Learn Texas Holdem

Question: I have seen multiple times that you recommend "playing within your limits" and "having the proper bankroll for the game you are in" as well as "having enough bankroll to smooth out variance" however, I haven't seen actual rough figures given for each limit. For example:

.50/$1 = $100 bankroll

$1/$2 = $200 bankroll

$3/$6 = $400 bankroll

$4/$8 = $600 etc.

This information would be critical to knowing when to move up in limits. Could you please give us a general rule recommendation for the limits as well as NL and PL holdem bankrolls?

Also, in Phil Helmouth's videos, he mentions that low limit (2/4) is impossible to beat because "all the money goes down the tube" implying that the casino gets all the winnings in the long run from the rake.

Do you believe this to be true? At what point is the rake too high to make money in the low limits? Thanks for your advice,

~Jason

Answer:

I think Phil is right about low limit holdem in cardrooms. If you play $2/4 holdem and they drop $4 out of every hand, plus a $1 tip, that's $5/hand minimum. If the average dealer deals around 30-35 hands an hour, that is a lot of money off the table very hour. Does that mean you can't be a winner at $2/4 in live cardrooms? No, it just means that you'll be facing a big challenge with the rake. You can still win there and you should learn at the smallest limits you can find. One good thing about online poker is that the rake is so reasonable. I think the max rake is $3 for all tables, even middle and upper limit games -- that's a great deal. Also, on the micro limits, the rake is porportional.

Now as for bankrolls... Let me first make a distinction between trying to build your bankroll and trying to play out of one. When you are first learning to play holdem, you are trying to win of course, but the winnings aren't going to be substantial enough to live on or do much with. If you are playing $2/4 holdem winning $50 a night, you're not buying a new house with it. I think the point of those lower limits is to become a better player so you can keep moving up the ladder until you reach stakes where you can win real money -- anything around a $10/20 and above for limit and $5/10 for no limit and you can start making a few hundred bucks and above a night.

I would recommend continuing to progress up until you get to the middle limits at least, but you'll have to base that on game availability. When you are starting to play at middle limit games, like $30/60 and $40/80, the goal now isn't so much to keep moving up (since games get harder and harder to find), it is just to make money and maintain at that level. For a working bankroll that you'll be taking money out of when you win, I like to have 500x the big blind to feel absoultely comfortable. If you play $30/60, $30k is enough to buffer any runs of bad luck.

If you do take a few hits, you just take the next wins to build the roll back up before you start withdrawing again. Now does this apply for lower limit games or when you are just starting out? No, the reason I made the distinction at the start is because for lower limit games, you could easily put up the bankroll yourself and save some time. A number of times, I've stopped playing cards for 3-6 months and spent all my bankroll. Then when I come back I have to build it up again. I don't go play $3/6 though, that would be a waste of my time.

I deposit enough to give the regular games a shot. So if you have 500x the big blind, you should be fine at any level as long as your skills are competitive. If you are playing smaller games that you can afford to back yourself personally where it doesn't take a large bankroll, then go ahead and take some risks since if you go bust, you can just buy-in again; most people can't afford this luxury at bigger limits so you need to be more respectful of bankrolls the higher you play.