As a professional player the ability to play in bigger games with higher stakes while sustaining a high win rate is the equivalent to giving yourself a raise. Whenever I am asked whether I think it’s better to be a $5-$10 player or a $2-$5 player, my response is always the same; You should play in the best game your bankroll allows without going broke. When playing poker you are simply investing your money.

Here’s an example I see frequently..

A player will have a $35,000-$45,000 bankroll for $2-$5 but won’t play $5-$10 because they want to wait until they reach a bankroll threshold In order to move up levels. If they play in the $5-$10 game before reaching this threshold, they refer to it as “taking a shot “.

My advice is you should play in the best game possible. If you have a $30,000 bankroll and feel you can manage with a $25,000 bankroll, take $250 a session and use 50 buy-ins to play $2-$5. This will allow you to use the remaining $5,000 to play $5-$10 or even $10-$20. If you decide to move up however, you need to be mindful that you should only be playing in these games when they are extremely good. By using this bankroll strategy, you are not taking a shot, instead you are playing in the most profitable game your bankroll allows without going broke. Eventually you will run good in one of these games which will allow you to play them more often.

Next post we will take a look at the difference between cash games and tourneys.