Playing at an inappropriate stakes level is one of the most disastrous things you can do to your poker career. If you play at a level too high, you will be scared to make the big bets you need to in no limit poker, and if you play at levels too small, you will be putting money in the pot without care as to whether or not you will win the hand. This makes finding a happy medium an essential part of your success as a poker player.

How do you know which stakes level is right for you? This is a difficult question because it incorporates a few different factors: what amount you can stand to lose, how much of a bankroll you have set aside for poker, and the talent of your competitors at the level you ultimately decide to play at. If one of these factors is ignored, it can throw your balance off and you will ultimately pay for this mistake by losing money.

You should have money set aside for poker that you do not need for anything else. In other words, your poker bankroll should be expendable. Once you determine how much you can afford, then you need to look at how this fits in with the level you choose to play at. The big blind should not be more than 1/100th of your bankroll. So if you have $1,000 set aside for poker, you should not play at a level where the big blind is more than $10. This is a bare minimum requirement. In order to account for variance, you can compensate by making the big blind to bankroll ratio even smaller.

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The last thing to decide is whether or not you are playing against too tough of a talent pool. You do not necessarily need to be the best at the table, but you should have enough skill to take on the vast majority of those that you face. This will help build your confidence and your bankroll since you will be winning more hands.