[Wooderson]

Ok, so I know that in limit HE a bankroll should be 300x the big bet of the game's being played to support the variance that may be encountered, and if the bankroll dips below 200xthe BB, move to the next lower limit.

What about in NLHE? Is there a similar rule of thumb for bankroll x big blind?

[yeltzen]

I believe it goes by multiples of the max buyin.
I could be wrong, I'm far from a NL pro.

[hachkc]

I've seen numbers around 20x - 30x the max buyin. Assume you are playing $1/$2 NLHE, the max buyin is typically 100xBB ($200) so your bankroll should be between $4000 - $6000. This should vary depending on your playing persona and table selection.

Seems high till you consider 3 losing sessions in a row is $600. You don't want your bankroll determining how you should play a hand.

[SpeakEasy]

Two things you may want to consider: (1) your overall poker bankroll, and (2) your bankroll on each particular on-line site.

I play in NLHE live cash games based on my cash poker bankroll. Of my entire poker bankroll, I have more in cash than in my on-line accounts, so I play a bigger live game than on-line.

I play NLHE on-line based on my bankroll at each site. For example, I'll play NLHE games on PStars based on how much I have in my PStars account alone. I do this because its somewhat cumbersome to transfer funds between sites (have to wait for several days), and because I like the challenge of seeing how far I can grow my account on each site, without ever re-loading. (I will transfer funds between sites to take advantage of re-load bonuses, but otherwise keep the funds separate on each site.)

As for your specific question, I've safely adhered to a 10x buy-in rule. I've run bad before, like everyone does, but I've never really come close to burning through ten buy-ins at any particular level. I've never felt the need to have 20 buy-ins at any level. I have played in games that were way over what my overall bankroll should be able to handle -- juicy Rio NLHE games during the WSOP -- but I luckily came out on top of that game. Adds some thrill to poker.

[JM]

So are you sayingt hat your total cash bankroll should be 10x the max buy in (assume I'm talking about a live cash game)? In other words, the amount you can really afford to lose if that should happen would be 10x the buy-in of whatever game you're playing. So if its a 1/2NL table with a 200max buy in, your total bankroll would be 2000 and if you lose that you're done with that level/game right?

When I think bankroll, I'm thinking how much I'm bringing to the table, but you guys are obviously using it in a different context.

[ahopen78]

JM, I agree, there are 2 questions.
Amt to bring X to the table and Amt to have in your Bankroll Y to sustain fluctuations.
I believe that if you become a "pro" X converges to Y.

I know this still does not answer the underlying question, but I believe 10-20x Buy-in.

On a side note, my most wacky experience:

I lived in Barcelona for a while and I hit up Casino de Barcelona one day.
they only had 20-40 Limit (euros).
min buy-in was 200 euros.

I sat down with 250.
turned it into 325 in 1 hr and quit.

next day I sat down with 325.
turned it into ~500 in 1 hr and quit.

next day I sat down with ~500.
turned it into ~1200 in 2 hrs and quit

this continued for 7 days straight.
DID not lose ONE time!!!
I had turned my 250 euros into ~5000 euros.

the downward spiral story will follow...

Originally Posted by JM

So are you sayingt hat your total cash bankroll should be 10x the max buy in (assume I'm talking about a live cash game)? In other words, the amount you can really afford to lose if that should happen would be 10x the buy-in of whatever game you're playing. So if its a 1/2NL table with a 200max buy in, your total bankroll would be 2000 and if you lose that you're done with that level/game right?

When I think bankroll, I'm thinking how much I'm bringing to the table, but you guys are obviously using it in a different context.

[CaptLego]

Steady-state, I'd think that 10x the max buy-in should cover most swings. But if you're planning to branch out (different sites, different games, different limits), you should have a bigger bankroll to allow for the learning curve.