Hi, Im sure this question has been asked a zillion times, but whats the appropriate BRM? I want to play .10/.25 NLHE, i guess a 30 buy in should be ok? 700-800 should be fine? i occasionally play heads up SNG of $10, will this make me have a bigger BR? thanks, advices are welcomed as well

Rules of thumb:

40 maximum buyins to be comfortable (20 at the minimum). So at the .10 / .25 table, I think the maximum you can bring to the table is 25$. So according to the rule of thumb, 700-800$ should be fine (30 buyins).

As for the heads up, personally I double my BR requirements. So you ought to have between 40-80 buyins, which you would for 10$ games.

If you choose to multi-table, you need more buyins.

It also depends on how easily you can replenish your BR if you can or want to. Assuming you never want to ever reload your BR then you want at least 20-30 BIs up to 10NL. Once you get to 25NL and above you probably want to start increasing the amount of BIs you have. At 25NL I would have a min of 30 and maybe 40 for 50NL. Many higher stakes players recommend having at least 50 when you start to get to 100NL and higher. Then again I'm a BR nit and have about 90 BIs for my current level, but I never have to worry about my BR. Mental peace of mind is great for your game IMO.

Depends how quickly you want to move up stakes. Like me, I want to move up quickly and make a living playing poker, so I take a shot at the next level with 25 buy ins, and move down if i drop 5 buy ins at the new level, and keep playing if I dont. Then, if you reach your target level of where you want to stay for a while, or play for a living with it, you need like 50 buy ins to be comfortable, and I'd move up if you have 50 buy ins for the next level, but if your not playing for a living then just 25 bi to move up and 20 to move down is fine.

Concept of the Week #20: Zen and the Art of Bankroll Management

If you KNOW you're a solid winner, you can play HUSNGs with 20 buyins.

f* = (bp - q) / b

* f* is the fraction of the current bankroll to wager;
* b is the net odds received on the wager (that is, odds are usually quoted as "b to 1")
* p is the probability of winning;
* q is the probability of losing, which is 1 − p.


Kelly Criterion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_criterion

With HUSNGs, you are getting .95 to 1.05 on your money. That is, you pay 1.05 units (1 + .05 for rake) and your net profit is .95 units. That is the same as .904762 : 1.

f* = ((.904762)p - q) / (.904762)

Say p, your winrate is 55% (corresponds to roughly 5% ROI):


f* = ((.904762)(.55) - q) / (.904762)

q is just (1 - p), so q = .45 and you have:

f* = ((.904762)(.55) - .45) / (.904762)

Simplify:

f* = .0526316313


So, the fraction of your bankroll to wager, assuming you are getting .95 : 1.05 and you win 55% of the time, is .0526316313. This will maximize your bankroll's growth according to the Kelly Criterion. Read more to see how you feel about the risk of ruin. You can use a half Kelly which is basically cutting f* in half, which doubles your bankroll requirements.

Also, look at this:

bankroll x f* = amount to wager

$200 x .0526316313 = $10.52632626

Rearrange the equation, solving for your bankroll:

bankroll = amount to wager / f*

bankroll = $10.50 / .0526316313
bankroll = $199.4998016

So once you follow the first equation to find f*, you can just divide the stakes by that number to find out the bankroll you need.

Also, I don't have a solid understanding of the Kelly Criterion, but apparently wagering more than Kelly is supposed to be disastrous. It's much, much better to be conservative, so if you're not sure, be conservative. Your winrate is super important in the calculation, so err on the side of caution.