Moving up the Stakes in No Limit Holdem
Knowing when you're ready to move up the stakes in cash games from $0.25/$0.50 to $0.5/$1 or whatever is something everyone faces at some point. Especially at the lower levels, where it's easier to be at the top earning a higher bb/100 win-rate, you will move up the stakes faster.
- Most poker players can't wait to move up in stakes. And can you blame them? For one thing, there's a feeling of accomplishment when you move up — it means your game is.
- Many potentially great players never move up in stakes because they never build a poker bankroll—and despite knowing how to manage a bankroll, they lack the discipline to follow through. The bottom line is, improper bankroll management can prevent even the most talented player from moving up in stakes.
Moving up in stakes for a tournament or cash game player is often one of the most difficult things for a poker player. At higher stakes, you are faced with new, unfamiliar, opponents who are more skilled than the players at your previous stake. These two factors, unfamiliarity and skill, lead to a very challenging barrier to entry when moving.
Carbon Poker is where I moved from NL25 up to NL100
One thing I will say about moving up the stakes from NL10 or below, is that it is in your interesting to move up the stakes as quickly as possible. When you move up the stakes, the additional profit you make is massive compared to how much additional skill you need. For example, a multi-tabling NL50 player making $15,000 per year will make twice as much as an NL25 player making $7,000, however there isn't 'twice' as much skill needed at that level. You only need to be 20% better at most.
Another reason it's in your interest to move up the stakes is that as you get older you become more risk averse. It's better to take risks whilst you're young and wiry, rather than get to the point where you're life is dependent on poker and you can't afford to take the same risks.
Getting to NL100
This is breakthrough for any poker player looking to go pro. You can start playing professionally at this level and make $30,000+ per year easily, and if you learn to multi-table 5 or more games whilst maintaining a decent 12bb/hr win-rate then you might break the $50k mark.
The downside to this it there there is a huge gap in difficulty from NL50 to NL100. Most players below this level are amateur and so you're effectively crossing a pretty big gap in terms of playing quality. 3betting, floating and OTT bluffing post-flop are extremely hard to get used to and your game needs a big step up. There is also a much smaller proportion of fish at this level (maybe only 10% fish as opposed to 30% at NL50).
How Long Does it Take to Move up the Stakes?
This is a damn good question. To make it simple, I'll provide a very basic case study. If you play NL25 and earn 3bb/hr across 4 tables, then that's about 12bb/hr or 96bb/day ($25 per day).
Let's say you need to double your current bankroll of $250 to $500 to move up to NL50, this is 100x table buy-ins. 500/40 = 20 days. Thus, if you play hard ball you should be able to move up the stakes within a matter of 3 weeks. If you're only playing a few hours per day however, it may take a month or two to get to the same level.
This isn't the end of the equation though, because you need to be able to adapt to the higher stakes and be competent enough. (Also, not many amateur players play full time all year round). It's simply not possible to blast through the stakes like an F1 car because the gap in quality is so different. What you're doing at one level won't correlate to the same profits at a higher one, you need to learn to use table position to your advantage and improve your post-flop skills.
What BB/100 should I be achieving Before Moving Up?
To begin with, you should only ever consider moving up the stakes once you become competent where you are now. A good win rate at the micro stakes might be something like 7BB/100 i.e. if you're playing four tables of NL25 then you're making more than $5/hr. I think this is the level a lot of young players find themselves at, because once you climb past these the game becomes a bit tougher.
Now, unless you're churning a decent profit in your current game correlating to 5 or more big blinds per 100 hands than you should stay put. Why move up a level when you're not even maximising value at the moment?
The right time to move up the stakes is when you're making good profit. A secret tip is to do this slowly i.e. mix one or two NL50 games in your screen every day. By slowly dipping your toes into the higher stakes games, you allow yourself to adjust and offset any variance by still grinding profit in the NL25 games. Remember my rule about multi-tabling – don't multi-table with different stakes simultaneously. If you're playing NL25 here and NL50 there your screen can become confusing and you end up making the wrong size raises.
Don't Use the 100 buy-in Rule
I know I know, the 100 buy-in rule is 'bankroll management' and one of the most important rules in poker.
Well, this is only sort of true. Most pro's will actually tell you that you can afford to play with 30 buy-ins. It might shock you to hear, but back in the day during my NL50 days I only ever played with a $400 bankroll (8 buy-ins).
The fact is, if you're happy with your game and you're making profit then there is no need to abide by the 100 buy-in rule. You just need to be careful however. If I had a day where I lost a few buy-ins then I would move down the stakes. If you're playing the 30 buy-in rule, then make sure you move down the stakes if you manage to go down 5 buy-ins. This is plenty of insurance and will prevent you going broke.
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- $400
- $2000
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How quickly can you move up the stakes in poker?
There is no one-answer-fits-all for how quickly you can move from one limit to another in no limit Texas Hold'em cash games, but you can gauge a fairly accurate estimate based on the following factors:
- Your winrate.
- How many hours you play a day on average.
- The number of tables you multi-table.
High Stakes Poker Youtube
Using these 3 variables it's actually pretty straightforward to work out a time frame between moving up the stakes in NL cash games.
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Throughout this article I will be assuming that you stick to the basic bankroll management guidelines of having at least 20 buy-ins (BIs) for the stakes you want to play (e.g. a $200 bankroll would be needed for $10NL).
Time frames for different players types.
Here are a few examples of the time it will take for the most common players types to move up the stakes based on the 3 variables listed above.
Hardcore grinder - 2 to 3 weeks.
- 6bb/hour winrate (on 1 table).
- Playing 4 hours a day.
- Playing at 6 tables at a time.
Sounds very speedy indeed, but it's very possible if you put the effort in.
Regular player - 1 to 2 months.
- 6bb/hour.
- 2 hours a day.
- 4 tables at a time.
Moving Up Stakes Betonline Poker
Casual player - about a year.
- 6bb/hour.
- 0.5 hours a day.
- 2 tables at a time.
Days until you can move up limits calculator.
Moving Up Stakes Calculator
Find out how many days it will take before you can move up to the next level.
WinrateYour winrate in bb/hourHoursAverage you play in a dayTablesNo. tables you multi-tableSurplus Buy InsBIs over your current limitAnswerDays until you move up- Winrate - Your winrate in bb/hour. Just enter the number on its own.
- Hours - How many hours you play poker in a day on average.
- Tables - How many table you multi-table during your sessions on average.
- Surplus Buy Ins - How many buy ins you have over your current limit. For example, if you play $10NL and you have a $250 bankroll you have 5 'surplus buy ins'. Leave it as 0 if you only just about bankrolled for your current limit.
How it works.
To be be able to safely move up, you need to have 20 buy-ins for the level above you. This is basic bankroll management. If you have 20 buy-ins exactly for your current limit, you are exactly another 20 buy-ins away from having enough money to move up (in most cases).
You basically need to win another 20 buy-ins worth of money at your current limit to safely move up a level. So if you're playing $100NL with $2,000 behind you, which the minimum bankroll required to play at these stakes, you need to win a further $2,000 to move up to $200NL (which requires a roll of $4,000).
This calculator works out how many days it will take you to win 20 buy-ins and be able to move up based on; your winrate, the hours you spend playing a day on average and the number of tables you play at during your sessions.
The equation used for the calculator.
This is the equation used to work how many days it will take before you have enough money to move up limits.
Important points about the time between moving up stakes.
These are average time frames.
These time frames are just generalizations. We're assuming everything remains constant, which it never does.
If you're a regular player you can't expect to move from one level to the next every 2 months like clockwork. Thanks to variance, you may only spend 2 weeks at one level, but then 4 or more months at another.
However, if your winrate, play time and the amount of tables you play at is consistent, the time you spend moving from one limit to the next should average out over time.
Your winrate won't stay the same from one limit to the next.
As mentioned above, it's very likely that your winrate will move up and down across the limits.
Just because you've got a winrate of 6bb at $25NL, that doesn't mean that you're going to be able to maintain that winrate when you move up to $50NL. In fact, it's very likely that your winrate will drop until you become accustomed to those stakes (i.e. you improve you game).
You'll need to account for a 'breaking in' period where you try to achieve a similar (or possibly even higher) winrate to what you had achieved at the previous stakes. Again, this time frame depends on a whole new bunch of variables, but I'm not going to go in to those right now (this article is long enough as it is).
Bankroll management and table limits.
Your bankroll management methods may be more risky or more conservative than the 20 BI minimum that I'm using in this article, so you would have to factor that in to the outlined time frames used above.
In addition to this, if you're playing in deep stacked games of 200bb buy-ins as opposed to the standard 100bb buy-ins that I assume you're playing in, that will also affect the time it takes for you to move from one limit to the next in no limit Texas Hold'em cash games.
Example - moving from $2NL to $200NL.
Despite all the variables, let's try and use some mathematics to work out a decent time frame for moving from $2NL up to $200NL. I'll break the progression down in to steps from one limit to the next.
Now, unless you're churning a decent profit in your current game correlating to 5 or more big blinds per 100 hands than you should stay put. Why move up a level when you're not even maximising value at the moment?
The right time to move up the stakes is when you're making good profit. A secret tip is to do this slowly i.e. mix one or two NL50 games in your screen every day. By slowly dipping your toes into the higher stakes games, you allow yourself to adjust and offset any variance by still grinding profit in the NL25 games. Remember my rule about multi-tabling – don't multi-table with different stakes simultaneously. If you're playing NL25 here and NL50 there your screen can become confusing and you end up making the wrong size raises.
Don't Use the 100 buy-in Rule
I know I know, the 100 buy-in rule is 'bankroll management' and one of the most important rules in poker.
Well, this is only sort of true. Most pro's will actually tell you that you can afford to play with 30 buy-ins. It might shock you to hear, but back in the day during my NL50 days I only ever played with a $400 bankroll (8 buy-ins).
The fact is, if you're happy with your game and you're making profit then there is no need to abide by the 100 buy-in rule. You just need to be careful however. If I had a day where I lost a few buy-ins then I would move down the stakes. If you're playing the 30 buy-in rule, then make sure you move down the stakes if you manage to go down 5 buy-ins. This is plenty of insurance and will prevent you going broke.
Play Where US Players are Welcome!BetOnline Accepts players from the USA, and has soft games compared to Pokerstars and Full Tilt.
>>Play at BetOnline Now (US Players Accepted)!<<Related articles:
Leave a Reply
- $400
- $2000
T&C apply to bonus offerings
How quickly can you move up the stakes in poker?
There is no one-answer-fits-all for how quickly you can move from one limit to another in no limit Texas Hold'em cash games, but you can gauge a fairly accurate estimate based on the following factors:
- Your winrate.
- How many hours you play a day on average.
- The number of tables you multi-table.
High Stakes Poker Youtube
Using these 3 variables it's actually pretty straightforward to work out a time frame between moving up the stakes in NL cash games.
Star casino 2 up. Access your latest personal offers, keep up to date on your Star Rewards account, securely request your win/loss statement and view current casino promotions, upcoming entertainment, events, dining specials and a whole lot more! Try your luck and win real money with Welcome bonus ⓿% Best pokies casino Progressive Jackpots Top card games Two-Up Casino.
Throughout this article I will be assuming that you stick to the basic bankroll management guidelines of having at least 20 buy-ins (BIs) for the stakes you want to play (e.g. a $200 bankroll would be needed for $10NL).
Time frames for different players types.
Here are a few examples of the time it will take for the most common players types to move up the stakes based on the 3 variables listed above.
Hardcore grinder - 2 to 3 weeks.
- 6bb/hour winrate (on 1 table).
- Playing 4 hours a day.
- Playing at 6 tables at a time.
Sounds very speedy indeed, but it's very possible if you put the effort in.
Regular player - 1 to 2 months.
- 6bb/hour.
- 2 hours a day.
- 4 tables at a time.
Moving Up Stakes Betonline Poker
Casual player - about a year.
- 6bb/hour.
- 0.5 hours a day.
- 2 tables at a time.
Days until you can move up limits calculator.
Moving Up Stakes Calculator
Find out how many days it will take before you can move up to the next level.
WinrateYour winrate in bb/hourHoursAverage you play in a dayTablesNo. tables you multi-tableSurplus Buy InsBIs over your current limitAnswerDays until you move up- Winrate - Your winrate in bb/hour. Just enter the number on its own.
- Hours - How many hours you play poker in a day on average.
- Tables - How many table you multi-table during your sessions on average.
- Surplus Buy Ins - How many buy ins you have over your current limit. For example, if you play $10NL and you have a $250 bankroll you have 5 'surplus buy ins'. Leave it as 0 if you only just about bankrolled for your current limit.
How it works.
To be be able to safely move up, you need to have 20 buy-ins for the level above you. This is basic bankroll management. If you have 20 buy-ins exactly for your current limit, you are exactly another 20 buy-ins away from having enough money to move up (in most cases).
You basically need to win another 20 buy-ins worth of money at your current limit to safely move up a level. So if you're playing $100NL with $2,000 behind you, which the minimum bankroll required to play at these stakes, you need to win a further $2,000 to move up to $200NL (which requires a roll of $4,000).
This calculator works out how many days it will take you to win 20 buy-ins and be able to move up based on; your winrate, the hours you spend playing a day on average and the number of tables you play at during your sessions.
The equation used for the calculator.
This is the equation used to work how many days it will take before you have enough money to move up limits.
Important points about the time between moving up stakes.
These are average time frames.
These time frames are just generalizations. We're assuming everything remains constant, which it never does.
If you're a regular player you can't expect to move from one level to the next every 2 months like clockwork. Thanks to variance, you may only spend 2 weeks at one level, but then 4 or more months at another.
However, if your winrate, play time and the amount of tables you play at is consistent, the time you spend moving from one limit to the next should average out over time.
Your winrate won't stay the same from one limit to the next.
As mentioned above, it's very likely that your winrate will move up and down across the limits.
Just because you've got a winrate of 6bb at $25NL, that doesn't mean that you're going to be able to maintain that winrate when you move up to $50NL. In fact, it's very likely that your winrate will drop until you become accustomed to those stakes (i.e. you improve you game).
You'll need to account for a 'breaking in' period where you try to achieve a similar (or possibly even higher) winrate to what you had achieved at the previous stakes. Again, this time frame depends on a whole new bunch of variables, but I'm not going to go in to those right now (this article is long enough as it is).
Bankroll management and table limits.
Your bankroll management methods may be more risky or more conservative than the 20 BI minimum that I'm using in this article, so you would have to factor that in to the outlined time frames used above.
In addition to this, if you're playing in deep stacked games of 200bb buy-ins as opposed to the standard 100bb buy-ins that I assume you're playing in, that will also affect the time it takes for you to move from one limit to the next in no limit Texas Hold'em cash games.
Example - moving from $2NL to $200NL.
Despite all the variables, let's try and use some mathematics to work out a decent time frame for moving from $2NL up to $200NL. I'll break the progression down in to steps from one limit to the next.
For the record, in this example we are starting with a $40 bankroll and will need to achieve a bankroll of $4,000 to be rolled for $200NL. I'll also assume that we're a serious grinder determined to make it to $200NL as quickly as reasonably possible.
In addition, let's assume we're an accomplished player that can already beat $200NL, but we're starting from $2NL for fun.
$2NL to $5NL - around 2 weeks.
- 10bb/hour.
- 3 hours a day.
- 8 tables at a time.
$5NL to $10NL - around 2 weeks.
- 9bb/hour.
- 3 hours a day.
- 8 tables at a time.
$10NL to $25NL - around 3 weeks.
- 8bb/hour.
- 3 hours a day.
- 6 tables at a time.
$25NL to $50NL - around 4 weeks.
- 7bb/hour.
- 3 hours a day.
- 4 tables at a time.
$50NL to $100NL - around 5 weeks.
- 5bb/hour.
- 3 hours a day.
- 4 tables at a time.
Moving Up In Stakes Poker
$100NL to $200NL - around 9 weeks.
- 4bb/hour.
- 3 hours a day.
- 3 tables at a time.
TOTAL TIME = 25 weeks (roughly 6 months).
Poker Moving Up Stakes Game
For what it's worth, I took the high-end estimate of how long it would take to move up the stakes at each level. Therefore, moving from $2NL to $200NL in 6 months is entirely achievable if you're already an accomplished player.
Moving up stakes conclusion.
If you're a regular winning NL Texas Hold'em cash game player, anywhere between 1 to 12 months at each level before moving up sounds about right. It all depends on your winrate, time spent playing and the number of tables you play at during your sessions.
I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with these time frames, but I don't care. You're not going to find tangible figures as accurate as these elsewhere that answer the most common question of 'how long does it take to move up limits in Texas Hold'em'. Take ‘em as rough guidelines and don't put too much stock in to them.
In fairness, 'it depends' is a better answer, but then that's not very thorough now is it.
Go back to the interesting Texas Hold'em Articles.
Can You Afford Not To Use
Poker Tracker 4?
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Poker Moving Up Stakes Odds
'I play $25NL, and in under 1 week PT4 had paid for itself'
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