to understand. Let's just say that it is OK to have a goal of #hands a month/week/day/[insert time period here], but do understand that when you start to grind mindlessly just for the sake of achieving that goal, it's actually working against you.

A better goal would be to focus on recognizing & reducing tilt during sessions for the next week, or to focus on a certain poker concept during your sessions. The advantage focussing on a certain concept also helps with reviewing (at least, in my experience it does). Normally I hate reviewing my sessions, but when you actually have a certain concept in mind you want to focus on during your session, it makes reviewing afterwards less annoying and more structured as you have a clear idea what you want to focus on.


Hope this made sense

Very well said, good advice.

Thanks guys, great advice. I do think I have a problem with tilt, and you're right, I should catch it early. Sometimes after I get coolered, and I play hands and I go like... Wtf did I just do? I think that's a good goal, to stop tilting. Also I'm using Jivaro at the moment, that is why I've stopped posting graphs etc. I've played around 20,000 hands until now.

Have you tried the deepstack tables? I've found them very profitable, and in fact, they've helped me move up to 5NL in my challenge today, got about $15 at the 2NL deepstack today, very profitable tables!