Should you move up?
Ok, I’m only posting this in uFR. I think a lot of players want a clear guide regarding moving up in limits. The uSH forum has a lot of great threads on this topic already. I’ll link to them throughout this. This is my second micro stakes article. Hopefully they are helpful. As before, this is cross posted from my blog. Sorry about the length, I guess I like my own voice.
I will start off with a short survey that you need to take for yourself:
1.Why is your motivation at micro stakes?
2.Are you comfortable at your current limit?
3.What is your bankroll in buy-ins for your current limit and the next limit?
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The first question is really important. You’ll generally fall into a few categories.
“I play for a little extra cash and fun.” You probably have a job and play three or four hours a week, maybe more. You like cards and use the money to eat out a few extra times a month. You like the gamble and challenge of poker but don’t have huge aspirations. If you move up, that’s great. If not, that’s ok too. You’ll be Type A.
“I’m happy playing for my monthly nut at micro stakes.” You’re probably a student and use the few hundred or thousand a month for beer/rent/spending money, etc. I was personally in this school of thought. I grinded out my monthly nut at 10/25c for a few months. You’d like to move up but don’t want to or can’t waste a month breaking even or losing. You’ll be Type B.
“I’m working my way up to SSNL+.” Moving up quickly is your primary motivation. You want to make it to $1/2 and start having 4k++ months as soon as possible. You’ll be Type C.
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The second question is going to tell you if it’s time to think about shot taking the next limit. If you aren’t comfortable or just moved up, there’s no sense in rushing things. Any discomfort you have currently is going to be exponentially worse another limit up. Some great threads about specific levels/skills are listed with their main points below. I disagree with the posted bankroll requirements in the threads and I’ll talk about that in Part 3. These threads are from two years ago and the games and important skill sets may have changed.
“When to move up from NL25?”
-confidence in your preflop game
-understanding of position
-some hand reading skills
-comfortable c-betting
“When to move up from NL50?”
-confident with how you play draws
-knowing when to semibluff
-you can fold AA/KK postflop
-comfortable stealing blinds
When to move up from NL100?
-comfortable playing/adapting to regulars
-confidence in hand reading
-knowing when to fold strong hands postflop
-comfortable in three bet situations
Even though the Micro Stakes forum is for short handed play, there is a plethora of great “advanced basic” information there. In fact, the stickies in every forum have great information. It’s worth spending some time every day reading through relevant threads. There is so much free information that’s going to make you a better poker player, you would be burning money to not read through at least some of these threads.
What if you aren’t comfortable at your current limit? If you are not happy with your winrate, REPLY IN THREADS AND POST HANDS. Cut down on tables. Spend more time thinking through decisions. Review your hands after sessions.
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Bank roll requirements for shot taking are going to be different for every one. It depends on your motivation for playing. My specific numbers are ballpark numbers. It may be different for you depending on how comfortable you are risking a buy-in at the next limit, how prone to tilt you are, how many tables you play, etc.
Type A players may be fine busting their roll. There’s no problem playing with 15 buy-ins*. You’re risk of ruin will obviously be quite high, but reloading is an option and you don’t rely on your winnings. If you want to take a shot, no problem. You’re a recreational player, have fun. If you find that the higher limit stresses you out or tilts you, move back down. Keep having fun and playing for the extra spending money.
Type B players can’t afford to bust their roll. While trying to move up, it’s going to be important for you to have at least a 3 month reserve in a savings account or in your checking account. This is going to allow you to lose/break even while trying to move up and not be in a bad situation money-wise. The next step is to start padding your online bankroll. If you cashout down to a certain amount every week or two weeks, try to start cashing out a little less to increase your bankroll a little bit each week. If you can get by without cashing out, that would speed up the process. You probably want to take a shot with 30-40 buy-ins. I suggest setting a five buy-in stop loss while trying to move up. At that point, you would move down and grind back that money & repeat. It took me a few tries to move from 50/1 to $1/2. After you have 20k hands at the next limit, see what limit is more profitable for you. If you are getting frustrated or can’t seem to move up, there is nothing wrong with staying at your current limit. Until your motivation changes, hourly is the most important decision in choosing to move up. At one point I found it more profitable to grind $0.10/0.25 than $0.25/0.50. So I chose to stick with 10/25 for a while. There’s no problem with that. If you find yourself wanting to move up, then it’s time to try it again. Hopefully you’ve been studying and improved your game.
Type C players want to move up quickly. They should be aggressively jumping around limits. Take a two buy-in shot when you hit 12 or 15 buy-ins. Keep in mind that you may be running hot as you jump up 2 or 3 limits in a short time span. You may not be good enough for the limit you end up at, so it will be important to choose a stop-loss and be ready and willing to move down. I might do something like take shots when I hit 22 buy-ins and move down when I hit 20 buy-ins. If you end up “stuck,” constantly moving up to and down from a certain limit, it’s time to grind the limit you can beat while studying. You found your skill-level plateau and it would be a waste of time to keep trying to force things at the next limit. Get some more experience and be sure to study a lot. When this happens, decide if you would be happy as a Type B player. If not, grind out 5-10 buy-ins at a time at the beatable limit and keep taking 2-4 buy-in shots while your roll grows. Hopefully something will click at some point. If you are a Type C player, I strongly suggest playing a low number of tables. Playing enough hands to make 12-15 buy-ins shouldn’t take long and you will be a better player because you should adapt much quicker.
*Buy-ins in this section always refers to the next limit
By PartysOver from 2+2
