Ever since, I want to play at $10/$20 no-limit holdem ring game and at the same time win a certain really huge tournament in WSOP or WPT. That’s why maybe I decided to focus more on higher level games.

Once I encountered stuff about bankroll management. I learned that to be successful you need to meet the buy in requirement of different tournaments or events. For SNG tournaments it’s 5 times buy in. For MTT, 100 times buy in. And for ring games, 45 times buy in.

For an instance, whenever a sit n go entry fee is $5.50, be aware that you have to secure a running bankroll of min. $250.00. And in 0.01/0.02 no limit holdem, $125.00.

I’ve also encountered some stuff about skill level by which I learned that at some point when you have one player at the table that is playing incorrectly, it is easy to adjust but if everyone at the table is playing badly or whatever, it is impossible to go for some adjustments.

As of now, I’m wondering if what am I suppose to do to build my bankroll so that I can play in whatever limits and skill level I desire. Any thoughts on this? Somehow, saving money from my compensation seem to work but I am not sure.

Thank you.

Johnson

Johnson,

How do you get to Broadway? The same way you build your bankroll, practice, practice, practice. You need to start at the lower limits and build your way up through the limits. If you are at the $1-$2 NL and are successful and are building money, move up to $2-$5 and so forth.

Building your skills and working your way up through the limits are really the only way to build your bankroll and to properly prepare yourself.

As of the moment I’m in my senior year, high school level. Many believe that I’m too young to be into making little bets and gambling, but what can I do I love the thrill and excitement every time I bet and gamble, particularly when I am playing poker.

For the past 3 months that I’ve been into poker, I’ll be honest, I’ve been losing big bucks because of bads beats. Somehow I thought, moving into real-money poker without any preparation wasn’t a good idea. At some point, I thought, if I just only have taken things one step at a time, maybe I am not where I am now.

However, because I really love poker, I tried to keep the hope I had since then. But of course I know there’s a problem, there’s something wrong. I know it’s quite absurd but I can’t directly pinpoint the problem. Somehow, I’m clueless. And I just thought, I can actually categorize players, can spot who the mediocre players are, who the fish are, and who are the experts, am I still missing something then?

With confidence, I can say I know my material but may be not at the .05/.1 limits. Some loose aggressive players are scattered within that limits and I don’t get the hang of it, why they typically raise every other hand and taking down pots. But I actually believe that if you can’t beat your opponents, join them and so I tried their style. However, their style wasn’t for me so I got really confused.

At some point, I realized that may be I can find the answers I’ve been looking for with a handful of tight players who typically play at multiple tables and then bet only when the goods and pay offs are there. Like with the first, I also tried the style of tight players. But again, I failed. I can’t get the hang of their style.

Right now, I’m quite desperate after going broke for the 4th time. I believe you’re the right person to ask for some guidance. What do you think, should I play two tables with a tight style to be thrilled? Or just instead step down a limit to avoid losses? Any advice for me?

Thanks!

Michael

Michael,

First, if you are going broke consistently, then you have some type of problem with your game. Chances are that you are playing way too many hands. You probably need to tighten up some of your hand ranges, raising ranges, etc.

Typically the best style of player is a tight aggressive player. This type of player usually gets the job done. You may want to pick up a poker mentor or talk with other friends that play poker and get their thoughts about where you may be going wrong.

You also may want to pick up a couple of books on poker and read up. Another suggestion would be to get a program such as Poker Tracker and start tracking your online results. This will give you an idea of where you are losing money at and where your leaks may lie.