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Bankroll management is an important concept when playing poker. Without it you run the risk of blowing your entire bankroll through taking too much risk.
The concept behind bankroll management is that you play at certain limits to ensure that a bad run of cards does not wipe you out. It is important to point out that no matter how good you are, luck will go against you from time to time. The term in the industry which describes the ups and downs that every player will experience is 'variance'. Poker is a skillfully game but skill will only take you so far. You also need to rely on the right cards coming out. You may well start of with a pair of aces in your hand, up against AK. Let's assume that your opponent puts you all in and you have your entire bankroll at the table, what are you going to do? Of course you call and the flop brings K-K-K. Game over and through no fault of your own, you are cleaned out. In poker all you can do is get your money in with the best hand and hope your hand holds up. That said it won't always and you get many a bad beat where the unthinkable happens and your opponent gets extremely lucky to win the hand. It is therefore very important to ensure that you control your bankroll so that when this situation happens, and it will, that you live to fight another day.
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 Bankroll Principles for Cash Games |
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When it comes to cash games there is an easy way of determining how much you should take to the tables. If you are playing No Limit or Pot Limit games it is recommended that you take 20 times the maximum buy-in for the table which equates to approximately 5% of your bankroll. So if the maximum buy in was $100, and you buy in for this amount, you should have at least a $2,000 bankroll. If you are playing limit poker, it is recommended that you should have at least 300 times the maximum bet so if you are playing a $2-$4 limit game, you should have at least $1,200.
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Bankroll Principles for Tournament Play |
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Tournament play is a little different however it is recommended that you should have at least 40 times the buy of the tournament you wish to enter. If you have a bankroll of $500, then you should not look to buy into a tournament for more than $12.50. It can be very tempting to play in larger tournaments for steeper buy ins as there is greater rewards, but it is equally important that you do not run out of money otherwise your out the game.
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How Bankroll Management can Help Your Game |
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Bankroll management really can help your game as it protects you from freezing up and playing scared. Let's look at an example where you choose not to follow the principles of bankroll management. You have $1,000 and you take $1,000 into a $2-$4 no limit game. You play your game and in time you suffer a real bad beat and your bankroll (all at the table) is reduced to $220. You have not given yourself much protection and now as you are scared of losing the lot, you will tighten up your play which means you won't be playing your best game. It is a difficult concept to master but knowing that you lose what you have at the table isn't the end of the world (although not what you want), you have plenty of money in the kitty. If you are scared to enter pots you will be missing out on the possible return that you could be on.
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