Online Poker - Bankroll Management
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 number when you look at the table stakes. For example in a 1/2 limit cash game the $2 is the big bet. To play at a 1/2 limit table you would want a bankroll of at least $600. As a matter of fact I tend to play a little bit lower than this depending on the site. When I sit down I buy in with enough to cover 30 big bets. If I multi-table I will divide the 300x bankroll by the number of tables that I plan to play at. Using the $600 bankroll as an example I would play at two.50/1 limit tables or four.25/.50 tables.
No-Limit: My requirements at a NL table are different. For these tables my bankroll needs to cover roughly 25 max buy-ins. Most sites will set their max buy in at 100x the big blind. For example, a.10/.25 NL table will have a max buy in of $25. To play at this table you would want a bankroll around $600. There are a couple of ways to multi-table NL games. You can either buy-in for less or play lower stakes. Tournaments: When I play in tournaments I make sure that my bankroll will cover 40 entry fees. Using the $600 bankroll I could play in a tournament with a $15 buy-in or less. These numbers work for me. Obviously they can and should be tweaked to your preferences. I am working on some software that will calculate and keep track of your bankroll. The first version works well but I am working to make it more user friendly.
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 number when you look at the table stakes. For example in a 1/2 limit cash game the $2 is the big bet. To play at a 1/2 limit table you would want a bankroll of at least $600. As a matter of fact I tend to play a little bit lower than this depending on the site. When I sit down I buy in with enough to cover 30 big bets. If I multi-table I will divide the 300x bankroll by the number of tables that I plan to play at. Using the $600 bankroll as an example I would play at two.50/1 limit tables or four.25/.50 tables.
No-Limit: My requirements at a NL table are different. For these tables my bankroll needs to cover roughly 25 max buy-ins. Most sites will set their max buy in at 100x the big blind. For example, a.10/.25 NL table will have a max buy in of $25. To play at this table you would want a bankroll around $600. There are a couple of ways to multi-table NL games. You can either buy-in for less or play lower stakes. Tournaments: When I play in tournaments I make sure that my bankroll will cover 40 entry fees. Using the $600 bankroll I could play in a tournament with a $15 buy-in or less. These numbers work for me. Obviously they can and should be tweaked to your preferences. I am working on some software that will calculate and keep track of your bankroll. The first version works well but I am working to make it more user friendly.
