First of all, a disclaimer: The "true" rampage involves putting your entire bankroll on the line at once and attempting this massive parlay. I do not recommend this. Let's say you have only $100 in your bankroll, and normally play $0.05/$0.10 NL. Your goal is $1000 so you can play $0.50/$1 comfortably. How long would it take you to grind up to $1000? A LONG DAMN TIME that's how long! Now, let's say we take a higher risk, but higher reward path to the top?
I present to you: The "Diet Coke" of rampages (coined by XaQ Morphy)
With this $100, take $5 and sit at a $0.10/$0.25 table. Do not be intimated by the higher stakes. You will be playing for much higher stakes soon. Post your blind. If you have a big hand (AQ/AK, JJ+), and there is a raise in front, you push. You will be paid off by inferior hands, and ANY edge is good enough for the rampager. The hands you want to play, if you can get in for a limp, are small pairs and suited cards (especially in position). You are looking for a big flop (either a set or a draw). With the set, your goal is to get all your money in the pot. This should not be too hard, since you only have 20xBB. I'll leave it to you to figure out the best way to accomplish this goal. With the draw, you are looking to either get all your money in on the flop against a bettor, or to take a cheap card if there are likely to be multiple callers. If you hit your draw, do everything you can to get the rest of your money in the pot. This should not take too long, from 10-50 hands. Do not let your buy-in diminish to less than $4. Reload to $5 as necessary. At higher stakes, we will discuss stealing to maintain your stack, but not at this level.
Once you have $10 in front of you, get the hell out of dodge. Look for a $0.25/$0.50 table. Buy-in for however much you had at the other table. Post your blind. Apply the same strategy as you did at the last table. When you hit $20, get out of there.
So far, so good. We now have over $20, and are going to hit the $0.50/$1.00 tables. This will be your home soon. Get used to it. At these stakes, we can now consider the profitability of stealing. If it gets folded to the button or small blind in your small blind, and they raise, you should push with any 2 cards (unless they make such a large raise as to commit themselves). If it is your BB and there are multiple limpers, push any hand with at least one paint, if you have a small pair or suited cards, take the flop (reason: you may get called by some donk with 77, and you want an out). If you do this a couple of times, the table will get pissed off, and they will play back, so before you push a third time, make sure you have a bigger hand. If you have a medium pair (88-TT), and there is a non-steal raise, you can still jam, looking to be a 53-47 favourite against overcards. Do not fear the coinflip. When you hit $40 (all it usually takes is one hand, or 3-4 steals), move on out!
Now it gets fun. Take your $40+ to the $1/2 tables. Apply the same strategy as before (obviously, you are no longer reloading to $40 if you drop to $30, so make sure not to let that happen. Steals are your friend! You should be able to break $100 on this table, but either way, once you have $80, mosey along!
Congratulations, you have doubled your bankroll! Of course, we cannot stop quite yet!
If you were fortunate enough to finish with more than $120, hit the $3/$6 NL tables. If not, hit $2/$4. Steals work wonders here. Look for a relatively tight table and rape them. Don't bother stealing as the first guy in... resteals are where it is at!
Hit $120 or $200. At $200, we play $5/$10 NL. This tends to be a much more aggressive game. Game selection is critical. Look for games with low flop % and low average pots. This indicates a game where there are lots of steals and few flops seen. We now change our strategy. We are primarily looking to push preflop, preferably against a late position raiser. Overbets make people curious, and betting $200 into the $15 pot with QQ is not a horrible move, as it may elicit calls from TT, AJ, etc. I got called at this level by 88. Good times. Our bread and butter are steals. Each steal reasonably add $50 to our stack. The limp-reraise with a wide variety of hands is great too. Players expect that you have AA/KK at this level, and thus are less likely to call you down. Hit $400-$500. Leave. Almost done.
Ok, so you have quintupled your bankroll. You can either stop now and play only $0.25/$0.50, or go for the gusto! NO FEAR! Take what you have left, and sit at $10/$20 NL. You may recognize some of the names here. These are the sharks. They make their living playing these games. Some of them will be sitting at the table with $10,000 or more. DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED. You are the leech. You are here to feed off the sharks. Expect your all-ins to get called, especially by the big stacks. Good. We wait for above average hands (AJ+, 88+), and go for it. Ideally, we get called by a dominated hand, but even if we end up flipping, this is the end of it! Win one last time, and your goal is complete. Pump your fists in the air, try to slow your racing heart, and click "leave table". Go to the cashier's screen. Smile. Take the rest of the day off poker (trust me on this, you will feel invincible. You are not.)
Congratulations!
As for sites on which to rampage, I recommend Bodog for the early levels and likelihood of them paying your big hands off, and Stars for the later levels.
Now you have a bankroll for playing $0.50/$1.00, and strangely, you will not be playing scared money at those stakes when you first move up (gee, I wonder why?)
There is another way to rampage slightly more safely (as you must expect to go broke a *few* times), and that is to bank some of your winnings when you move up, and just buyin to the next level with the minimum. This does make it a bit harder to do, but will allow you to rampage longer. It is up to you whether or not to try the "caffeine free diet coke" of Rampages.
Good luck, and happy rampaging!
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