Whatever. If your a good player, 200 is plenty so that if you do take a look at a higher limit and get slaughtered, it wont hurt you too much, and you can safely retreat to the lower level.

You need the discipline to drop back down in time and the psychological fortitude to cope with a reverse like this.

Here we tend to recommend 30-40 buy-ins for No Limit for example - to insulate against the yo-yo effect of 'taking shots' right on the 20x buy-in edge..

Some of us are just lazy though - my BR is $11k at the mo and I'm currently buying in for $60 in $100 6 max tables at Prima and playing multiple $16 Turbo SnG's at Stars

Excession I really think 30-40 buy ins is excessive. I have always heard people talk about 15-20. I think it also depends a lot on your bankroll limitations. If you are a low stakes player and can replace your bankroll with other money if you hit a downswing that is very different than a fulll time poker pro who has no way to replace a lost bankroll.

I think another thing that is often missed it the mental aspect of it all. I have taken a few shots at a game a little out of my BR but I know that if I lose a buy in or 2, I can move back down and still play well. A lot of players dont have the mental ability to play for bigger money and then move back down a level and still play their A game, we all have that level where there is just not enough money on the table to keep your attention.

Marm also makes a really good point that a lot of poker players miss. Game selection is so key, to many players try to cast themselves into a specific level. If I have X amount of money I should be playing X game. Who cares a good game is a good game. I have a 10k roll but there are still times where I walked into casinos a bunch of times expecting to play $500 NL but after watching the games decided that the best game running is 4/8 LO8. Just because your bankroll says you should be playing at X level doesnt mean that you cant find better game that are more profitable that are smaller.

I think that when ex says 40, he means of your CURRENT level = 20x of the new level.

No, excession is a wuss. Like me.