How to Properly Manage Your Poker Bankroll
March 27th, 2009
Bankroll management is how a player decides how much of his mney will he put on risk for a particular poker game. There will be times that you want to play for fun and the sky will be your limit. If you are looking for the long term process of building up your bankroll then here are some tips that you can follow:
Don’t Play with Scared Money
Scared money will be your budget for more important things like your rent, fuel, or food. These are necessities that you can not live without. You bankroll should be an amount that you can set aside for poker without having to worry about the necessities of life. This really is my NUMBER ONE POKER RULE. Playing with scared money is a HUGE mistake, and you WON’T PLAY YOUR A-GAME!
Determine your limits
Your bankroll will tell you up to which part of your chips you can sacrifice without the chest pain. The bankroll will determine which games you will sit down and play. If you can’t afford the high stakes then why play?
Limit vs No Limit
When you play limit games, the thumb rule is to have a bankroll that is around 300 big bets. No limit cash poker on the other hand call for more cushion. No limit games usually will need around 20 maximum buy ins or around 100x the big blind. That may sound simple but things can get pretty bloody in no limit games.
Sit and Go’s
For SnG or sit and go’s, you must have at least 60 buyins in that bankroll. Muti table tournaments can be very volatile but the winnings can be very big. Remember that your skill must be good to ensure that you will not be just throwing away the money in what I call Go Broke Poker.
Learning to manage your bankroll will also involve varying your styles of play and knowing when to change levels.
