Hello, everyone.

I have been a No Limit Hold'em player for as long as I can remember, but then recently while I was playing in a few HORSE tournaments for fun, I discovered that I was doing much better at Stud than Hold'em. So I have decided to give the Stud cash games on PokerStars a try, but I have no idea what an appropriate bankroll would be.

I know in NLHE it's generally 10 buy-ins, but what should it be in Stud? I've never really tried playing a limit game for anything but sheer entertainment before, so I'm clueless. I have about $55 in my bankroll at the moment. Is this enough for the .25/.50 on PokerStars, or should I step down to .10/.20?

I'm not 100% sure on limit games but I seem to remember reading somewhere that 200 big bets is generally considered absolute minimum. More is better, especially if you're new to the game.

200 to 300 big bets is right... but i would say that with $55, you will be ok playing .25/.50 because I've found those limits to be pretty soft...

300 BB is good, but only if you are able to win one BB per hour. If you can do that, then 300 BB almost (99%) guarantees that you will not go broke. if you are a 1/2 BB per hour player, then you need 600BB bankroll. If you are a 2 BB per hour player, then 150 BB bankroll is good. See the pattern?

I think Ken Warren is the author of the book about playing for a living and proper bankroll management. He has a series of three books I believe on playing for a living, but not "what kind of hands" to play type book, but dealing with tilt, bankroll management, etc..

Good luck, I love STUD and will be trying it out some when I get home from South America in 2 months.

Since you have not played limit ring games much it may be worth it to you to start at .1/.2 for awhile until you get used to it, even if you have the bankroll for the higher game.

it would be better if u step down to .10/.20

both are a little on the short side (one obv shorter than the other). i've been playing .25/.50 stud on stars and from my experience the low limit stud games on stars are very soft and not the variance roller coaster that stud is supposed to be (the low ante probably has a lot to do with it, there is not a lot of money in the pot to start so you aren't constantly attacking the antes and bring in, you're more waiting for a good hand and then just bet bet bet and get paid).

were you not admittedly clueless i would say play .25/.50 and if you take a bad hit step down. however, being admittedly clueless (being able to admit that shows that you might have more of a clue than you think but still) i would recommend the lowest game they have. start at .04/.08, get some experience and confidence.

everybody says 300 big bets is good for limit games but in reality the more you have the more comfortable you are going to feel and the more comfortable you feel the better you play.

I ran a Razz bankroll with 300 bets and did fine. I wouldn't suggest any less for Stud-based games.

And I agree with stepping down in levels until you get an understand of the game.