How Much Money to Take to a Limit Poker Game

Today I was playing the $1/$2 limit poker game again while I was waiting for my freeroll to begin at Bet365 Poker.

I started to notice how the other players are playing will really makes a difference in your bankroll swings.  I got on a table where they were raising before the flop about 50% of the time, which is not unusual. I started out with $89.00 and started getting great hands, but could not hit anything on the flop.  Within the first 10 hands I got AK, AQ, AJ, AQ, KQ suited. So I am playing about 50% of my hands.  My bankroll went from $89 to $23 almost immediately.  I would normally get off the table when this happens, but I was playing ok, I didn’t do anything stupid plus I was getting good cards, someone just always had something a little better than what ever I had.

I have to keep reminding myself that no one is out to get me, and they really can’t see my cards.

Then something happens and I get 99, and it’s one of those hands where I just have the pot odds to keep calling.  I feel like I lose with this hand almost every time, but I keep calling to the river and I end up taking the pot against a guy who has 88. This really turns things around for me and I run my total back up to $55.00 at this point I am thinking I have just won a bunch of hands I should quit right now.

And I would have except I was playing in the freeroll poker tournament and I get bored playing one poker table at a time.