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Situation: I started the summer off with a ~$2K bankroll for $1/2, and ran it up to $3,500 in May. I then needed ~$500 for real life purposes, and I've been downswinging pretty hard in June. So now I'm down to $1,350. If I lose this money, it won't be the end of the world since I don't really have any expenses - I'm living with my parents for the summer and am at college the rest of the year, so food is covered, and booze is pretty cheap.

I've been thinking about my play a lot and reviewing a lot of the big hands, posting many of them here on DC. I'm convinced that the downswing is mostly just an ice cold deck - coolers, setups, and suckouts in huge pots, with some minor mistakes that I've since corrected (like opening too loose from UTG).

Skill Level: pre-black friday I had beat 50nl and had just moved up to half $100nl and half $50nl, depending on how soft the games were. I didn't get a huge sample at $100, but was marginally beating it over the small sample.

Question: Should I keep playing on this thin bankroll, or is the risk of ruin real high?

Sure the risk of ruin might be there, but the issue is that there's not really any lower live stakes to play. If you can lose the money and not be effected by it then sure go for it.

Sure the risk of ruin might be there, but the issue is that there's not really any lower live stakes to play. If you can lose the money and not be effected by it then sure go for it.

I would be effected as I wouldn't have any money to spend at bars and wouldn't be able to buy some things I was hoping to buy at the end of the summer (iphone, new ipod, etc.), but yeah, it wouldn't be devastating.

Should I buy in shorter so that pots are smaller and so bad variance doesn't hurt my bankroll as much?

Shorter stacked live I don't think really reduces the variance a ton because there's more spots where you are kinda obliged to stack off.

Can you get a part-time job or something? Might be worth looking into other ways to help the bankroll, especially if you want to buy a few things later. You don't want to be thinking about that iPhone when you should be thinking about whether X play is +EV.

This may sound like bad advice but i say stay at it and just play a lower variance game, like take a more ABC approach and leave out plays like 3 barrell bluffing that are +EV but over a large sample. Stick to what you know will make you money until you start to build up more of a roll. Yes you wont be playing optimally but you will definately still be playing +EV. I wouldnt call it playing with scared money either just simply a lower variance style.

I think the "low variance" strategy approach is really dangerous because it's artifically lowering your edge and that's not necessarily going to work out well for you. Pushing 0EV spots obviously isn't a good idea, but I feel like you get few benefits from doing that at 1/2 anyway...

I think the "low variance" strategy approach is really dangerous because it's artifically lowering your edge and that's not necessarily going to work out well for you. Pushing 0EV spots obviously isn't a good idea, but I feel like you get few benefits from doing that at 1/2 anyway...

i aggree but with like a 10BI BR its just too high variance imo, you can definately still beat that limit playing total ABC surely? I dunno maybe im wrong.

you can deff beat 1/2 playing ABC, in Florida 1/2live = 50nl online, have u thought about playing online again for awhile to build the roll back up because then you could play lower

I started playing really really underrolled, and I'm still short for the stakes I'm playing. I started playing 1-3 with 600 (2 buy ins worth) and I'm currently sitting at just under 5k. However I think the game is easy enough to beat that my BR is sufficient.

I think it's entirely up to how you think your game is. It also depends on how good you are at tilt control. I know that in the past when I'd take a cooler/bad beat I'd kinda play like poop the rest of the night. If that's the kind of thing that happens to you I'd say work on your tilt issues.

I also take 2 buyins with me as a stoploss kind of thing. I know some will say this isn't ideal, but if I blow through 2 buyins in a night ( which hasn't happened in about forever) it's time to call it quits.

Get a stake or get a side income, quit playing, find a way to play lower stakes or accept the possibility of busting your roll and go for it, I'd think the best option is to figure out another way to make money on the side. Also, run good.

If I was your age I would go hard aggressive bankroll management.

play 5/10 double up and start again at 1/2

you can deff beat 1/2 playing ABC, in Florida 1/2live = 50nl online, have u thought about playing online again for awhile to build the roll back up because then you could play lower

I think you are vastly overrating the skill level of the average 1/2 live player in Florida.

I think you are vastly overrating the skill level of the average 1/2 live player in Florida.

ha I was just thinking that