MEMBER ARTICLE - Bankroll Management
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY VIP CARD CLUB MEMBER JAY
For my first article I wanted to talk about something that - although well covered - cannot be stressed enough, Bankroll Management
We have all heard people talk about this and in my opinion it is the hardest thing to master in poker but probably the most important. Today I still struggle to apply this to my game, even though I know it so well. Even some the well-known pros have admitted that this is a flaw in their game too.
So this article is to educate, even if I don't necessarily practice what I preach.
Your bankroll is the amount of money you have available for the sole purpose of playing poker. An example of this is a deposit at an online poker room. If you exercise solid bankroll management, you can make your poker money last forever.
The criteria below is only a guideline, but is a good indication of how you should manage your bankroll depending on whether you are a recreational player or full time player. They are based on playing Hold'em rather than any other form of poker.
Sit and Go Tournaments
Recreational Players should have at least 40 buy ins at the highest level of tournament they play.
Full Time Players should have at least 60 buy ins at the highest level of tournament they play.
Multi Table Tournaments
Recreational Players should have at least 60 buy ins at the highest level of tournament they play.
Full Time Players should have at least 100 buy ins at the highest level of tournament they play.
The requirements are higher for multi table tournaments as the variance is much higher. This is particularly relevant to the full time player relying on poker for an income.
Limit Cash Games
Recreational Players should have at least 200 big bets at the highest stakes they play.
Full Time Players should have at least 300 big bets at the highest stakes they play.
A full time player playing $1/$2 Limit should have at least $600 in their bankroll to be comfortable.
No Limit & Pot Limit Cash Games
Recreational Players should have at least 20 max buy ins at the highest stakes they play
Full Time Players should have at least 40 max buy ins at the highest stakes they play.
A full time player playing $1/$2 No Limit ($200 NL) should have at least $8,000 in their bankroll to be comfortable
When to move up in stakes
If you go by nothing other than your bankroll, you can move up in stakes when you have more than the minimum suggested bankroll for the next level. So if you're a recreational NL cash gamer and have moved your $500 bankroll to over $1,000 by grinding the $25NL tables, you can move up to $50NL.
When to drop down in stakes
You should drop down when your bankroll dips below the minimum recommended threshold. So a recreational player at $50NL should drop down to $25NL when your bankroll goes much under $1,000.
Stop-Loss Limits
This is a concept aimed primarily at cash games players. Set a maximum loss amount that you're willing to endure for a session. If you lose that much, quit. By setting a stop loss of say, 3 buy-ins in a NL game, players can justify walking away from the game when it's not going their way. Not everyone agrees with this approach but it isa technique I have always used.
Win Limits
This seems to be almost the opposite of a stop loss technique. It's more like a "lock in the win" technique. If you sat down with $100 and you have set yourself a 200% increase win limit you would quit and leave the table when you get to $300.
This rule is similar to Chris Ferguson's 10% rule on Full Tilt Poker - "If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me." Let's say Chris had a bankroll of $1000. He sat down at the $50NL tables and ran his chip count from $50 up to $150. Now he has more than 10% of his entire bankroll on the table in front of him. He'd lock in the win, and leave.
I hope you find the above useful and can master the art of good bankroll management.
