Moving up in stakes: When is the right time?

[Marcwantstowin]

What stakes do you feel most comfortable playing? And what do you think it would take for you to move up in stakes? Or is it better to stick with what you know, like an old comfortable pair of shoes? Share your thoughts.

Thanks to @Mortis for this topic suggestion!

 

[IRINA70]

As I play mostly tournaments, stack size matters and the bigger it is, the more comfortable I feel in the game. A big stack can afford to open a little wider and steal blinds in greater volume. Not to mention that it is an opportunity to take a higher place in the tournament table.

 

[MK_]

I think it's generally to better always to be looking to improve..... so once you're comfortable playing and being profitable at the stakes you're currently playing at you can try moving up limits, .... for some that may mean moving up from freerolls to small buyins, for others it's trying higher buyins or different formats or games. I think it keeps it interesting and it's a great to continue learning and expanding your game.... 😎👍

 

[Goggelheimer]

I thought he wanted to know what stakes (buy in to a table) is the comfort zone for your play.

This depends on the bankroll you have for playing poker.
For cash games, this may be easy to answer.
Some say 20 to 30 Buy ins is a safe way to play a given stake,
so for NL 5 cash game you should have at least $150 if you want to go up to NL 10 your bankroll should have at least $300 and so on.

For tournaments, you can use an average buy in of 1-2 % of your bankroll for a given tournament and the values for going up the stakes depend on your bankroll too. You can consider going up the stakes if you have at least 100 average buy ins for the next stake level.

All these things apply only if you play poker in a kind of professional approach.
You can also use tools on the internet, like the risk of ruin calculators on the primedope site as a guideline for cash games and tournaments.

If you have to go down the stakes very often you should consider some study time to improve your game.

If you play for fun you can play according to your budget (play only for money that you can lose) and you feelings about your playing strength.

 

[hardongear]

Rec/hobby player but despite this always looked at and took bankroll and bankroll management more serious like a pro would. To me it was always part of the challenge to never go bust and have to deposit(haven't for 15+ years now). I always wanted 50 buy-ins at the next level before moving up and would shot take at the next level with 3-5 buy-ins.

Cash tables. I'm most comfortable playing 5nl-50nl full-ring. The last 15+ years I've enjoyed doing bankroll challenges starting with as little as $20 and working my way towards $2500+ which is a good bankroll of 50 buy-in's at 50nl. Every time I would reach $2500+ I would withdraw. Some will wonder why stop at $2500/50nl and withdraw? Simple it was never my goal to make a living playing poker and I never cared a bit about the money it was always just a hobby and something I did because I enjoyed the challenge of trying to be a winning player when the vast majority of players are losing players. I found poker relaxing.

MTT's now(I only enjoy MTT's with 10+ min blind levels) and I've always played whatever stakes I wanted from micro stakes to the Sunday Million it didn't matter long as the MTT had longer blinds levels then 10 mins.

What would it take me to play higher cash stakes? Idk....guess I'd have to enjoy cash as much as I enjoy and find MTT's challenging. Been thinking lately maybe this time around when I reach $2500 maybe I'll step outside my comfort zone and take a shot at 100nl+ to see how good I really am been 15+ years since I played any 100nl and it was only a smallish sample size then.

The goal for 2024 was to reach $2500 and branch out/get better at 6max. I'm not as comfortable playing 6max cash as I am playing full-ring.

Cheers!!!

 

[Pokerpoet2]

I don't play many Tournaments on-line, unless they are Freerolls, Mainly because the returns vary, from Miniscule to a little extra Pocket money, Saying that though they are a great way to get started, I Don't feel comfortable Leaving the House without a £100 in my Pocket and that is just for Taxis, a few Pints and maybe a carry out at the end of the night. So winning a $100 Freeroll Tournament might give me between $30 ad $40 Dollars which is great for a freeroll, but when converted to Pounds(£) not that much, certainly not a night out.

I usually stick to 9 player Sit and Go Games which are quicker than Tournaments and can be a lot of Fun, but as a Strong rule I don't buy-in for anything more than 1% of my total bankroll, for 2 reasons I only play on-line for Fun and I want to conserve the small Bankroll I have built for free.$600 Dollars may seem pitiful to some players Who might deposit $1,000 Dollars a month and play Higher stakes, But I don't play On-line to make Money, I certainly cannot see my opponents when I play on-line, and I don't always trust the Internet connection to stay strong enough to finish the games I play. For that kind of money I will stick with Live games in a Casino.

But moving up in Stakes is difficult when you have done well at one level, and decide to try bigger stakes, It can take you out of your comfort zone and you start to doubt yourself. I used to play Stud Poker on FB. for play money and buying in for 200 Points was great, but when I suddenly jumped to 8,000 Points buy-in I started to lose heavily. After I diagnosed my problem I managed to turn it around and started winning.
You need to understand that the Game hadn't altered, and I certainly was the same player, So what was different? The Stakes, Because I was conscious of a larger buy-in, my playing style had changed, and I wasn't being as aggressive as I was at lower stakes, That is what you need to be aware of when moving up, Don't alter your playing style in higher staked games just because you could lose more than you are prepared to lose. By all means stick to a rigid Bankroll Formulae, but don't be afraid of being yourself, If you are doing well at smaller buy-ins there is nothing stopping you to drop back down to lower stakes if you lose heavily at higher buy-ins.

When the time is right, and you have built your bankroll up to a point where you feel it warrants a higher buy-in, then I would go for it, Just remember be yourself and don't doubt your abilities. Good Luck.

 

[Fushicho]

I was going to go on about the bank roll calculation, but other people seem to have covered that. So, lets say you should spend as much as you're happy to give to a homeless person. That is truely what you are happy to lose.

 

[YLAN]

Its already given that bankroll & a good grasp of the organism known as poker is required to move up in stakes.

For me, at this time, am comfortable just playing low stakes on tourneys. With better time situations, perhaps would try to move up in stakes. I fear that distractions (other's needs out of my control) during higher stakes game makes one regret the buy-in. Low stakes buy-in are more affordable to loose.

Only comfortable to play microstakes on cash game & would not like to move up at this time. Have been burnt crisp on cash games & need more confidence if ever would like to play higher stakes.

 

[Nafor]

When you crush the stakes you are at, that is the time to move up - if that is what you want to do.
I try to play tournaments where people have a grasp about how the game is played. It is frustrating to play against opponents to whom any two cards will do.

 

[Suns of Beaches]

As I play mostly tournaments, stack size matters and the bigger it is, the more comfortable I feel in the game. A big stack can afford to open a little wider and steal blinds in greater volume. Not to mention that it is an opportunity to take a higher place in the tournament table.

U completely missunderstood the question. The question was about when is the right time to move up in buy-in levels and not what stack u prefer to play with in the games u play.

The right time to move up is when we feel comfortable enough. We also should feel comfortable enough to loose a few buy-ins at the new level and disciplined enough to move down again if it does not work out.

 

[pentazepam]

One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't move up faster in cash games online when the games were super easy to beat (ca 2003-2013).

I played mostly around 50-400NL or the equivalent since I played mostly on European sites, especially on a Swedish government site (Svenska Spel/Swedish Games/SvS). That site had 200BB deep stacks as a possible buy-in option on every stake.

If I could have a time machine and go back I would be much more aggressive with my bankroll but also back down fast if my attempt at higher stakes did fail.

Like move up as soon as you have 10-15 buy-ins for the next level - often the double amount- BUT be ready to move down fast (if you lose 2-3 buy-ins at the higher level). Rinse and repeat until you have 10-15 buy-ins at the level after that.

Today's cash games are only soft between 2-10NL in my opinion, so move up to 10NL if you can, but after that, you really have to either bum hunt or at least table select/player select pretty hard.

Very few players can multi-table 6-8 tables and win good money in the long term if they just sit down and play at games over 50NL. You can't even get the traffic unless you play on almost all available sites.

Live play depends on what you have available for you and rake structure and levels/tables available but in general, the games are soft up to at least 2-5NL (in casinos where it's not the highest games available) so try to move up to that level at least.

Lower levels are of course most comfortable and often more fun (2NL cash is hysterically bad) but since you can't earn any significant money if you live in a Western country you MUST move up if your goal is to maximize money earned.

If you just play for fun (as I do now) do whatever you feel like. I rather play a H.O.R.S.E sit-and-go with play money than grind NLH nano-stakes online in today's poker climate.

 

[Amblo]

You need luck, higher levels full of glitches and the sharpest bots.

 

[martDdart]

To move up a level I have to have 20 times the buyin in my bankroll.I will give you an example,If I want to play 5$ buyin sit n go I have to have 100$ in my bankroll. I never make deposits so my bankroll tells me exactly what level I am at,my goal is to reach the highest level possible based on my poker skills.

 

[Margo17]

I think you have to play where you beat the field, if you beat an avg and go up to a higher one, then you won't do well for a long period of time. I think it's better to go back to playing the avg where you beat the field and try to constantly evolve to being able to reach higher limits.

 

[TeUnit]

I think your bankroll should be your guide. If you have 100 buyins for the level above you and you have been crushing the level you are playing, maybe its time to gradually add some higher buyin games. I think its better to gradually work your way into the higher buyin as you get to know the villans and are more comfortable playing higher.

Its a good idea to watch a bunch of the games at the higher level, sharkscope the players, and color code them. This will make it easier than walking in blind to a higher buyin game.

 

[amatola]

Although your abi can be a function of you br, like 100x or 50x or 200x I don't think is the only metric to use. How many tables, how much are you comfortable to loose in a session, and at what level do you feel comfortable at is also important. For some winning $100 is a big thing, for others it's not worth the effort

 

[Gritz18]

What stakes do you feel most comfortable playing?

I've thought a few times about leaving my comfort zone, which is freerolls, and trying to raise my bets, but my main obstacle is my work on the railroad, as I don't have a fixed schedule, at some point I would have to abandon the tournament when I was called, as has happened in some freerolls.

And since I don't like playing cash games, I think I would be throwing money away trying a tournament, and having to abandon it at some point.

 

[Luvepoker]

OK this is gonna be tough for me too write. Also I am just the tournament player for the most part because I don't care for cash games as much.
For online games I tend to stay at the lower stakes. I will play anything from $11.00 down and pretty comfortable playing those games. The problem is where I live accessibility to play is it more of an issue. Due to this reasoning I tend to just play the lower end of this in states because I don't wanna lose my funds and not be able to play anymore. Until the stupidity in my state is solved and online is legalized it's just not worth moving up or playing higher or stake.

For live games I'm in the twilight zone. I am comfortable playing $500 games. The thing is for me if I'm playing on the higher end of this there has to be something in it for me. Most people know I have a goal and wanna be the guy in that picture who just won the tournament and if I'm playing say 350 to $500 tournaments it has to be for some sort of prize other than cash. The problem is and one of the reasons I've contemplated giving up playing poker this since COVID there are pretty much no tournaments inflate at lower amounts if they have any tournaments at all. I'm within 3 minutes over casino. They do have a tournament nearly weekly but how they've got it set up you really need to play cash for a few hours to get the bonus chips and this tournament is also known not to finish because they close the poker room. I could drive nearly 100 miles away but the one tournament is during the middle of the week and if they have one on the weekends it's usually on the higher end. Well they have had some tournaments there there's just been no reason for me to go. I could drive 3 hours away go to Foxwoods. The tournament on the weekend is $500. They also have a middle week event but I have a job. Unless there's a circuit of event around at turning stone I'm pretty much not playing any of the tournaments that casinos have. For me I'd rather save it go to Vegas.
For me to move up stakes legalization of it online and just having tournaments live that I think even play.
Ask for moving up is your bankroll properly and you're a winning player at your current level I don't see really any issue with moving up. I also think if you're happy playing at that level there's no reason you have to move up.

 

[Marshmalo1994]

What stakes do you feel most comfortable playing? And what do you think it would take for you to move up in stakes? Or is it better to stick with what you know, like an old comfortable pair of shoes? Share your thoughts.

I'm currently playing 2.20 and 3.30 games. I tried to play 4.40 and 5.50 when I reached a decent BR, but I didn't feel very comfortable, so I took a step back before losing it all.
So, in my case, I'll stick to those levels till I get good and constant results.
I'm open to try to level up again, but I'd pay attention if after several games things are not working.

 

[mattiebumpo]

I almost only play tournaments. I think it really comes down to bankroll, comfort level, and results. If you are a winning player at your current stakes and build up your bankroll, when you feel confident in your game, it is fine to take shots at higher buy ins. I am in the process of getting back into live tournament play and I am sticking to a certain buy-in level and tracking my results. When/if I feel the time is right, I will consider moving up in stakes. Moving up in stakes is very personal and should not be taken lightly.

 

[Alex Sentsov]

You'll understand when you're ready)

 

[bowserdon]

you lose faster at higher stakes and u will lose, so lose small win big

 

[najisami]

What stakes do you feel most comfortable playing? And what do you think it would take for you to move up in stakes? Or is it better to stick with what you know, like an old comfortable pair of shoes? Share your thoughts.

I feel more comfortable playing low-mid stakes though I find myself (Many times) forced to go back to the micros.
Moving up or down the stakes is a more familiar concept among cash players, it's also applicable to tournament play, but with less importance.

The 2 most significant factors to take in consideration before moving up in my opinion are the size of my BR and the fact that I'm consistently beating the current stakes I'm playing at.

I don't think staying in the same stakes forever is the goal of the poker game. Evolution is the purpose behind everything that exists...

 

[olejean]

As for me, everything depends on how much I would like to win comparing what I am ready to loose to achieve my goal.

 

[R.Holynskyi]

I have been playing at the same stakes for the last two years. My limit is $3.30 for tournaments per day. I play in different tournaments, usually three tournaments for $1.1. I could raise my limits, but this would require a bigger bankroll, and since poker is a source of income for me, I withdraw money from my poker accounts quite often, and therefore my bankroll is approximately always at the same level.