Need your opinions

Basically when I start playing again, due to my break from poker, I will be practicing bankroll management. When do you think it is appropriate to move up. I know the 10% rule of thumb. Here are 2 options I'm considering.

1. Move up in stakes when br management is being followed at all times. Example: starting br $750, play three 25NL tables until I reach $1k. Then play one $50NL table and two $25NL tables. Move down if roll drops to $750.

2. Move up in stakes when I can consistently beat a certain level. By consistent I mean playing no less than 10k hands and showing a positive gain. Again, only moving up when the roll supports it.

Option 1 is being physically able to move, Option 2 is geared more towards the mental aspect. Option 2 brings me to my next question.

I will be using PT. About winrate per 100hands/BB won per 100 hands. What should these numbers look like if I'm cosistently winning at 25NL playing no less than 10k hands.

How many hands do I have to play in order to spot leaks. And what sections of poker tracker should I be looking at to spot these leaks. Can I find everything in the "more detail" button in the general info tab.

What about the won at showdown percentage. Is that important? Because usually when hands get checked around to the river and you stay in the hand with ace high, you just muck your hand to a pair of 3's. But that counts toward your showdown percentage. Is showdown percent something I should be concerned about?

Don't play the game for the stats. Play the game against your opponents. I want you to keep an open mind, and not necessarily agree with me. I'm just saying I don't allow restrictions to mold my game.

In a perfect world, you'll play the same type of opponents every time, and you could perfect your game through the stats. You know that's not the case however. What I'm saying is it's correct to raise 25% of your hands at one table, and 10% at another. That's the way poker works. Are you catching what I'm throwing?

Here's my opinion:

You'll be fine, because you will be practicing BM. I can't tell you what the ideal system is, because everyone is different. The most important thing is to stick to your system at all times. By system, I mean play within your boundaries. Don't move up a level because you lost a quick 5 buy-ins one day. Your 20% loss will quickly become 60%.

Myself, I am playing on 5NL with a $50 buy-in and woking my way up. Once I reach $200 (20 buy-ins for the next level) I move up. If it ever drops below $200, I move back down until I get it back upto $200.

The first few hundred are quite a grind. It goes up quickly after that if your skills are improving with your bankroll.

30K hands will tell you how good you really are. At 10K I was dominating 25NL at 15+BB/100. Now I'm around 6/BB100 at 30K hands. Does that mean I suck more than I did - maybe. I've altered my game here and there and possibly I got paid off early because I used to be very loose-aggressive and then one day switched to tight-aggressive. Anyone with notes on me probably got smoked. What it really means to me is I'm not consistently dominating enough to move up regardless of my bankroll. I think 10BB/100 over a large sample is an indicator you can handle the next level.

I would look at your big losing hands in PT and then go through the hand histories to see how you are losing money. If you played them right and still lost then no biggie. That's usually not the case though.

Look at your position stats. If any are negative, look at what hands you play and how you play them. Maybe you shouldn't raise AJo UTG (just an example).

If your W$SD is lower than 50%, you may want evaluation whether you are taking hands too far. Yes, checked to the river hands count, but even with those you should still be over 50%. Plus, maybe you should take them down before the river.

Other than that just play good poker and periodically go over your hands histories even if you are winning.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add one important detail. I will be playing 6 max exclusively (As far as ring, I will still play MTT/SNG's) . So I guess 10k hands would be too small of a sample. Here's my thoughts, run PT for the first 20k hands. Use that sample to spot the real leaks. Post hand histories on the way to 20k. Following BR management 100% of the time, and I should be fine. Anyone think 20k is still too small to spot leaks in 6max?

You can spot leaks in one hand. Just look at one HH post. Somebody asks, did I make the right fold on the river? And 3 people point out that they could have played it better on the flop or turn.

Originally Posted by r8ed

You can spot leaks in one hand. Just look at one HH post. Somebody asks, did I make the right fold on the river? And 3 people point out that they could have played it better on the flop or turn.

Absolutely. You learn more from having us smash you over the head repeatedly with heavy objective criticism, than any long term stats can teach you.