I've played ~100k hands of 2/4 and feel pretty confident I'm a winner there. I've gone through a bad stretch and my online roll has gotten a little too low for my own comfort, so I dropped down stakes.

My question to you 2p2 is, how many buy-ins is your min. bankroll requirement to play 2/4, 3/6 and 5/10? It would make sense speaking generally that higher-winrates typically should have a lower br requirements. Does this kind of logic ever factor into your decision about these requirements?

The more important question is for those players out there that play a single level regularly: How many bi's do you try to keep online? Is it the same as the min. bankroll requirement or is it more? And why?

The reason I ask, is that the typical 20bi for a level doesn't apply imo to current midstakes games. Personally, for 2/4 I wouldn't feel comfortable unless I had 35bis. I have never played higher so I can't talk confidently for those games, but I know I would want 45 to play any higher. If I were to play a level regularly, I would want 40-50bis on there all the time, so that even if I go on a bad stretch/cold deck/*cough* *cough* tilting spree and drop 10-20 bis, I can still take a break, clear my head and have a roll to still play my limit at.

10 buy ins.

edit: the thing is if you are willing to move down, it doest really matter if you have 100000 buy ins for the level you are playing. you are going to move down to work on your game, regain confidence way before those additional buy ins come into play. the extra padding you br may help you psychologically, but they are kinda useless imo.

So, you move down after a 5 bi downswing and rebuild x2 more BIs at the previous level? That's a ******ed waste of time. And 5 BI downswings shouldn't shake your confidence...

For some 30, for others 100. There is no way 20 is enough if you're living out of your br in the current MSNL online games imo.

Style, games, personality, number of tables all come into it.

I personally like 60-80 playing 6m as I feel most comfortable. It might cost some $ longer-term wrt to moving up but it's a sacrifice that I choose.

i think you have to factor in how many tables your playing if your playing more than 4 tables which most of us are you should have 40 bis

I'm a BR nit and I make sure I have 100 BI so that I don't want to kill things during inevitable swongs.

It makes grinding a lot easier when you can make a big withdrawal to pay taxes, bills, etc while in a downswing and you still don't have to drop stakes.

You don't ever doubt that it's a bit of a waste to let all that money not even be in a money market or other low risk investment? I understand where you're coming from with the comfort zone, but this feels a bit too cautious and probably not optimal EV investment wise (although it's arguable, I admit).

300 buyins

100 bis imo .

It's not the lack of confidence that would cause you to move down. It the 5 buyins you have left.

Anyways, from 25NL-200NL I would start taking shots at 10 buyins for the next level and drop down if I lost a few. Now at 400-600NL, I'm staying a little longer as I've found the games more difficult and feel I need more time to adapt.

come on, either respond seriously or dont respond at all. personally 50buyins is good for me, i can do 40, but then i have like 3-4 bi stop loss where i move down when i lose that.

Man you guys are nitty. I think 20-30 is fine as long as aren't stubborn and stupid when losing.

i tilt and am reckless, i think 50 is good, i feel invincible with 100

but on the other hand i dont really mind playing with 10k at 2,4 either...

two factors:
how many tables you play
if you are living off your bankroll

play 6 or more tables i would say 35+ bi if you aren't living off br
if you are, then atleast 75+ bi

the 10 buy ins was obviously a joke. my point is that its kinda unecessary to play with such a big bankroll.

if you make a living playing poker, then i would suggest you have AT LEAST 1yr living expenses in savings and 40-100 buy ins for w/e level you are playing.

You're implying poker is your only source of income and you have no savings. In that case: 100+.

god i wish i followed this

I think that's way too much to keep online, even if you're playing for a living. See my post below about putting at least part of that into at least a money market account, let alone some other investment vehicles...We're talking about withstanding tilt + variance here, not a nuclear disaster.

it's certainly possible to lose 20 buy ins in a session, so for anyone who is arguing anything close to that, you're crazy.

20 BIs in one session? Not unless you play bat**** crazy, play like 8 billion tables or tilt like a madman IMO. 10 BIs in one session yeah though, and 20+ BI downswings do happen (just not in 1 sesh).

I was talking about BR requirements; which was the title of the OP.


Oh, sorry; I thought we were talking about a nuclear winter, caused by a doomsday device.

screen name and site plz?


EDIT - WOOT WOOT 1k POSTS

i've always been overrolled (100++ BIs), just waiting to be able to actually beat the level/regulars (5 ptbb, at least for me)

400nl 20BI

600nl 25BI

1000nl 35BI

My boy gary stevenson had a -21 buy in session at 5/10 and he's a nit soooooooo yea.