First of all I'd like to say spoon is the fuckin man and I wish he was still hanging around the BC.

Anyways, I consider bankroll management one the most important and fundamental aspects of a poker player's overall strategy. I think everybody has at least some sense of what it means to be properly rolled for a limit, and yet we see posts all the time in the beginners circle about how a player lost two thirds of his bankroll or played above his limit even though he knew it wasn't a good idea. Most notably its discussed in this thread, http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...ath-t9214.html where many could relate to the OP. Spoon makes the very convincing argument that it doesn't have to be like that if people would just use their heads and exercise some self control.

I'll admit that playing higher limits can sometimes be sooo tempting, especially when you're playing the micro stakes. Yes you may want to move up when you have 10 BI's for the next limit, but the fact of the matter is that we absolutely MUST follow bankroll management rules.

Spoon lays out a nice set of rules that would basically ensure you wouldn't lose your bankroll in the move up through the micros. While these numbers are on the conservative side IMO, I feel that they will vary from player to player based on playing styles, player specific goals, etc... For example, a player who is pretty tight preflop and who wants to be out of the micro stakes in a certain time period may have to deviate from the plan laid out by spoon. I would assume that this player would have less swings because of the conservative play, and he may not be able to meet his micro stakes deadline by waiting to take a shot until he has thirty BI's or more at the next limit.

The micro stakes are unique becuase of the abundance of horrendous play that exists there. It is easier to gain a significant advantage over your opponents in a (relatively) short amount of time than at higher stakes. Thus, it seems natural that players moving up through the micro stakes should take shots earlier than they would at, say, 50NL and above. This also implies that players must be able to move back down when these shots don't go as planned.

With all of this said, I think it is ok to to take shots at the next level when you have 20 BI's for that level. If you lose 2.5 or 3 BI at that level, then it is time to move down and grind back up. Following a system like this will help to move through the micros faster and get to the stakes where you can make some real money and learn a lot more. I think that this is only applicable for the micro stakes and once you reach higher limits it is definately better to have more BI's when you move up because it will take more time to learn how to beat the next limit.

Currently I'm at a BR of $260 and play 10NL. I plan to take a shot at 25NL at $500.

GL to everyone and listen to spoon, don't fuckin blow your BR!