When to stop movin up?

My bad if something like this has already been posted but I couldn't find it.

I'm plannin to move up to 100nl soon and I was curious what level everyone here plans to max out at, if they haven't already. I mean no matter how high my bankroll gets I don't plan on playing 1000nl or anything like that, what do you guys think?

I'm only playing $10 NL right now, but I have no intention of ever going past $50 NL. My wife would have a heart attack if I played $100 NL and had a bad week.

I never planned to go past 25NL, then I never planned to go past 100NL, now its pretty obvious to me that im just going to keep on going until i cant win.

As long as you stay rolled for it and you are still earning (and maybe even withdrawing) then why not take a couple of shots if you feel like you are already crushing the game you're in? Its not like you are going to start playing out of your roll and going bust just cos you tried one level higher.

its all a matter of personal preference. some want to make money. others are just goofing around. some think you owe it to yourself to make as much money as possible, work on your game, learn to beat tougher opponents, etc. others think they would like to stay at a level they crush, and work on other aspects like playing LAG.

whatever. its all up to you.

personally, i started a couple years ago, moved up to 100 NL with br mngmt, started taking money out every month for mad cash, and stayed there for awhile. then, went back down a couple levels when the US regs hit, and loved the fact i no longer need to think/try so hard to make the right decisions. i wanted to see if i could sustain a 15BB/100 win rate ( i am close, but cant quite hold it...more like 12-13.5), but i now love screwing around with different lines...just to see what happens. i have loosened up a ton.

but, i also play different games now, too. limit, fcd, stud...dont like omaha. but playing the lower limits allows me to play whatever i want, whenever i want, and no longer worry about damaging what "i've worked so hard to build." or at least thats how i used to feel.

like i said, its all personal preference, but you just need to figure out why you are playing poker (enjoyment or income), and focus on what maximizes THAT goal. ignore the rest, its crap.

depend how good you are. Its true when you get to a certain level in poker (live i dont know about online ive only played 100nl) things change alot. Math and all that plays much less of a factor. once you get to 15-30 (somtimes 10-20NL depending on where you play) Holdem comes down to weather the guy has the hand he's representing or not. This takes pure reading ability and sitting behind a comp i think this would be very hard to do. If you can read people dont go past the micros i guess. as far as live goes dont go past 5-10NL.

Originally Posted by SHAKE

...Its true when you get to a certain level in poker (live i dont know about online ive only played 100nl) things change alot. Math and all that plays much less of a factor.

math is ALWAYS a factor...and a very important one. i'm sure i am not giving an epiphany to any higher stakes player, but damn...

c'mon shake, if you play 1000 NL, you cant tell me math still isnt the most important factor. regardless of your "read," if an opponent lays odds on the flop for you to draw to the nut flush...you take it.

math is the foundation of our game, dude. dont trivialize it as "less important" the higher you go. that simply is untrue.

Originally Posted by "Chopper

math is the foundation of our game, dude. dont trivialize it as "less important" the higher you go. that simply is untrue.

i´m with chopper here, you´re game is always based on the math. with different levels other fators become more weight when making your decisions, but what do u do, when u actually "make a read"? you´re still calculating your odds against opponents ranges, you calculate the possibility of him making a move or the ev of shoving/folding/whatever.

the more your game develops, the math-thing will become a more subconscious process, if you have to calculate simple drawing odds at 1kNL you´re probably at the wrong table.

Answering this from another perspective (that of a tournament player) I think that I'll continue to progress up to the $55 sit and gos, where I believe the game is still beatable, and as for MTT's, despite having a the bankroll for them, I can't ever see myself going above $30 or so.

I guess I might take a few shots when my roll returns to where it was but they intimidate me at that point.

A lot of it depends onyour BR and comfort level. BR management has been hammered to death on this forum but a cash game player should have 30+ buy-ins preferably more. See my Bad beat post and you will see why! I lost over 15 buy-ins is a couple days.

So if you play .25/.50 $50 Buy-in you want $1500.

.50/1 100 buy-in 3000.

2/4 400 buy-in $12,000.00 and so on and so forth.

MTT roll is a whole different beast but don't risk > 2% of your roll on a single buy-in.


As far as comfort level, the higher you go usually the harder the game is to beat however there are some rich fish that donate to 2/4 and up on a consistent basis but you must be prepared to eat a -$4000 swing. A lot of folks are not comfortable losing that kind of scratch and I'm one of them.

chopper-I disagree. Its not that math goes out the window but it moves down on the prioritys list. Ypur always getting implied odds, i quoted phill Ivey so if you think he's full shit....

Originally Posted by SHAKE

chopper-I disagree. Its not that math goes out the window but it moves down on the prioritys list. Ypur always getting implied odds, i quoted phill Ivey so if you think he's full shit....

then you need to source your quotes. dont pretend like they are your own thoughts...thats sleezy. you also need to explain your point better.

if you think that it drops down the priority list...then say how far. dont just say "much less of a priority," as that implies you almost totally disregard the maths. or put a disclaimer on it...saying, "i'm not saying math disappears completely, but..."

i doubt my micro-ass would ever get in a pissing match with phil ivey over how to play any level of poker, but i still contend that the math is the foundation of our game. and i would bet good $$ that phil wouldnt argue that math forms the base of your decisions no matter how high you go.