Be more aggressive with your bankroll

This post is directed towards 1/2(3) NL players who log 90+ hours a month of play at their card rooms and are winning poker players.

Most of theses types of players fall into two subcategories:

Group 1) Has a bankroll over $2,500 and redistributes a % of winnings back into bankroll. Their goal is to grow their bankroll and eventually move up.

Group 2) Has a bankroll between $1,000 and $3,000. Rarely redistributes a % winnings back into their bankroll. They are content with grinding 1/2(3) NL.

If you look around your card room, you probably recognize the above type of player or are one yourself. In a sense those type of players are the best in the pool at 1/2(3)NL. I would say there are at least a handful of these types at most large card rooms.

The kick is a year from now, most of these players will be bust and replaced with a new crop of 20 hour / week (or more) 1/2(3)NL grinders. While only, maybe 1 or 2, sometimes none, actually move up to 2/5NL+ or even remain a fixture at 1/2(3)NL.

The reason they never last is because they are not aggressive with their bankrolls. They do not take shots at 2/5NL soon enough.

The deck is stacked against the 1/2(3)NL grinder.

To realize why grinding the 1/2(3)NL is a poor idea it is important to realize that while $1,000-$3,000ish has a low to moderate risk of ruin at 1/2(3)NL. It has a HIGH risk of ruin in the game of life.

"But my poker bankroll is separate from my life bankroll. I'm financially secure. Plus as I win if I'm in Group 1, I'm adding to my bankroll"

No, you're not! If you were financially secure, you wouldn't be playing 1/2(3)NL.

**Obviously retirees, and some 1/2(3)NL players with solid jobs are the exception.

Think of how most live small stakes bankrolls originate - it isn't typically from working up a bankroll grinding a smaller game. Typically an arbitrary ammount of disposable income was set aside for poker, and early positive variance coupled with good play has allowed your bankroll to grow to a point where you have an acceptable level of risk.

If you are a player from Group 2, your poker winnings are constantly going into your life bankroll. Which means, you are in a financial position where a life event could wipe out your poker bankroll. This is in my opinion the biggest cause of winning 1/2(3)NL players never moving on, life poops on them and they loose their bankroll.

When a player from Group 2 busts it is rare you see them again consistently. They are unlikely to ever return to being a winning regular at 1/2(3)NL.

A player from Group 1, is slightly better prepared. As they have the ability to invest their winnings back into their poker bankroll. So obviously, they are more financially secure and have a larger life bankroll. However, high rake, negative variance, and forming bad habits (auto piloting, random leaks in your play, etc). Are going to wipe out most of the players in Group 1. The high rake relative to the stakes, the grind, and the lack of improving and working hard. Will kill most of Group 1.

When a player from Group 1 busts, you will sometimes see them back again. As they can replenish their poker bankroll. However, they quickly will fall back into old habits, and tread water for too long again and bust.

The thing to realize with 1/2(3)NL is that your bankroll is not a lot of money. **** happens.

The way for a player from either group 1 or 2 to survive 1/2(3)NL is to NOT play it often. Shot take at 2/5NL aggressively.

Here are some numbers:

$2,500 poker bankroll
A 15 bb / 100 hands win rate at 2/5NL (~$18.75/hour)
A 120 bb / 100 hands STD
You have a 35% risk of ruin.
--------> With a $3,500 bankroll, a 20% risk of ruin.
--------> With a $5,000 bankroll, a 13% risk of ruin.
--------> With a $10,000 bankroll, a 1.5% risk of ruin.

It is my opinion that winning 1/2(3)NL players should be taking a $500 1 buy in shot at 2/5NL every time their bankroll is at $2,500. 2/5NL should be their game of choice whenever the bankroll is above $2,500.

$2,000 poker bankroll
A 20 bb / 100 hands win rate at 1/2 NL (~$10/hour)
a 120 bb / 100 hands STD
You have a %6 risk of ruin.

Your 2/5NL shot has a good chance of being successful. If you are a good player you have a strong chance to have continued success at 2/5NL.

Some run hot at 2/5NL has the potential to massively change the financial situation of the 1/2(3)NL grinder. The risk of shot taking at 2/5NL whenever the bankroll is in excess of $2,500 has very low risk, as even at $2,000 the risk of ruin at 1/2(3)NL is still very low.

The biggest hurdle small stakes live players face is not putting themselves in a position to handle life crapping on them. The goal of the small stakes player should be to reach a financial point where you feel your poker bankroll is large enough that it is protected from all but the most severe of life beats. It is simply too hard to attain this level of security playing 1/2(3)NL. Aggressively shot taking at 2/5NL is lower risk than many players realize and is essential to the survivability of the small stakes poker player.

I hope this thread motivates a lot of the 1/2(3) NL "pros" to be more aggressive with their bankroll. Take that 1 buy in shot at $2,500 and report how it went here.