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Managing Your Bankroll

January 17, 2008

One of the major factors in online poker that many beginners do not even consider is the bankroll that they need to play tables for a long period of time. Poker is NOT about getting on a table, doubling up and then leaving. You will never make the real money by doing that. Poker is about playing over an extended period of time and building up your bankroll. To do this, you actually have to start with a decent bankroll, or at least know how much you can afford to lose. Poker is a game of ups and downs and to build up your bankroll you have to have enough on the table to get through these times.

It is important that as a beginner you start off with some very low limits till you get to know the strategy better. This way you can minimize your losses and learn the game. As a moderate player you can move up, but don’t feel that you have to move up too quickly. It is important to understand the advanced strategy of the game so that you don’t go on a table and lose it all within minutes, as the higher levels inevitably have better players.

The one thing you do need to take into account is that most players vastly underestimate what you need on a table to play for a long period of time.
Here are some tips from the great poker player Chris Ferguson on what his bankroll guidelines are, and what yours should be:

1. Never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).

2. Never buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of total bankroll (except multi-table tournaments that cost $1).

3. If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of total bankroll, leave the game when the blinds come around because you are on too high of a table.

The fact is, people think that they can put $50.00 onto a poker site and come out a winner. This is so rarely the case unless they are playing five cent tables. To win the big money, you need to invest the big money - but ONLY after you know how to play. This means advanced playing, not penny table playing. Do not advance faster than what you feel comfortable with. By playing everyday for a month or so if you are ready to move up then you probably have enough experience, but just because you have one lucky night on the table does not mean that you should move up with the bankroll that you have. Keep it and let your winning take place on the smaller tables for now, and when you have built it up then cash out half and start again. Lastly, NEVER put more on the table then you can afford to lose. Although it has been said time and time again, if you are sitting there with your heart beating and wondering what you are going to do if you lose, then you shouldn’t be on that table.