09-28-04, LearnTexasHoldem:

More Bankroll Talk

Question: Hello,

You've answered a few people's questions about bankrolls for limit holdem, but I don't think you've addressed the issue for no limit. Elsewhere, you've said that a 2/4 NL game is bigger than a 2/4 limit game, for example, so I assume that you'd also need a bigger bankroll to that NL game. So what size bankroll do you suggest, relative to the big blind? Also, do bankrolls increase proportionately as the size of the game increases? That is, is the bankroll for a 2/4 game going to be almost exactly twice as large as the bankroll of a 1/2 game?

Thanks

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Answer: First of all, there was another question I answered yesterday about bankrolls here: Bank Roll For Moving Up To 1/2 The bigger the limit (blinds), the larger the bankroll you need relative to the blind size. Like I said on that page, the reason is not because you are just playing with more money now, it is because the competition is tougher and there are differences in how the game is won.

For example, you won't win as much, if at all, if everyone at the table knows as much as you do and plays just like you do (that is assuming you play well). You'll have to make adjustments to your game and that creates risk so you'll need more money behind you.

As for whether a 2/4 NL game is larger then a 2/4 limit game, I'm not sure if I agree with that. I may have written that somewhere but I would like to see the context. I guess it depends on how you measure the size of the game. If you measure it by pot size then it could go either way. If you measure the size of the game by risk then I would say that a limit holdem game has more risk.

Let me give you an example, the blinds for a $200 NL game are the same as a $4/8 limit game. If I only had $200 to play, I would prefer the NL game. In the limit holdem game, two racks can go very quickly because you have little control over people out drawing you. In the NL game I would be involved in less pots and have less competition. For me to lose my buy-in at the NL game I would have to either have been playing badly or gotten bad beated big time. You can lose your whole buy-in on one hand in NL holdem but that doesn't happen often enough to mention -- and when it does usually it's clear who is ahead.

So for a NL bankroll for a $2/4 blind structure, a $100 buy-in game, I would like probably 10x the buy-in to feel comfortable. You definitely don't need that much but I like to be able to take a few bad days without having to drop down limits. It isn't hard to lose $300 in a $100 buy-in game, just like it isn't hard to win that much. You just have to brace for the swings because they will come.

You'll have days when you get KK vs AA 3 times in a row. You'll have AK vs AA or KK and on and on. Your bankroll should be large enough to cushion those beatings so you don't have to take your losses as the big limits and try to win your money back at the lower.

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