Bankroll management is one of the most used poker terms. However, the majority of players do not take time or courtesy to understand this concept fully, and it can lead to very poor results.
I will go even further and say, that without implementing a proper bankroll management strategy you are almost guaranteed to go broke at one point in your poker career. Therefore, spend that extra time to build an efficient strategy and prevent yourself from unnecessary troubles.
Firstly, you have to understand the role of poker variance. It is no surprise that variance greatly depends on your edge over the competition and the games that you play. If you are beating your opponents with a steady win rate, you will not encounter dramatic swings, but if you not, it can get messy.
This concept requires a separate article, and luckily, I have one. To fully understand this concept and even find ways to reduce it, make sure to read the full article about poker variance in your games!
Separate bankroll for poker
Many new players miss this point and create additional obstacles for their way to success. Therefore, if you dedicate a specific amount to poker, just deposit it and do not even consider that as your actual money.
Imagine it just as pretend playing chips, you will not feel so pressured to win and can concentrate on what matters – learning the game and making the right decisions. Thus, knowing that you do not need to take that money to pay your rent, buy food or spend on anything else will let you have way more order in life. You will not carry your emotions outside of the game when running bad and this is a straight way to success.
Keep your poker money in one place
It is a continuation of the previous point. Even if you had a good session and won some money, you should not be looking to withdraw it at once. Instead, you can build your bankroll and try to move up stakes. It will let you learn poker at a faster pace, get more experience, and develop necessary skills. Thus, keeping all that money in your bankroll is a must if you have an opportunity to do so.
Obviously, if you are playing professionally and need that money to cover living expenses, you have to withdraw a part of your bankroll every month. If this is the case, you should have some very strict rules not to waste your money on unimportant things. Instead, focus on building your bankroll instead.
Different games and skill level
As you are probably aware, you need different strategies for different games, and you will not find any magic number for all possible scenarios. You need fewer buy-ins for cash games than for multi-table tournaments, less money for Hold’em than for Omaha games, and so on.
Moreover, you should take into consideration the level of your competition. It will be the deciding factor for how much money you need to play in a specific game. If you are much better than your opponents, you can implement a very aggressive bankroll strategy and try to move up stakes very fast or play in higher games than you normally should. However, if you are not crushing your opponents and just hanging around with a tiny win rate or even close to breaking even, you will need a huge roll to justify playing and keeping it safe.
You can find plenty of information about building an effective strategy and fully understand which factors influence bankroll management for different games. Therefore, make sure to read the extended guide on how to create a winning poker bankroll management strategy for any game, and most importantly stick to it!
If you missed any of the parts of the series, you can find them here:
– Part 1 of our Poker Series: Poker Tip #1 | Controlling Your Mental State
– Part 3 of our Poker Series: Poker Tip #3 | Adjusting Strategy Against Other Poker Players
– Part 4 of our Poker Series: Poker Tip #4 | Continuing to Improve your Poker Game
– Part 5 of our Poker Series: Beginner’s Poker Tip #5 – Putting Your Opponent on a Range
