Bankroll Management - Managing Your Poker Bankroll
When amateur poker players first consider taking the leap and playing the game competitively, there are no doubt a lot of things to consider. What game should they specialize in? What stakes level should they play at? How often and where should they play? One extremely important aspect that often gets overlooked is their bankroll. When playing poker is just an occasional hobby, it's one thing to simply re-deposit if you run out of cash, but if you want to make poker profitable then effective bankroll management becomes as important as your strategy.
Starting a Bankroll
Unless you want to spend hours trying to grind your way to the top of a free roll, the seed money to start your bankroll will have to come out of your pocket. If all goes well, then that should be the last poker money you ever pull from your banking account or credit card. That initial bankroll should last, not for a single session or a single week, but for the rest of your poker playing career. That's why it's so important that you determine how much you need in advance, and then open a separate banking account specifically for your poker funds.
Size Matters
How do you determine how much you need to start your bankroll? It all depends on how often you intend to play and at what stakes level. To ensure that you're never short-stacked, you should always buy into a ring game with at least 50 times the big blind. At a $1/$2 table, that means that you'll be buying in with $100, and if you play five days a week then you'll hypothetically need at least $500/week. Of course optimistically you'll not only maintain your balance, you'll increase it, but since most amateurs learn some pretty hard lessons in their first couple weeks of playing competitively, we recommend that you start your bankroll with a deposit that will cover a month of sessions, regardless of whether you win or lose.
Building a Bankroll
An easy way to optimize that initial deposit is to take advantage of promotions like first deposit bonuses. These bonuses are a pain-free way to get some extra cash, regardless of whether you win or lose your first few games. Also, if you're going to be playing regularly then make sure you opt into your poker room's loyalty points/VIP rewards program to get cash back wherever possible.
Protecting Your Bankroll
Once you've started your bankroll, your goal is to never have to put your own money in again. Sometimes even the pros get hit with the bad end of the odds, but a couple bad sessions shouldn't sink your ship if you're playing at the proper stakes level, and if your skills are up to snuff. Review the results of your sessions at the end of every week, and if you're not showing improvement from the first week to the second then it's probably time to start tweaking your strategy or to try a lower stakes level. You might even consider going back to the points-only tables to perfect your strategy.
When amateur poker players first consider taking the leap and playing the game competitively, there are no doubt a lot of things to consider. What game should they specialize in? What stakes level should they play at? How often and where should they play? One extremely important aspect that often gets overlooked is their bankroll. When playing poker is just an occasional hobby, it's one thing to simply re-deposit if you run out of cash, but if you want to make poker profitable then effective bankroll management becomes as important as your strategy.
Starting a Bankroll
Unless you want to spend hours trying to grind your way to the top of a free roll, the seed money to start your bankroll will have to come out of your pocket. If all goes well, then that should be the last poker money you ever pull from your banking account or credit card. That initial bankroll should last, not for a single session or a single week, but for the rest of your poker playing career. That's why it's so important that you determine how much you need in advance, and then open a separate banking account specifically for your poker funds.
Size Matters
How do you determine how much you need to start your bankroll? It all depends on how often you intend to play and at what stakes level. To ensure that you're never short-stacked, you should always buy into a ring game with at least 50 times the big blind. At a $1/$2 table, that means that you'll be buying in with $100, and if you play five days a week then you'll hypothetically need at least $500/week. Of course optimistically you'll not only maintain your balance, you'll increase it, but since most amateurs learn some pretty hard lessons in their first couple weeks of playing competitively, we recommend that you start your bankroll with a deposit that will cover a month of sessions, regardless of whether you win or lose.
Building a Bankroll
An easy way to optimize that initial deposit is to take advantage of promotions like first deposit bonuses. These bonuses are a pain-free way to get some extra cash, regardless of whether you win or lose your first few games. Also, if you're going to be playing regularly then make sure you opt into your poker room's loyalty points/VIP rewards program to get cash back wherever possible.
Protecting Your Bankroll
Once you've started your bankroll, your goal is to never have to put your own money in again. Sometimes even the pros get hit with the bad end of the odds, but a couple bad sessions shouldn't sink your ship if you're playing at the proper stakes level, and if your skills are up to snuff. Review the results of your sessions at the end of every week, and if you're not showing improvement from the first week to the second then it's probably time to start tweaking your strategy or to try a lower stakes level. You might even consider going back to the points-only tables to perfect your strategy.
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