Online Poker – Bankroll Management Č Managing your bankroll is key to playing in a comfort zone. And playing in a comfort zone is a must in order to have a profitable experience. I have read many articles and posts on how to manage your bankroll. Each has had methods that I agree and disagree with. I have come up with a system that keeps me fairly safe and comfortable at the tables.
Limit: When I play limit poker I try to stay at tables where my total bankroll will cover 300x the big bet. For those unfamiliar with big bets, it is the higher amount of the blinds. For example in a 1/2 limit cash game the smallest bet would be 2x the big blind or 4x the big blind. A limit holdem game would have a big bet of 8x the big blind. At a full table of nine players, there would be nine limits of buying in. For example, a limit holdem game would have ten players at the table. For an example of a limit table, here are the blinds:
- $1.50 – $2.252. $3.00 – $3.253. $4.50 – $5.004. $6.75 – $7.505. $8.25 – $9.756. $10.50 – $11.25
The total of the blinds would be $4.75, which means I would have $30.75 to play poker. I would buy in for $30, and will be covered by the $5.00 big bet. If I lose, I will lose the $10. If I double my buy in, I will have $44.75 in my pocket. I will continue on up the stakes by buying more chips, and hope that the blinds below $8.50 continue to drop.
Whenever I buy into a tournament, I make sure that the buy in is large enough to cover the expected variance. The buy in should also be larger than the amount of players at the table. For example, a 1/2 limit holdem buy in may be too expensive. When I buy into a tournament, I always buy in for the same amount that will comfortably cover the cost of the buy in and sit out if I don’t make the money. The buy in should be large enough to cover the variance in the particular tournament. A buy in of $20 should suffice.
My bankroll is determined by the size of the buy in I need to buy into the tournament. It may say $20, but if I need more than that I will have to adjust the bankroll to $30. In addition to taking into account the variance of the bankroll, I will need to consider the opportunities I have in the tournament. If there are less than three players going, I will need to make a larger bet on a smaller hand. At a full table of nine, I can play with a smaller hand.
The bankroll is the main factor in my decisions about when to play a hand and when to get out. If the bankroll is going to be used as my deciding factor, I want to be sure that I am getting the maximum opportunity to win the money. If I am not going to have the bankroll to support the full buy in, it is better to get out a hand than to have your funds tied up for the tournament.
It should be noted that there are different kinds of bankrolls. People use different bankrolls to different games. For example, I use a high release dewapoker bankroll. I have grown this way in a number of tournaments. The highest release bankroll I have used was $1,200 at a Full Tiltoads Turbo $1/$2 no limit Holdem event.
The thing to remember about bankroll management is that it is impossible to always have the best hand. Therefore, you will need to size your bankroll appropriately. Always buy in for the maximum amount. Review my article on bankroll management for more information on choosing the right bankroll.
There are a number of other factors that you should consider when deciding on the proper bankroll for a particular event. Once you review my article on bankroll management, you should understand that buying into a tournament with too small a bankroll is a buy in mistake. Every player has a right time and a money to flush down. The only difference is that there is much less time and money involved in bigger tournaments. Therefore, you do not want to go broke at a low limit poker tournament.
Many players will also use totally different bankrolls at different events. Some may use five or six times the big blind as their bankroll. At a full table of nine, this may be too tight, while at a six handed table of three, it may be too loose.