Poker Move Calculator

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How quickly can you move up the stakes in poker?

There is no one-answer-fits-all for how quickly you can move from one limit to another in no limit Texas Hold’em cash games, but you can gauge a fairly accurate estimate based on the following factors:

Using a poker odds calculator to calculate chances supports statistically minded to rake in vast sums of money at the table. In tournament and sit and go poker, ROI is a popular metric from evaluating performance. This is measured by taking the ratio of the total amount of cashes and the total amount of buy-ins. Using these figures, we use the normal return on investment formula to calculate ROI. Please note that this calculator does not factor in rake back. Our poker calculator is the perfect medium for finding out the odds in any given situation. Simply plug in your hand, your opponents’ hands, and the board, and you’ll be on the way to figuring out your next move. The Best Poker Hands Calculator. Once you have over $ 1,100, you can move up to the 22$ tournaments and move further up to the 33$ tournaments as soon as you have 1650$ or more. If you run badyou’re your bankroll drops to 550$ or less, then you must move down to the 11$ games again, because you have just 50 buy-ins left for that limit.

1. Your winrate.
2. How many hours you play a day on average.
3. The number of tables you multi-table.

Using these 3 variables it’s actually pretty straightforward to work out a time frame between moving up the stakes in NL cash games.

Throughout this article I will be assuming that you stick to the basic bankroll management guidelines of having at least 20 buy-ins (BIs) for the stakes you want to play (e.g. a $200 bankroll would be needed for $10NL).

Time frames for different players types.

Here are a few examples of the time it will take for the most common players types to move up the stakes based on the 3 variables listed above.

Hardcore grinder - 2 to 3 weeks.

• 6bb/hour winrate (on 1 table).
• Playing 4 hours a day.
• Playing at 6 tables at a time.

Sounds very speedy indeed, but it’s very possible if you put the effort in.

Regular player - 1 to 2 months.

• 6bb/hour.
• 2 hours a day.
• 4 tables at a time.

Casual player - about a year.

• 6bb/hour.
• 0.5 hours a day.
• 2 tables at a time.

Poker Move Calculator Spreadsheet

Days until you can move up limits calculator.

Moving Up Stakes Calculator

Find out how many days it will take before you can move up to the next level.

• Winrate - Your winrate in bb/hour. Just enter the number on its own.
• Hours - How many hours you play poker in a day on average.
• Tables - How many table you multi-table during your sessions on average.
• Surplus Buy Ins - How many buy ins you have over your current limit. For example, if you play $10NL and you have a $250 bankroll you have 5 'surplus buy ins'. Leave it as 0 if you only just about bankrolled for your current limit.

How it works.

To be be able to safely move up, you need to have 20 buy-ins for the level above you. This is basic bankroll management. If you have 20 buy-ins exactly for your current limit, you are exactly another 20 buy-ins away from having enough money to move up (in most cases).

You basically need to win another 20 buy-ins worth of money at your current limit to safely move up a level. So if you’re playing $100NL with $2,000 behind you, which the minimum bankroll required to play at these stakes, you need to win a further $2,000 to move up to $200NL (which requires a roll of $4,000).

This calculator works out how many days it will take you to win 20 buy-ins and be able to move up based on; your winrate, the hours you spend playing a day on average and the number of tables you play at during your sessions.

The equation used for the calculator.

This is the equation used to work how many days it will take before you have enough money to move up limits.

Important points about the time between moving up stakes.

These are average time frames.

These time frames are just generalizations. We’re assuming everything remains constant, which it never does.

If you’re a regular player you can’t expect to move from one level to the next every 2 months like clockwork. Thanks to variance, you may only spend 2 weeks at one level, but then 4 or more months at another.

However, if your winrate, play time and the amount of tables you play at is consistent, the time you spend moving from one limit to the next should average out over time.

Your winrate won’t stay the same from one limit to the next.

As mentioned above, it’s very likely that your winrate will move up and down across the limits.

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Just because you’ve got a winrate of 6bb at $25NL, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to be able to maintain that winrate when you move up to $50NL. In fact, it’s very likely that your winrate will drop until you become accustomed to those stakes (i.e. you improve you game).

You’ll need to account for a “breaking in” period where you try to achieve a similar (or possibly even higher) winrate to what you had achieved at the previous stakes. Again, this time frame depends on a whole new bunch of variables, but I’m not going to go in to those right now (this article is long enough as it is).

Bankroll management and table limits.

Your bankroll management methods may be more risky or more conservative than the 20 BI minimum that I’m using in this article, so you would have to factor that in to the outlined time frames used above.

In addition to this, if you’re playing in deep stacked games of 200bb buy-ins as opposed to the standard 100bb buy-ins that I assume you're playing in, that will also affect the time it takes for you to move from one limit to the next in no limit Texas Hold’em cash games.

Example - moving from $2NL to $200NL.

Despite all the variables, let’s try and use some mathematics to work out a decent time frame for moving from $2NL up to $200NL. I’ll break the progression down in to steps from one limit to the next.

For the record, in this example we are starting with a $40 bankroll and will need to achieve a bankroll of $4,000 to be rolled for $200NL. I’ll also assume that we’re a serious grinder determined to make it to $200NL as quickly as reasonably possible.

In addition, let’s assume we’re an accomplished player that can already beat $200NL, but we’re starting from $2NL for fun.

$2NL to $5NL - around 2 weeks.

• 10bb/hour.
• 3 hours a day.
• 8 tables at a time.

$5NL to $10NL - around 2 weeks.

• 9bb/hour.
• 3 hours a day.
• 8 tables at a time.

$10NL to $25NL - around 3 weeks.

• 8bb/hour.
• 3 hours a day.
• 6 tables at a time.

$25NL to $50NL - around 4 weeks.

• 7bb/hour.
• 3 hours a day.
• 4 tables at a time.

$50NL to $100NL - around 5 weeks.

• 5bb/hour.
• 3 hours a day.
• 4 tables at a time.

$100NL to $200NL - around 9 weeks.

• 4bb/hour.
• 3 hours a day.
• 3 tables at a time.
  

TOTAL TIME = 25 weeks (roughly 6 months).

For what it’s worth, I took the high-end estimate of how long it would take to move up the stakes at each level. Therefore, moving from $2NL to $200NL in 6 months is entirely achievable if you’re already an accomplished player.

Moving up stakes conclusion.

If you’re a regular winning NL Texas Hold’em cash game player, anywhere between 1 to 12 months at each level before moving up sounds about right. It all depends on your winrate, time spent playing and the number of tables you play at during your sessions.

I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with these time frames, but I don’t care. You’re not going to find tangible figures as accurate as these elsewhere that answer the most common question of “how long does it take to move up limits in Texas Hold’em”. Take ‘em as rough guidelines and don’t put too much stock in to them.

In fairness, “it depends” is a better answer, but then that’s not very thorough now is it.

Go back to the interesting Texas Hold'em Articles.

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Comments

One of the most basic but also the most crucial skills for a poker player is the ability to quickly calculate how many outs you have to a winning hand.

It may seem complicated at first, but in reality it only takes a little practice for it to become second nature.

When you play poker the best-case scenario would be to always put your money in with the best hand. That just isn't the reality, though. You are going to put your money in bad from time to time.

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Poker Move Calculator Formula

How to Count Your Outs

In those cases where you are putting your money in bad, the idea is that you are able to make a hand on a later street that is better than your opponent's. The cards that give you that winning hand are known as 'outs.'

An example: You have A♣K♣. Your opponent accidentally shows you J♦9♦10♠J♣3♣ board. How many outs do you have?

Well, you have two overcards to his jack, meaning that three aces and three kings are outs to a higher pair. You also have four queens that would give you the nut straight, and you have nine clubs that can give you the nut flush.

Of course, you double-counted one of your outs. You can't count the queen of clubs twice. So when you recount, you have a total of 18 outs. That's a lot of cards that can come on the turn to help you.

An 18-out draw is very big, and actually makes you a favorite against top pair on the flop.

Put Your Opponent on a Hand Range

In reality it's never going to be obvious as in the above example - your villain is not going to actually show you his cards. So you must be able to put him on a range of likely hands. Once you have his approximate range, it becomes easier to calculate your outs.

You're never going to be able to put your opponent on an exact hand, so calculating outs will never be exact. Your calculations will ultimately only be as accurate as the hand range you put your opponent on.

If in the example above you give your opponent J♠J♥, you have significantly fewer outs. No longer do your three remaining aces and kings give you the winning hand.

Furthermore, you can hit your hand on the turn and still lose should the river pair the board.

When calculating outs, keep in mind that it's not an exact science and that sometimes a card you may think is an out may not actually give you the best hand.

What Are 'Half Outs' in Poker?

Sometimes your perceived outs only count as half outs. Let's take a look at an example:

You have 8♠9♠. The board is 10♥J♥3♦. You have four sevens and four queens that will give you a straight. Meaning you have eight outs. Correct?

Yes and no. Sometimes you are going to hit your straight, but that card will also make your opponent a flush, improving you to a second-best hand.

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In this example the Q♥ and the 7♥ are not worth a full out to you. Thus you should only count them as half outs each. Meaning in reality you only have seven outs.

Counting the Q♥ and the 7♥ as half outs accounts for those times where you will make your straight yet still lose to your opponent's flush.

What Are Hidden Outs in Poker?

Occasionally you are going to come across a hand where you may even have hidden outs. They are called hidden outs because they may not immediately help your hand but they may actually hurt your opponent's hand.

A quick example:

You hold A♥A♣5♠6♣9♦K♥ board. Your opponent holds 6♠5♥ for two pair. On the river you can be saved by the A♦ or the A♠, which will give you a set, but you can also be saved by the board pairing either the nine or the king.

This would counterfeit your opponent's two pair and give you a higher, winning two pair. While neither a nine nor a king actually hits your hole cards, it still improves your hand to a winning two pair. This is what is known as a 'hidden out.'

Poker is Outs and Pot Odds

As with honing any skill, practice makes perfect. Once you are able to accurately calculate your outs you will be able to correctly determine the pot odds you require to continue with a hand.

And once you have that down, you've pretty much mastered poker. Poker, simplified, is two things:

• Putting your money in good and/or
• Putting your money in with good odds

When you have those two skills in the bag, the rest is easy.

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