Micro-limit bankroll building

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't build a bankroll playing the $10 tables; I've been doing it. My goal was to get my roll from approx $150 up to $300, at which point I'd move to $0.10/$0.25, or $25, tables.

I knew that $150 was lighter than I'd have liked to start with; in reality my starting roll was $170, but still - 17 buy-ins isn't a lot of wiggle room. In a sense my roll was bigger, as could always dip into my "live game roll," but I was determined to not do any more deposits on fulltilt.

I haven't been on some sick, insane, luckbox run - I have played well, and most nights showed at least a small profit. Once my roll got up to around $220, I began adding a table. When I got up to $250, I tried adding a third. When I got up to $280, I added a fourth. That went horribly, so I went back to three. And then I just found I played more comfortably on 2.

Plan was at $300 to move up to $25 tables, but when I hit $300 I didn't feel that it was quite enough. So I decided I'd stick to the small tables until I got to $325, then take one shot at the next step. That didn't go so well, so back down to the small tables, and kept at it.

Pretty soon, I get up to $340 and try again. And this time I almost double through. And so I try again, and do OK. Adding a smattering of $10 tables, and a few $25, my roll is now over $400.

That's approx a $240 profit in a month and a half. And while that's not a helluva lot of money, if you look at the stakes I played in that's between ten and twenty buy ins.

Yes, the play here is atrocious. Yes, your flopped set will sometimes get runnered by A8o. But as long as you don't fall into the same trap as these clowns, just because "It's not that much money," then you have a chance of being a winner here.

Back in the spring I was playing these tables, and was taking a beating; I was overplaying hands BIG time, and too often tried to force people off hands. Now, though, I play more carefully (it doesn't take long to identify the players who will call you down holding 44 on a suited 10-K-7-5 board) - and more tricky. Yes, I play monster hands, but I also play the 64s, the occasional 710, etc... unpredictable.

In the last couple months I've played consistently, and consistently well. I've become a better player, and a more patient player. I've learned to fold AK preflop; I've learned if someone open raises all-in for $5 (50x's bb), that I don't call unless I have AA (it's not that I'm always behind here, it's just that it's too big of a risk with too little information - there will be more profitable scenarios to get involved in). I've learned to fold top pair. I've learned to call with middle pair in the right spots -- all the basic stuff that thousands of hands will give you practice with.

Funny thing now is that if I stick with the $25 tables, my roll is sort of back to where it was: I have 17 buy-ins. Again, I know this is light, but I can be effective here. And if I drop below $350, I move back down.