Bankroll Management and Stakes

In poker, you're going to run into a downswing. Poker has a lot of luck and we can't control it. What we can control is how much we lose. If you don't want to go broke in poker here is a good rule to follow.

When playing in cash games make sure you have at least 20 buy-ins and for tournaments you should have atleast 50. In cash games your only going to turn a profit 2 out of 3 sessions, even if you are the best player in the world and tournaments are even worse. Your going to have long losing streaks as a tournament player because you have to consistently make the top 10% to make any money. So you'll probably cash in a tournament only 1 out of 10 times.

Let's say you want to play a cash game and have $1,000 to play with. The game you would be bankrolled for would be a $0.25/$0.50 game because the buy-in is only $50. If you wanted to play tournaments you would be bankrolled for a $20 tournament at the very least. Don't be disappointed because first place is usually $1,000 dollars or more.

Here is an example of a poker player that would of gone broke if he didn't use these simple bankroll management tips:

John is a cash game player and has bought into a $5/$10 no limit holdem table. He has bought in for $1,000 and lost with AA to the other player's pocket kings. Now John has no money to keep playing poker and will have to get his money somewhere else.

Now, same situation but with bankroll management:

John has just sat down at a $0.25/$0.50 table and bought in for $50. His AA has just lost to pocket kings. John still has $950 left over and has bought in for another $50. He ran very well afterwards and left with a $200 profit. His bankroll is now at $1,200 instead of $0 because he didn't play in the bigger game.

These exact situations happen all the time and proves why bankroll management needs to be part of your game. It is the most important one.