Internet Poker, Money Management & Betting
Poker Money ManagementGuidelines on poker money management and the two most common faults too many poker players make, increasing the odds of losing. Bankroll - Your 'bankroll' is the money you can afford to lose in poker and have allocated to playing. Poker is by its nature a volatile game and the odds that you will lose in the short term are high. All poker players need to use money management whilst playing poker, to succeed long term. Bankroll Size - A commonly accepted figure is for it to be at least 200 to 300 big bets at the level that you are playing at. If you are playing $0.50/1 games, your bankroll needs to be $200.00 plus. While the above is considered a good guide, there are other factors to take into account when calculating bankrolls that are influenced by the type of player you are and your game of choice. Bankroll and the Type of Player You Are - If you are a tight player, then you will probably not need as much money as a player who is involved in many pots. This really is down to individual style of play, and an aggressive player should think about having a bit extra to play with due to the fluctuations that his style of play is likely to incur. Bank Roll and the Game You Play - Another factor when determining the size of your bankroll is the type of game you play. If you like playing Stud or Triple Draw, you will need more money than if you are playing Draw Poker. Some games have more betting rounds than others do, so if you are going to play in the games with more betting rounds, you need to have more money. Common Errors - Poker money management goes out the window if you make the two common errors below - make sure you understand and avoid them if you want to preserve your bankroll! Don't Advance Too Quickly - As soon as you have played poker for a couple of weeks at one limit and are breaking-even or are up a little bit, you advance to a higher limit with your entire bankroll. If you play this way, you are virtually guaranteed to eventually lose all of your money. You need to move up steadily. For example, if you start at the $0.50/1 games with $200 and steadily increase your bankroll to $400, you can then move up to playing $1/2 games. If your bankroll decreases to 100 big bets, you should move back down again, to maximize your staying power. Don't Chase Losses by Moving Up - Many poker players play bigger games to make up for their losses - if you are losing money at your level, then are likely lose more money at a higher limit. Poker is a game where a player needs to progress slowly and never (EVER!) chase losses. Why are You Playing Poker? - One of the most important things to consider when determining your bankroll is the reason that you play poker. If you have a regular job, your bankroll will be smaller than a professional poker player who effectively lives off their bankroll. Welcome to our poker section and see out poker selections. See you at the tables!
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Adjust the pot to the strength of your hand
Sometimes, we just feel this irresistible urge to play a big pot. Unless we are drunk or tilted, this urge is usually when we flop a great hand. On other occasions, we like to play medium-sized pots, and this is usually when we have a good but not great hand. Sometimes, we want to play a small pot and get to showdown cheap, this is when we have a mediocre but probably best holding.
This is why it is so important to try to adjust the pot size to match the strength of your hand. Let us assume that we raised 99 from late position and got called by both blinds. The flop is a dream for us - J93. This is one of those situations where our highest wish is to just get the money in the middle - and this is why it is so important to start building the pot right away!
If the blinds check to us, we should bet - about 2/3 to 3/4 of the pot is a good bet. Sometimes our opponents will have missed the flop completely and fold, but if they have hit a piece of it they will call - or even raise! - And the pot gets nicely bloated already on the flop, increasing our chances of stacking the opponent.
By betting, we give ourselves the chance to win a huge pot whereas if we check behind, we will have trouble winning a big pot. Building pots on early streets with good holdings is an essential part of good play.
Then what about the medium-sized pots? Well, let's say that we raised AQ preflop and again the blinds called. The flop comes QT3. If both check to us, we should bet for value, but at the same time a certain measure of care is necessary.
If we don't have a good read, we probably do not want to play for stacks - the opponent could have two pair or a set. We are betting to extract money from a straight draw or a top pair with a worse kicker.
The standard turn play is to check behind if the opponent checks, with the intention of calling most rivers if bet into and value-betting most rivers if checked to. With mediocre holdings, our wish is to keep the pot small. Let us assume that we, in an online poker game, limped A4 suited from late position after a few limpers (to try to flop a straight, flush or good draw). The flop comes AT8, giving us top pair with a lousy kicker.
In this case, it is in our interests to keep the pot small. If checked to, we should check and see a turn card (if we bet, we are likely only getting called by hands that beat us). If another player bets, we can call on the flop and re-evaluate on the turn (or just fold if it is a tight player doing the betting).
If there is a bet and a call in front of us, we just muck this hand. We have no interest to play a medium-sized or big pot. Adjusting the pot size to the strength of your holding is an important part of poker.
Of course, sometimes it is necessary to mix up our play a bit to not make us too predictable, but the above lines are long-term winning standard plays.
Written by Andris Kangeris for 24hPoker.com
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