Poker Money Management

Online Poker Articles

By Stephen Todd

Here we will give you some general guidelines on poker money management and the two most common errors that players make, that increase the odds of losing dramatically.

Your Bankroll

Your 'bankroll' is the money you can afford to potentially lose in poker and have allocated to playing. Poker is by its nature a volatile game and the chances that you will lose in the short term are high. All players need to employ money management whilst playing poker, to succeed long term.

General Guides on Bankroll Size

As a general guide for how big your bankroll should be, 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

This means that 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 players play bigger games in order to make up for their losses, but if you are losing money at your current level, then are likely lose money at a higher limit. Poker is a game where you need to progress slowly and never 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. The above are general guidelines for poker money management however; the money management techniques you employ will be influenced by the factors discussed above.