Top 5 Tips for Changing Stakes
Playing a winning poker game is all about knowing when to make a move and when to sit back and keep your mouth shut. Whether you’re talking about betting versus folding, playing aggressively versus passively, or something as simple as increasing your stakes, the same general proverb applies.
In truth, changing stakes isn’t nearly as simple as it seems. There are many factors one should take into account before changing their poker stakes. Sometimes the observatory mind will even find a decrease in stakes is necessary to maximize profit. You can use these strategies effectively at Absolute Poker with our Absolute referral codes.
Below is a list of the top 5 tips for changing stakes in your poker game.
Tips for Changing Stakes - #1: Can you Afford It?
The first thing to ask yourself is if your bankroll can afford to increase the stakes? By rule of thumb, entering a NL cash game requires a chip stack of 400x the big blind. Another key rule is to never bring more than 1/10 of your total bankroll to a cash game. So do the math and see if you can even afford to increase your stakes.
If you have $1,000 bankroll, you should not bring more than $100 to a table. Divide that $100 by 400 and you should be playing stakes no higher than $0.10/$0.25.
For FL games, the rule is to bring 100x the big blind. So with a $1,000 bankroll, and $100 (1/10th) available for a cash game, you can only afford stakes of $0.50/$1.
Tips for Changing Stakes - #2: Be a Consistent Winner
Before you should even consider raising changing stakes, you need to be a consistent winner at your current level. If you’re breaking even or only making a small profit, it doesn’t make sense to raise the stakes. You have not yet conquered the stakes you are playing now.
Tips for Changing Stakes - #3: One Level at a Time
Never jump more than one level at a time. The competition at each level becomes progressively more difficult to overcome. Once you’re having continuous success at the current level, you can change stakes by one level, but no more. Let’s say you’re playing $0.50/$1 with good, consistent profits. It’s time to jump to $1/$2 stakes, but not $2/$4, $5/$10 or anything higher. By increasing the stakes one level at a time, you will discover how well your game stacks up to the higher level of competition without potentially losing your entire bankroll.
Tips for Changing Stakes - #4: Never chase Losses
If your purpose for changing stakes is to recover losses at the current level, do NOT increase your stakes. You’re just asking to lose even more. In fact, you should seriously consider our next tip for changing stakes.
Tips for Changing Stakes - #5: Lowering Stakes to Maximize Profit
There are two reasons you might need to lower your poker stakes. First, if you are not having success at the current level, and have spent a decent amount of time trying, you are only going to continue losing. Don’t stay at this level and try to increase your poker skills. Back up a level and rebuild your bankroll. Once you become a regular winning poker player at a lower level, then attempt the higher stakes again.
The second reason to lower your level would be to increase the profits you are already seeing. This is recommended only if you making a marginal profit. It could be that at $2/$4 stakes, you are only making an average of $50 a week. By dropping down to $1/$2 stakes, you may find yourself winning a lot more often and actually realize a higher profit margin of $100 a week or more.
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