Building from a baby bankroll

[AKApokeruga]

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, STOP PLAYING MTTs!

Here's the bit where I'm going to contradict myself.

If I were to tell you I'd just made $10 from a freeroll and I was going to take it straight to a PLO cash game table to start trying to build a roll from it, how many people would think I was mad?

I think it might be more than a few. A select few of them will have prior knowledge of how much I suck at PLO. But others, even without that knowledge, would likely point out that the variance in PLO can be a killer and I'd be better off playing something with a more stable return. They'd probably be right too.

But here's the thing - a lot of those same people probably wouldn't bat an eyelid if I said I was going to take that $10 and play the Daily Dollar or something with it. Which is a funny thing, because as far as variance goes things don't really get much more swingy than multi-table tournaments. You certainly want a lot more than 20-30 buy ins to be rolled for them.

As discussed above, we already need to get very lucky to build a roll from nothing. We don't need to compound our problems by stacking variance against us - instead, we need to concentrate on games that offer us at least some chance of grinding a slow but steady path upwards. That usually means ring games or single-table SnGs and I'm recommending that, at least for the initial stages, you steer clear of MTTs and the horrible swings they bring. Even if you think they're your best game.

So I still don't understand do you propose to play cash game with little bankroll or to play SNG/MTT?

In my opinion you must keep away from cash game before you will make your first 50-100 $ of bankroll. The first reason is that you need to learn poker (especially first monthes) to play it in profit. I tried cash game 5 years ago and lost all money before I even learned how to play it.

Also I started play poker abot 1 mont ago and play just MTT. I could say that while I play MTT I have much more time to learn poker and to prepare myself to cash game (if I will still want to change MTT to Cash game after 1-2 monts of MTT play).

 

[marinaki85]

its a good advice..but i most agree with you in one thing...there is not answer in this question...

 

[UrsinusMaximus]

Thanks, some good advice here.
I will stay away from MTTs until I've built up a decent roll

 

[AntonEast]

I play heads-up hyper when I have a baby bankroll, sometime I can go from 10$ to 100$ in just over an hour, but mostly I get bankrupt. Its a very bad bakroll management hahah...

 

[AntonEast]

In my opinion cash games is the foundation of poker, so I think cash game is better for learning. In MTTs you have more to consider

 

[OzExorcist]

So I still don't understand do you propose to play cash game with little bankroll or to play SNG/MTT?

In my opinion you must keep away from cash game before you will make your first 50-100 $ of bankroll. The first reason is that you need to learn poker (especially first monthes) to play it in profit. I tried cash game 5 years ago and lost all money before I even learned how to play it.

Also I started play poker abot 1 mont ago and play just MTT. I could say that while I play MTT I have much more time to learn poker and to prepare myself to cash game (if I will still want to change MTT to Cash game after 1-2 monts of MTT play).

Yes, if you're asking me I recommend cash games and single-table SNGs. Steer clear of multi-table tournaments, for the reasons I stated.

The simple reality is if you play any game before you've "learned how to play it" then you're almost certainly going to go broke. So don't let that one experience you had five years ago when you didn't know what you were doing put you off cash games once you do know what you're doing.

 

[OzExorcist]

In my opinion cash games is the foundation of poker, so I think cash game is better for learning. In MTTs you have more to consider

I think in MTTs you have different things to consider. But that wasn't why I recommended steering clear of them.

I recommended steering clear because of the variance - you need a deep bankroll to profitably navigate the swings in MTTs, as it can be a long time between the big cashes. If you're playing under-rolled, you stand a very high chance of going broke before you get that big cash.

 

[Dan Perkins]

Thank you for this post. Not only interesting but also informative.

 

[alex_Romejz]

I hope win any freeroll and start to build my bankroll

 

[Jacoval2010]

To create your bank you have to be very disciplined

 

[Jacoval2010]

to discipline is the best system to be the best poker player...

 

[biops]

One of the greatest posts about bankroll i´ve seen. I had the same advices on a trainning i made some years ago. pretty usefull after a period of no activity in poker.
TKS

 

[16clumsyandshy]

I played MTTs with a small bankroll and it goes so quickly. Especially since they are micro MTTs the variance is so high with all the bad players.

 

[PLAYFUL1]

Playful best bankroll start was winning a tournament for $33 and then parlaying it to $250, phew it was a lot of work for her.

 

[Danc1u]

great post,ty for u`re advice,most of the things are real,bankroll is the most important thing in poker if u ask me,if u play in bankcroll to have smth around 100-150 Buy`ins is awesome,a good chance to make some money gl al tables

 

[Morly4]

If you want to build your bankroll from $15 to $100, e.g., you have to choose 0,01/0,02 or 0,02/0,04 stakes table. Don't play high limits table with a small bankroll. It is much better to join a table with a maximum buy-in of 1/2 our than a table with minimum buy-in 1/2 eur. You should be more patient if you haven't lotted of chips, don't bluff too much or even don't do that because it is too risky for beginners.

 

[dbchristy]

Great post..I saved it..thanks

 

[OzExorcist]

You should be more patient if you haven't lotted of chips, don't bluff too much or even don't do that because it is too risky for beginners.

I'm not 100% convinced on this one - I think you should just focus on making the best +EV play every time, whatever that play might be. Never bluffing just because you're short rolled could be a big leak.

Like I said way back at the start of this post (and on a side note, I'm still amazed at how much it gets read after all this time - thanks for all the comments everyone!) when you're playing underrolled you have to get a bit lucky. The flipside of that is sometimes you'll get unlucky, a bluff might get sniffed out or whatever.

 

[vadimknyshov]

how do you think.how is it simpler to build bankroll in cash-games or in tournaments?

 

[OzExorcist]

how do you think.how is it simpler to build bankroll in cash-games or in tournaments?

I think neither is "simple", but just play whichever one you're best at (again, with the still apparently controversial caveat that MTTs give you a much bigger risk of going busto before you run up a workable bankroll).

 

[acemenow]

Thanks for the post I pasted it into word. I'm not that bright and will need to read this daily to remind myself not to deviate! Hope one day I have a BR to show for it Thanks again for taking the time to do this!

 

[vic88888]

That is some pretty cool advice. I'm gonna stick to solely one style of game.

 

[Zeimar Silva]

Cash game does not forgive mistakes

In my opinion cash games is the foundation of poker, so I think cash game is better for learning. In MTTs you have more to consider

I agree. I would add that in the cash game you have to focus on learning to play pos flop. Cash game does not forgive mistakes, or you win money or lose you very fast.

 

[Wichita Wins]

What sites did you build a bankroll without deposits?

 

[Zeimar Silva]

What sites did you build a bankroll without deposits?

Man, try the site https://www.pokerstrategy.com/ is a site that teaches you to play poker and can give you $ 50.

pokerstars and fulltilt give you a chance to play freeroll, but it's very difficult to get there fast, it's a long and difficult road.

The freerolls are practically a bingo in earlygame, they have a lot of all in, practically 70% of the hands in the early game.