Originally Posted by
mrmarket
Assuming your roll is $700 and you buy in for 100 BB
100 NL = 7 BI's
200 NL = 3.5 BI's
The standard rule is at least 20 BI's. It is debatable because your bankroll should really be based on your winrate but generally as you increase in stakes you need more of a bankroll because your edge thins.
That being said losing 7 buy ins or 3.5 buy ins is really nothing. I'm on a 7 buy in downswing atm (insert bad beat stories here) and there are many proven winning players that have had 20 BI+ downswings. The variance is huge in poker.
With $700 you really should be playing 25NL ( $0.10/$0.25 blinds) which would give you 28 BI's and move up to 50NL when you reach $1000.
Of course all this is assuming you're a winning player. If you are a losing player no amount of BR can help you as it's is 100% certain that you will go broke. Think of playing slots in a casino and it is essentially the same thing. If this is the case just think of it as a budget instead of a bankroll that you use to learn the game. 2+2, reading and playing will get you on your way. Good luck.