How much do you need for your poker bankroll? A good benchmark is about 20 times the amount that you would need for a typical tournament or no limit cash table buy-in. So for example, if you want to learn poker by playing ten dollar tournament tables, your minimum bankroll should be two hundred dollars (i.e. 20 time $10). If you put one hundred dollars down every time you sit at a no limit cash table, you’re minimum bankroll should be $2,000. So as you can see your choice of poker level is largely dependant on how much you set aside for a single poker session.
If you’re playing multiple games at once, then 30 times the buy-in would be more appropriate, so that would be $300 in our example above. Now keep in mind $300 is a not the number you maintain in your pocket. This is a distinct account for your poker playing, and you’ll only be using a small portion of that each sitting.
We all learn in distinct ways and usually find one of the 4 types of games whether it be sit and go tournaments, multi-table tournements, fixed limit ring games, or no limit cash stakes, will ultimately become a favourite for your discovering the game and bankroll building. Depending on your own personailty and playing style, you’ll probably find one or two types of game suit you best, and those are the ones you’ll do well in and use to build your bank roll. In fact, it’s advisable to stick with the game that is working for you the best, because that strategy can finance your training in other poker games.
Number 1 rule – keep solid records!
Probably the single most important piece of advice is to monitor of all of your games, and keep an exact record of your profit and loss, so that you do recognize which game, time, and level are most effective for you at this stage of your poker playing career. This will also keep you honest – you’d be surprised just how many people think, and say, that they are winning players but once they start tracking their results they find that they are actually losing over the long haul. If you start tracking your results (no matter whether it’s a $200 buy in tournamnet or a $2 buy-in ring game) you’ll KNOW how you’re doing, and can analyse those results to improve. An old mentor of mine was fond of saying “Those who keep records, break records” and that’s solid advice for any player at any level.
Variance is actually part of your poker bankroll. The reason why a poker bankroll may appear unreasonably high compared to the amount you are allowed to play with is because of variance, luck, or training. You can’t expect to begin with a low bankroll and be a flawless player, nor can you deflect the sometimes viciously long streaks of poor cards and awful beats. If you play consistently within your bankroll, these performance plunges are a good deal easier to get through, allowing you to return the following session, planning your same moneymaking game.
Making bankroll management a priority is an absolutely essential skill that all of the best players in the world realize and exercise. What genuinely matters in the mental process of establishing a bankroll is how consistent you can become at making good conclusions. This takes practice and you can expect to play upwards of 100,000 hands before you completely realize how good and bad things can get, and a greater intellect of your own style of play and limitations.
We all learn more every day, or at least strive to, and I find that the players who plan ahead, know their profit goals, maintain a solid bankroll and stick to good principles are ALWAYS the guys who seem to have good records on SharkScope and other tournament database sites. There is a reason for this, and poker bankroll budgeting is an often overlooked but key aspect of success – start now, and you’ll be the one breaking the records!
