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Move-up readiness calculator

Updated August 2026 · by Tom Howcroft

Find out whether your bankroll and win rate justify the next stake. See your buy-in count and risk of ruin at the higher game before you take the shot.

What does this result mean?

A move-up readiness calculator translates your current bankroll into buy-ins at the next stake, then estimates the risk of ruin there from your win rate and standard deviation. It answers the bankroll part of moving up, not whether you are technically or emotionally ready for the tougher game. A larger stake can turn a comfortable roll into a thin one immediately, even when the cash balance has not changed. Use conservative performance inputs and treat a short hot run as unproven. If the result shows too few buy-ins or an unacceptable risk, keep building at the current stake. If the bankroll gate clears, separate a shot from a permanent move: set a fixed shot budget, a drop-back point and a review date before sitting. A lasting move still needs evidence that your decisions and edge survive the new pool.

40 buy-ins
2.5
4
90
Not yet, build the roll
Read
16.0 buy-ins
Buy-ins at the next stake
20.6%
Risk of ruin there

Moving up needs two gates: enough buy-ins at the new stake, and a proven win rate at the one you are leaving. This sizes the first gate, so you take a shot on the maths rather than on a hot streak.

Example

A 40 buy-in roll at 2/5 NL, stepping into a 5/10 game where the buy-in is 2.5x larger, leaves about 16 buy-ins at the new stake, with a risk of ruin you can read before you sit.

Estimates for study and planning only, not a profit promise. Overshove tracks your real sample so these inputs come from your own data.

What does this calculator compute?

The calculator converts your current roll into buy-ins at the next stake, then reads risk of ruin against your win rate and swing rate. It sizes the bankroll gate, not your ego.

When should the result change your decision?

Use it to separate a shot from a move. A shot gets a fixed budget and a drop-back rule; a permanent move needs enough buy-ins and a proven win rate below.

How to use the answer responsibly

Treat the calculator as a planning tool, not a verdict on one session. A live poker input is usually an estimate: your win rate is noisy, your standard deviation changes by game type, and your future volume rarely matches the clean number you type into a form. The useful habit is to save the assumptions beside the result so you know what would need to change before the decision changes.

If the result pushes against what you wanted to do, do not smooth the inputs until the answer feels nicer. Make the conservative version first, using a lower win rate, a higher swing rate or fewer weekly hours. Then run the optimistic version. The space between those answers is the real decision area: where a shot needs a stop rule, where a move up needs more buy-ins, or where a good-looking hourly still needs a bigger sample.

Overshove calculators become more useful when the inputs come from your own logged sessions. Rake, tips, travel, hours, stake mix and session length all change the number. A generic benchmark can teach the shape of the problem, but a clean personal log gives the number you should actually act on.

Questions

When am I ready to move up?

When you clear two gates: enough buy-ins at the new stake and a proven win rate at the one you are leaving. This tool sizes the first gate; the second comes from your tracked sample.

Should I take a shot or wait?

Take ring-fenced shots with a fixed budget and a decided drop-back point. Move up permanently only when both gates clear, not on a hot streak.

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