How to Manage Your Bankroll in Poker

Tammy

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This is your Week 2 discussion topic for the CardsChat Forum Challenge. Feel free to join in the discussion, even if you aren't doing the Challenge!

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Last week we discussed Building Your bankroll from Nothing, so the natural progression from there would be to know how to keep what you've earned. This week we will discuss How to Manage Your Bankroll in Poker.

Bankroll management is arguably the most vital tactic and strategy of a successful poker player, but ironically, doesn't have anything to do with how you actually play the game. Properly managing the money in your account to ensure you always have funds available to play with, even through the downswings is an important skill to learn. So click the article link above and read through it, and let's discuss this crucial topic here!
 
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Tammy

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Time for Week 2 discussion! Feel free to join in, even if you're not in the Challenge, feel free to read the article linked above, and join in. Or, you can start the Challenge too (details in first post above).
 
Dejange

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Thanks CC for the really nice topic to discuss here, and share our thoughts and experience!

As a general rule, I do not keep much money on my pokerstars account (currently the only site I could play). I keep there up to 30-40 USD max, and frequently withdrawing any extra bankroll to my skrill account, and recently also opened a neteller one.
These side funds I am using to stake other CC members as a backer.

I am recreational player, and thus playing 0,25 and 1,00 USD Spin'n Goes and up to 0,50 Sit'n Goes. For Spin'n Goes I am following 40 buy in's BRM, and for Sit'n Goes as I recently playing mostly 9 players games, I am going even lower to some 30 buy in's.
Of course, it is not easy to stick always to these rules :D
But having additional funds at disposal is making me more confident in my playing and bankroll management :)

Do not play cash games anymore, and never deposited my own money so far. My goal is to improve my skills and accumulate more bankroll, so I could advance to higher buy in games :)
 
Ivansito26

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Good afternoon ... to begin with how I can handle my bankroll is uncertain, because in some occasions I have kept my bankrol very well playing a limit of MTT tournaments + some Sit & Go, and as in other occasions I have lost everything playing cash tables I do not recommend it to anyone. The important thing is to stay and not fall into tilt because we lose more than we have ..

you have to read books to help us keep and raise our bankroll sometimes we think we know everything, but it is important to see articles and some poker professionals where we can improve our game as our bankroll.
 
zam220

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Hello!!!I play MTT's psychologically much easier to survive good luck and downs in poker, when you know that even the worst day can not cause substantial damage to your bankroll.My advice-get yourself a big bankroll that will relieve you from stress.
I made mistakes when I started playing poker(I could play in the tournament for 320$, it was all my bankroll ) If I had to start all over again, I wouldn't do that, you should not rely in poker on luck,risking his whole bankroll
 
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From technial point of view - its easy, there has been math upon math for every game/style/format you play(50BI/floating35-75BI/300BI). Now how to actualy force your self not to go and play HypersHU with 3BI thats a question? =)
Workoing.
On the sites that I play I never had a problem with withdrawing, but maybe it's because I dont put much money in some shady back-alley "realNoScamRoom".And keeping of my BR there is actualy good for me,as I always have $ to play and not worrie if I catch a few coolers about depositing.
 
demibar

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that's the most difficult part of poker really! I do mistakes on that i guess the worst is that i am playing in higher stakes or tournaments with buy-in which are 1/2 or 1/3 of my bankroll .
 
whiskers77

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Very nice prepared article about bankroll management, thank you CC.

Once I posted also a table about Buy-Ins for SNG and MTTs in a thread, that I opened here. https://www.cardschat.com/forum/tournament-poker-59/bankroll-management-328651/
Maybe it is also nice to share it here in this discussion. Because I think your recommendations are kinda aggressive BRM.
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About the ideal bankroll at the beginning, I think it really depends on your life circumstances and what kind of player you are. If you are a recreational player then your invest for a bankroll will be probably less compared to a player who wants to play poker as a profession. And as you said it also depends on the willing to take risks of the player. I think it is comparable to invests in stocks.
There you also should consider your age, your life circumstances and your willing to take risks. There you also put more money in less volatile stocks, when you want to lower the risk. So it also should be in poker by choosing the kind of games, that you play. If you want to reduce risk, you should choose games in MTT or SNG with long blind structure. About cash games I can't say anything, because I am not a cash player.
 
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Usually play very high limits for their bankroll or rise too fast beyond limits. If you do not control the size of your bankroll, sooner or later the failure is inevitable.I think need to play 5% BI from your bankroll. It's important to be prepared for the game you choose. A person can win $ 4,000 in a tournament and run to high limits, having calculated 50 BI, but the level of skills and experience does not increase. It is impossible to win without training.
 
whiskers77

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Usually play very high limits for their bankroll or rise too fast beyond limits. If you do not control the size of your bankroll, sooner or later the failure is inevitable.I think need to play 5% BI from your bankroll. It's important to be prepared for the game you choose. A person can win $ 4,000 in a tournament and run to high limits, having calculated 50 BI, but the level of skills and experience does not increase. It is impossible to win without training.
I totally agree with you. I was playing long to my BRM strategy and it worked good for me. But also had a bigger win in a tourney, but it doesn't mean, that I am now able to play at higher limits. I still not do, I still not increased limit to next level, that I should have done with my normal bankroll management before this win. I am kinda stuck still on this level, but feeling well with it so far. I try to do some shots from time to time at higher level, but when I feel, that I am loosing to much, I level down again easily.
 
mtl mile end

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BIG, COMPLICATED TOPIC!!

My first title^ - please forgive the all caps :eek:

From: https://www.cardschat.com/forum/gen...ns-bankroll-management-84344/post-537738.html
Chris Ferguson's approach:
-I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).
-I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1.
-If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session my money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me.

*Red word is mine - for clarification

Since the "Ferguson Rules" suggest a max single table tourney/cash game buy-in of 5% (or 20X BR requirement with exceptions), a cash game strategy of leaving the table if the total chips of his stack in play exceeds 10% of BR, and a limit of 2% of BR (50X BR) risked in MTTs, these rules are about the same as those in the Strategy Thread. I think we all have to agree that BR management is crucial for everyone, but the individual percentages can vary widely.

I consider low risk situations like PS 50/50 tournaments to be quite safe, so higher threshold (10%). For me, cash games are a no no at micro stakes, so much lower threshold (200BR).

The comfort level of your game choice stakes in terms of risk vs reward is the primary driver of the overall comfort level described in the thread. If you play successfully at this level of risk vs reward, you may consider moving up in risk/stakes (percentage wise, I'm assuming your success has driven you up in stakes as a byproduct of same), or not. If you are not being successful, reevaluate!

An honest understanding of your abilities must be present in order to make sensible, profitable choices. "Variance" cannot be used to account for all losses, always, forever, but it can explain short bursts of success.
 
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Alucard

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As whiskers77 said, you could take aggressive & conservative lines depending on your skill level in managing your BR.
But the most important of it all is that you have discipline to stick to that plan & go with it.
When I started poker not long ago, I made some irrational decisions of playing over my BR when I loose some to win it all through one tourney or a SnG. And that quickly led to me being broke no matter how little it may be. So you must master the patience & discipline & focus on the long run than trying to go for that big win through a big buy in at once. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
One more thing I should mention is that you shouldn't play scared money when you move up the stakes. If you are, that means you aren't ready for higher stakes & you are afraid that'll end up quickly diminishing your BR. So have a game plan & be prepared & always stick to good BR management with good discipline.
 
zam220

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To progress in poker, you need to lay a solid Foundation. I will Take the liberty to say that this is bankroll management.
Playing without a sufficient bankroll, you often choose a suboptimal line just because you're afraid to lose and can't continue. The game on your bankroll teaches discipline and shows how really difficult to move up the limits.
In MTT I think you should have a 150-200 buy-in limit , but for each player individually.
 
Tammy

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Wow you guys, great discussion so far. I will come back and reread your responses when I have a little more time to discuss their finer points. :)
 
MTCashman

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A lot of good advice in that article. I think a big factor is game selection, if you are very comfortable in a certain type of game I think you can be a little lenient with your bankroll, but too lenient.

Stick with the games you have the most success in and give yourself enough money to fall back on in case variance strikes. Tilt can strike at anytime so my best advice for that is to take a short break and refresh yourself because tilt can be a bankrolls worst enemy.
 
PsychoVas

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To be honest, I do not consider myself qualified to disuss the topic, as I am still a free-roller for the bigger part of my poker playing.
Nevertheless, I can chip in these thoughts:
If you are a recreational player, deposit only what you can afford to lose without feeling sad about it, as variance can wipe you out, even if you play your best. The average of 50 buy-ins for cash or 75 for tourneys seems good and will determine the level you can play with your deposit.
If you think seriously about poker and plan on making money from it, my opinion is that you should be strict about your bankroll, more conservative, choose to play levels that represent 100 buy-ins for cash and 150 for tournaments. At the same time, you 'd better start low and only advance when you are a winning player at the level for sure, keeping the same strict management of yor funds.
I would even suggest as a rule of thumb, for extra insurance, wait until you triple up, withdraw the initial deposit and use the remaining double amount to play in the next limit level.:cool:
 
Bev

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First , after you get past any technical ways to deposit money, then you should only put in whatever you can afford.
If you have been playing in freerolls, and have not done well - then real money tournaments are something you should not play with your own money.
Try playing ring games with play chips first , or other games to see how well you do before using real money.
from the article :
A good rule of thumb for cash players is to have at least 20 buy-ins (some players prefer as many as 40-50). That means if you are going to play .05/.10NL and the minimum buy-in for the table is $4, then you would ideally have at least $80 in your account. If you're the kind of player who wants to buy in for the maximum, say $10, then you would want to have $200 in your account.

this is a lot to deposit , one can start with a modest amount under $100 or even with $50 !
there are lots of micro games to play that you can work your way up to higher levels.
You decide , on how much you can afford and play accordingly.there are always choices , and great places to earn like Cards Chat.
 
mtl mile end

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Just in case I've confused anyone in addition to myself:

(Max) buying in with 5% of BR is equivalent to (Max) buying in with 20BR or 20X BR (19 behind)

:secruity: (used this smile cause it's "secruity" on the list:icon_scra)
 
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SPANKYSN

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The article appears to be geared towards players who treat or want to treat poker as a viable money making career or at least well paying hobby. As a recreational player who plays for fun, I have played freerolls to make up my online stake. I have had some success, and turned $1.80 on Full Tilt into $150.00....then turned that into zero. It was intentional. I found myself playing too many hours, and often played poker instead of doing my prescribed workouts. So I decided to go for broke. I told my wife one day that I would have zero or $1000.00 at the end of the day....it was zero.
When I go on vacation to a place where there is a casino, I will usually have one afternoon of poker. I take $200 for the maximum buy-in at a $1-2 table. My goal is to play for 3 to 4 hours. To be honest, I do not really worry about the money. I'm a competitive person, so I try to win whenever I enter any kind of game or competition. Bankroll strategy is important to last several hours. I would hate to lose it all in 10 minutes.
While I have never made an online deposit, I do take extra cash for poker when I vacation. Sometimes, instead of taking the money from our bank account, I sell off some of my sports memorabilia from time to time, and that becomes my poker stake. I think they are related.
 
AgentXtreme

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Bankroll management is the key and the difference between succesful player and other because if you're aiming results in the long term , you need to learn how to manage your bankroll , I like the rule of 100 buy-ins , it really reduces your risks and you play more comfortable than any other range , I read this CC articles many times and It was really helpfull for me , now I respect my game , my buy-ins range so my bankroll and my capacities.
 
Rijckenborg

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I should take more care of how I manage my bankroll.
This was a perfect article that show how to do so.
Nothing is more important than our bankroll.
 
gon4iypes

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Time for Week 2 discussion! Feel free to join in, even if you're not in the Challenge, feel free to read the article linked above, and join in. Or, you can start the Challenge too (details in first post above).
So do you mean it's ok if we start late and catch up? I've only now seen the thread and would love to participate if possible
 
Hackerosito

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This is a very good point, it is true that we can build a bank from scratch, playing freerolls or maybe investing in a deposit, the point is the management of money to keep the ship afloat, In my case I learned to be disciplined in this point, and control the anxiety so to speak and not risk more than the account, there is a popular proverb that says "Drop by drop fills the glass" and so it is in my bank, penny by penny I can build modest profits.
 
Bankroll Building - Bankroll Management
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