Top 10 bankroll management rules serious poker players use
In fact, countless poker careers never truly got off the ground, not because the players lacked the skills, but because they lacked proper bankroll discipline.
If you are new to poker and you aren’t sure how to manage your bankroll properly, here are the 10 bankroll management rules that professional poker players understand and follow.
10. Be careful about leaving your day job
One of the biggest mistakes many players make is to leave their day jobs and "turn pro" as soon as they record a few winning sessions.
Poker is a very volatile game, and even if you are winning in the games over a couple of months, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are ready to play poker for a living.
It is always a good idea to play poker semi-professionally for at least a year or two, while still doing your day job. Record your results, make sure you are truly comfortable at the tables, and that your winnings are purely a product of your skills.
Only once you have acquired the skills to win over the long run, and enough of a bankroll and living expenses to be comfortable for six months or longer, should you consider quitting your job and focusing solely on poker.
9. Win rate tracking is essential
The only way to know how much of a bankroll you need for a certain game is to figure out what your actual win rate is in it.
Figuring out your win rate in online games is much easier, as you can play lots of hands in a short time span, while win rate in live games will often come down to an assessment.
In either case, you should always track your sessions, record the hours played, your winnings, and your hourly win rate if you are serious about poker.
If you do this long enough, the data you collect will help you make the right decisions with your bankroll and move up or down at the right time.
8. Tournament variance is massive
One thing that many recreational players don’t realize is just how high the variance is in tournament poker, even for the best players out there. Even on a soft site like WPT Global, variance can be much higher than you might expect.
Practically every tournament poker professional has had multiple years in which they lost money outright, which goes a long way toward demonstrating how volatile tournament poker is.
If you want to try playing poker tournaments for a living, you should be ready for a lot of heartbreak and rare moments of absolute exhilaration.
To sustain that, you will need a bankroll of at least 100x your average buyin, as well as a source of income to replenish it if needed, and enough money to pay for living expenses for at least six months.
7. Skill edge affects bankroll requirements
Another thing that affects the bankroll you should have, except for your chosen game type, is the skill edge you have in your games.
If you are an experienced poker professional who is rebuilding his bankroll at lower stakes cash games, having 10 buyins could be enough to feel relatively comfortable.
On the other hand, if you are a novice player who might not even be a winner in the games just yet, a bankroll of 30 or more buyins may be required to sustain the variance.
The skill edge comes from studying and experience, so if you are new to the game, remember to take it slow and don’t rush into bigger games anytime soon.
Take shots when the chances are there.
Taking shots is one of the best ways to build up a bankroll and move up the stakes relatively quickly. However, it does come with some extra risks.
If you are considering taking a shot at higher stakes, you should do so only when you have a good reason. Namely, you should only play in higher stakes games that are extremely soft.
For example, if you play $0.25/$0.50 games online, you should only try to play $0.50/$1 or $1/$2 if you realize there are some insanely profitable games at those stakes on a particular poker site.
On the other hand, if the games are likely to be tougher or as tough as the ones you are currently playing in, you should probably keep grinding and building up your bankroll.
When good spots do come up at higher stakes, consider finding ways to get into the games, as it could potentially be the big break you were looking for.
5. Adjust based on game type
Different game types require different bankrolls, and a serious poker player knows the difference between cash games, tournaments, and Spin and Goes.
Typically speaking, cash game pros need the lowest number of buyins for their games to be relatively safe, while players playing highly volatile game types need more.
For example, if you plan on playing a very soft $2/$5 game in your local casino, where the buyin is $500, you will probably need about $10k to be safe, as long as you are an actual winner with a decent win rate.
On the other hand, if you play large field tournaments with an average buyin of $500, the same $10k bankroll may be gone before you score your first cash, if things go poorly.
Tournament players should usually aim at having 100 average buyins to rely on, while cash game pros can get by with 20 to 30 buyins.
4. Never play scared money
If there is one thing that will guarantee you lose at poker, it’s playing in games with stakes you can’t possibly afford.
Whether you are taking a shot or actually trying to move up, you should never play in games where the stakes are significantly higher than what you are used to.
Your progression through the ranks should be gradual, which allows you to build tolerance to bigger and bigger swings with each new stake.
If you normally play in $500 games, and you jump into a “soft” game with a $20k buyin, you are likely to get eaten up, even if the players in the game are not technically better than you.
3. Move up when the time is right
While some players are not prepared to drop down in stakes and play smaller games when necessary, others get way too conservative with their bankrolls and aren’t willing to move up.
Getting stuck at stakes that feel comfortable will slow down your growth as a player and make it nearly impossible to keep growing your bankroll at a proportional pace.
For example, if you started playing $1/$2 games with a $5k bankroll and won $10k, you will definitely want to try the $2/$5 games and see how you do.
If you feel like the bigger games are too tough, drop back down and keep studying the game. If you feel like you can beat the new stakes consistently, then suck up the variance and play until your bankroll is at a high enough level to consider moving up again.
2. Be willing to drop down in stakes
Being willing to drop stakes when your bankroll requires it is one of the most important rules professional players must learn.
Too many “professionals” won’t drop down and play lower stakes when their bankroll is suffering, simply because they believe they belong in certain games.
The truth is that no matter your skill level, you won’t survive in any game if you don’t have the bankroll to sustain the swings.
When things go badly and your bankroll drops to a dangerously low number, being willing to play lower and rebuild is an essential poker skill.
Bankroll means less in low-stakes games.
Bankroll is always important, but if you are still playing low-stakes poker where the buyins are relatively small, you can always rebuild it by simply working a day job.
Many players who are building a low-stakes bankroll work as bartenders or Uber drivers to keep replenishing it during a downswing.
In fact, if you are playing low-stakes poker, you don’t even have to have a specific poker bankroll, and you can simply play with whatever money is left over after your living expenses.
As you start climbing the ranks and playing in games where the buyins are more substantial, maintaining an actual poker bankroll will become more essential.