If you're a poker player you will know by now that your bankroll is your poker bible. If you have no bankroll you can’t play poker! This article will give you some valuable information about how to manage your bankroll and how to never go broke!
Importance Of A Bankroll:
Even if you're the best poker player in the world, you need to have good bankroll management! Going bust is not the poker gods punishing you, its variance and variance is FACT. If you want to start earning a decent amount playing poker, then follow the advice in this thread. This is step one to becoming a WSOP bracelet winner.
The Chris Ferguson Method:
I read an article a while back written by Chris about his transformation of $1 into $20,000. He used the following method to make sure he could handle his variance swings. He played cash games and made sure that he always had 20 buyins. These were not full buyins they were half buyins. If you wanted to play $0.01/$0.02 cash games, the max buyin is $2 and therefore you would buyin for $1. This would mean that you would have to have $20 to be properly bankrolled for $0.01/$0.02. Likewise, if you had 100 you then you are bankrolled for $0.05/$0.10. If you ever go BELOW 20 buyins then you need to drop down to a level where you are properly bankrolled.
This method has been tried and tested. It’s a good method as long as you stick to it. You must be prepared to hit bad variance and move down a level or two if you need to. Discipline is KEY for this bankroll method.
Classic Tournament Bankroll Method:
To be bankrolled properly for tournaments you must always have at least 30 entry fees to the tournament you want to enter.
Things change slightly with rebuy tournaments. Because of the nature of rebuy tournaments you will be shoving or folding hands preflop during the rebuy period (please read my article on rebuy strategy). This means you need to have at least 6 x 30 buyins because obviously you will be double rebuying and adding on! Remember if you fall 5 or 10 you need to reduce the amount you spend on entry fees. Again, the phrase used so commonly in poker - Discipline is KEY.
Classic NL Cash Bankroll Method:
An alternative to the Chris Ferguson Method there is the Classic NL (no limit) Method. The basic concept of this method is to keep at least 2000 big blinds for the level you want to play. That’s right! to be properly rolled for $0.01/$0.02 you need at least 40 dollars. If you’re winning at the level you are playing at and you find the players easier to beat, then you can drop your bankroll threshold to 1500-2000 big blinds. As you start to move up to $0.25/$0.50 and $0.50/$1.00 I would very much recommend you stick to 2000 big blinds as variance has very damaging affect money wise. Please note that you will need more than 2000 big blinds for 6 max tables and heads up.
Classic Limit Bankroll Method:
Limit poker is a WHOLE different ball game. You can have as little as 400 big blinds in your account because you will be risking less for each buy in and the variance is smaller. In limit holdem it is usually impossible to lose your stack on one hand from a cold deck, unlike NLHE.
NB. I do not play limit holdem and so I have no experience with this bankroll. The general consensus with players I have spoken to is that this is the right bankroll you should aim for.
My name is Nick. I was born in London, England and have spent most of my life in Hertfordshire, just North of London. I'm 19 years old and I am studying Business Economics at the University Of Leicester. I am in my First year after changing my degree in 2007.