When beginning to play online poker there is a set of rules that need to be taken and online bankroll management is one of them. Bankroll management is even more important than knowing when to play certain cards and when to fold them. A player may not even get a chance to play properly if their bankroll management skills are not up to snub. The first steps to bankroll management are:
- Be honest when evaluating winnings
- Only use between 1-3% of a bankroll per session
- The player should never stop learning about poker
First Step In Poker Bankroll Management is to Simply Be Honest
The first step in understanding bankroll management is for a player to be honest with themselves. Keeping proper financial records and understanding when a loss is a loss even if the player cashes in a tournament or playing session is vital. This first step is important for players because without understanding what financial situation they are in they can quickly end up broke. To avoid going bust there is a simply formula to remember and not to fib on when evaluating.
Profits or losses in poker comes down to Winnings - Buy-ins = Profits/Losses. This appears straight forward, but if a player is asked by a friend how they did in a recent weekend of tournaments and said they won $400, but left out that they spent $500 in buy-ins, then they are not telling the truth as they actually lost $100. Buy-ins must include rebuy costs and also any add-ons purchased during a tournament. This simple formula will help any player discover how they are actually doing on the virtual felt. The key, however, is to do it and understand one's limitations.
Step Two in Basic Bankroll Management is about Limiting Buy-in Costs
The straight up rule is to never exceed 5% of one's current bankroll for any one session of poker. This includes tournament buy-ins and also cash ring game tables. It is better to start around 1-2%, but online poker has changed the way many people play in tournaments and also how much a starting bankroll should be. Many people put $50 on a poker room and play four $10+$1 buy-in tournaments and if they lose they stop playing altogether. This is not a good pattern.
By limiting to just 3% per session the fun and winning percentages of a player have a chance to grow. Variance in winning is a natural part of poker and by only buying in with a small portion of a bankroll limits the chances of going bust. This doesn't mean that going bust isn't a possibility, but keeping the percentage low will ensure that going bust is at it's lowest possibly point. Here's a helpful chart to calculate percentages of bankrolls:
- 1% - divide bankroll by 100
- 2% - divide bankroll by 50
- 3% - divide bankroll by 33
Step Three in Bankroll Management is to Keep Learning
The best investment in online poker bankroll management is in poker education. It is quite understandable that many people cannot afford the expensive cost of many poker books and online poker schools, but there is a way! DeepStacks University is probably dollar for dollar the best online poker school ever created. It still can be expensive, but for those who are members of the online poker community Pokerspace receive a steep discount. Pokerspace even has a free online poker school with poker tests and ranges in skill level from Basic to Advanced.
No matter what bankroll management should never be underestimated. It is as important as knowing how to play a certain hand. No one can play a tournament if they don't have any money. Understanding bankroll limitations should always be in the back of a player's mind.
David Tubbs - David is a graduate of the University of Waterloo with an Honours B.A. in History with a focus on medieval Europe. While his formal ...
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