A Challenge-- and How Would You Do It?

Caryn · Mar 11, 2017

Whether you play recreationally or (intend to play) professionally, one of the most important things to master is bankroll management.

I'm teaching my 10 year old how to play. Once he masters the hands/cards element, bankroll management will be the next thing we focus on. After that, we'll work on playing other players instead of just the cards.

But I digress.

The concept of bankroll management may sound like a pipe dream when you're still in the position of building up a bankroll. That's the challenge... how do you obtain a safety of 40x the max buyin for X table, when you only have $100 to start with?

I'm challenging myself to turn $100 into $10k.

Technically, I should have $12k to play at $1-3NL, but $10k is a more rounded number so roll with it lol.

There are no clear roadmaps to take you from point A to point B. This is part of the fun-- finding your own way. Getting lost, crashing & burning, learning where you went wrong, and giving it another go.

I don't have a set timeframe, though I do hope it can be done in 6 to 12 months. If I bust my bankroll, I messed up and start over back at the beginning.

This challenge is really more about the journey. Let's be honest, the "$10k goal" is a mere milestone. (My real goal is to become the first female to win the wsop. But I have a long way to go to earn my way there!)

So I'm making notes during this journey. If I make it, I'll publish another book that others might hopefully enjoy.

And here's the question... if you only had $100 to invest in a poker venture, how would you turn that into a $10k bankroll?

(Again, this is not to draw a roadmap, but just a fun hypothetical game to play.)

nabmom · Mar 11, 2017

Partially the answer depends on whether you want to do it "right," or just want to go the crash and burn way?

To me, to do it right, you need to have a correct number of buyins (=100bbs) for the level you are playing. $100 is 50 buyins at .01/.02. That's where I'd start. Play until you win enough to have 30-50 buyins for the next level (.02/.05, so about $200). Rinse and repeat. When you move up, if you drop to less than 20 buyins for the new level, go back down a level.

Anything else is crash and burn and can't be called bankroll management.

Caryn · Mar 11, 2017

nabmom said:
Partially the answer depends on whether you want to do it "right," or just want to go the crash and burn way?

To me, to do it right, you need to have a correct number of buyins (=100bbs) for the level you are playing. $100 is 50 buyins at .01/.02. That's where I'd start. Play until you win enough to have 30-50 buyins for the next level (.02/.05, so about $200). Rinse and repeat. When you move up, if you drop to less than 20 buyins for the new level, go back down a level.

Anything else is crash and burn and can't be called bankroll management.

Well said

Caryn · Mar 11, 2017

Caryn said:
Well said

Meant to add that I prefer the tournament approach. I don't know any live .01/.02 games

ant4ov · Mar 11, 2017

Yes. You write Bankroll management is the most important in arsenal of poker player

karl coakley · Mar 11, 2017

Caryn said:
Whether you play recreationally or (intend to play) professionally, one of the most important things to master is bankroll management.

I'm teaching my 10 year old how to play. Once he masters the hands/cards element, bankroll management will be the next thing we focus on. After that, we'll work on playing other players instead of just the cards.

But I digress.

The concept of bankroll management may sound like a pipe dream when you're still in the position of building up a bankroll. That's the challenge... how do you obtain a safety of 40x the max buyin for X table, when you only have $100 to start with?

I'm challenging myself to turn $100 into $10k.

Technically, I should have $12k to play at $1-3NL, but $10k is a more rounded number so roll with it lol.

There are no clear roadmaps to take you from point A to point B. This is part of the fun-- finding your own way. Getting lost, crashing & burning, learning where you went wrong, and giving it another go.

I don't have a set timeframe, though I do hope it can be done in 6 to 12 months. If I bust my bankroll, I messed up and start over back at the beginning.

This challenge is really more about the journey. Let's be honest, the "$10k goal" is a mere milestone. (My real goal is to become the first female to win the WSOP. But I have a long way to go to earn my way there!)

So I'm making notes during this journey. If I make it, I'll publish another book that others might hopefully enjoy.

And here's the question... if you only had $100 to invest in a poker venture, how would you turn that into a $10k bankroll?

(Again, this is not to draw a roadmap, but just a fun hypothetical game to play.)

I personally think most people don't ever make challenges like this because of bankroll management and unrealistic expectations. I think going from 100.00 to 10,000.00 in a year is just not going to happen.

Furguson did this from 0 and still took 18 months with a high skill level at that time. http://www.pokerlistings.com/online-poker-s-greatest-challenges-pt-2-jesus-turns-0-into-10k

While it only took him 9 months to get from 100.00 to 10,000.00 he has a much higher skill set and would be able to beat higher levels.

Can it be done by a solid player, absolutely. I just recently suggested a bankroll management avenue that would certainly get you there in about 20 months. It was written for .01/.02 but scales if you have a higher skill set.

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/learning-poker-57/ive-got-a-serious-dilemma-319477/

I also think people move up WAY too early. 100 buy ins just isn't enough, I would want to first win about 500 buy ins before I moved up. If you can't beat the level your playing, you may get lucky but between variance and better players, most people get grinded down.

Caryn · Mar 11, 2017

karl coakley said:
I personally think most people don't ever make challenges like this because of bankroll management and unrealistic expectations. I think going from 100.00 to 10,000.00 in a year is just not going to happen.

Furguson did this from 0 and still took 18 months with a high skill level at that time. http://www.pokerlistings.com/online-poker-s-greatest-challenges-pt-2-jesus-turns-0-into-10k

While it only took him 9 months to get from 100.00 to 10,000.00 he has a much higher skill set and would be able to beat higher levels.

Can it be done by a solid player, absolutely. I just recently suggested a bankroll management avenue that would certainly get you there in about 20 months. It was written for .01/.02 but scales if you have a higher skill set.

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/learning-poker-57/ive-got-a-serious-dilemma-319477/

I also think people move up WAY too early. 100 buy ins just isn't enough, I would want to first win about 500 buy ins before I moved up. If you can't beat the level your playing, you may get lucky but between variance and better players, most people get grinded down.

Great post, thanks for sharing. I may read through that thread in more detail tomorrow (when my phone isn't so dead).

You are absolutely right about needing to not try to jump ahead stakes that you're not bankrolled for. I'm actually spending this first few days simply brainstorming on which I approach will help me build confidence without getting lost in the "gambling" side of things.

Even when I loosen up my range, I avoid coin flips because I'm in it for the long game... some see that as a weakness but I think it's a strength. With that being said, however long it does take to hit that milestone... if ever... it's still about the journey (including lessons learned along the way).

But now I'm rethinking the whole "write another book" idea. It would be interesting to read how Jesus did that, or others, but there can't be a cut and dry road map. In any case, sticking within bankroll and breaking when tilted are 2 important steps that can't be neglected. Every crash and burn story begins with "I thought I'd give it a shot..." and that's getting lost to the gambling side.

karl coakley · Mar 12, 2017

Caryn said:
It would be interesting to read how Jesus did that, or others, but there can't be a cut and dry road map.

It actually is very simple and easy if you have discipline. You could play A-B-C poker and get there, but its no fun and boring. I think taking out the excitement and fun of poker is too much for people, but that is how its done.

Caryn · Mar 13, 2017

karl coakley said:
It actually is very simple and easy if you have discipline. You could play A-B-C poker and get there, but its no fun and boring. I think taking out the excitement and fun of poker is too much for people, but that is how its done.

Perhaps, but it might also depend on what you consider to be the "fun" part of poker! For some, it's all about the gamble-- the highs of winning anyways lol. That's not it for me though, I mean the money and winning is great but my favorite part is the mental challenge and personal growth that comes from playing this game.

Honestly, it goes deep for me personally. You might even think this is corny but the more I learn and adapt to improve my game, the better a person I've become in general. For example, I used to play very passively. I loved to slowplay, check raise, that kind of stuff. But I've learned over time to be more aggressive-- I used to play the cards and read people but hate the "over betting game". Now I've learned when it's best to slow play and when it's best to shut that shit down lol.

And after an abusive marriage, I was also very "weak" in person, but learning to play more aggressively helped me overcome all those issues.

But taking all the corny stuff out, I do love the mental challenge of it. That's the fun part for me, and putting in the daily grind at a stake within my bankroll sounds more than do-able. I'm happy to walk with 50% profit for the day and grow it slowly, where so many players seem to chase the bigger pots... they win harder and faster but crash and burn just as hard/fast. I've got patience. I believe in myself. I can do this!

WorldOfPoker · Mar 13, 2017

For me, bankroll managements starts with:

- Don't play, if you are tired.
- Don't play, if you are tilt.
- Don't play under the pressure, to have to make money.
- Only play one type of poker. (NL or Omaha, cash or tournament)

The first goal is not, to get more money.

- The first goal is, to be honest to your self.
- Second goal is, to learn to play your own poker stile and to hold the bankroll.

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A Challenge-- and How Would You Do It?

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