If you might be a poker player you should understand by now that your particular bankroll will be your poker bible. If you haven't any bankroll you can not play poker! This article will present you with some valuable information about how to deal with your bankroll and the way to never fail financially!
Importance Of A Bankroll:
Even should you be the very best poker player on earth, you need to have good bankroll management! Going bust isn't the poker gods punishing you, its variance and variance is FACT. If you wish to start earning a decent amount playing poker, then follow the advice on this thread. This is the first task to becoming a WSOP bracelet winner.
The Chris Ferguson Method:
I read a write-up quite some time back written by Chris about his transformation of $1 into $20,000. He used the following strategy to ensure he could handle his variance swings. He played cash games and made certain that he always had 20 buyins. These were not full buyins these were half buyins. If you desired to play $0.01/$0.02 cash games, the max buyin is $2 and so you'd probably buyin for $1. This would imply you would have to have $20 to become properly bankrolled for $0.01/$0.02. Likewise, should you have had 100 then you definitely you happen to be bankrolled for $0.05/$0.10. If you ever go BELOW 20 buyins you will need dropping right down to an amount where you're properly bankrolled.
This method continues to be thoroughly tested. It's a good method if you adhere to it. You more info must expect you'll hit bad variance and move down an even or two if you wish to. Discipline is KEY for this bankroll method.
Classic Tournament Bankroll Method:
To be bankrolled properly for tournaments you need to will have no less than 30 entry fees towards the tournament you would like to enter.
Things change slightly with rebuy tournaments. Because of the nature of rebuy tournaments you will end up shoving or folding hands preflop through the rebuy period (please read my article on rebuy strategy). This means you must have a minimum of 6 x 30 buyins because obviously you'll be double rebuying and adding on! Remember should you fall 5 or 10 you'll want to decrease the amount you may spend on entry fees. Again, the saying 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 thought of this technique would be to keep at least 2000 big blinds to the level you would like to play. That's right! being properly rolled for $0.01/$0.02 you'll need a minimum of 40 dollars. If you're winning with the level you might be playing at and also you find the players much easier to beat, then you can definitely drop your bankroll threshold to 1500-2000 big blinds. As you will progress to $0.25/$0.50 and $0.50/$1.00 I would very much recommend you follow 2000 big blinds as variance has very damaging affect money wise. Please note that you'll want over 2000 big blinds for 6 max tables and manages.
Classic Limit Bankroll Method:
Limit poker is a WHOLE different ball game. You can have as low as 400 big blinds in your account because you may be risking less for every buy in along with the variance is smaller. In limit holdem it is almost always impossible to reduce your stack similarly coming from a cold deck, unlike NLHE.
NB. I do not play limit holdem and so I don't have any exposure to this bankroll. The general consensus with players I have spoken to is this fact could be the right bankroll you need to target.