Bankroll management is key to becoming a successful poker player. Without having money management skills, you will more than likely go broke. Ask any professional poker player for one tip about how to get started in poker and they will advise you to practice bankroll management. To simplify things Bankroll management (BRM) is where you play at certain limits to avoid losing all of your bankroll due to a bad run of cards, which every poker player must be prepared for. Here are some basic steps to follow as a Bankroll Management for Beginners Guide
Be Prepared…
No matter how big your bankroll may be, there is always a risk that you could lose it all. Poker should never be a priority over any of your other financial responsibilities i.e rent/mortgage. If you have $500 to spend be prepared to lose it all. With that been said we however want to give ourselves the best opportunity maximise the amount of profit whilst keeping the risk of going broke minimal.
Keep data records..
Yes this is where the boring stuff comes in to the poker game… It’s important to keep track of all your poker data, write down (in a notebook or spreadsheet) every game or tournament you enter. This should include buy-in costs and returns. This information can be analysed over time and you will be able to work out which games, stakes and format you are profiting from, improve your play, and calculate your hourly profits/ losses.
Move Up Limits with Caution…
OK, so all is going well at the tables until you move from low stake to medium stake… Let’s say you’re comfortably in the profit zone and have a nice little bankroll to move on to the higher stake tables. Don’t think you are invisible at the tables because you’ll soon find that the higher the stake you go, the more educated the players are you’ll be playing against. The trick to moving up poker stakes is to set aside a portion of your profits to test the water. For example your choice of game is 9 man $3 sit & go’s and you have a bankroll which started at $64 and currently at $280 you can enter 10 $5 sit & go’s to see if the wins keep rolling in, if so, then maybe it’s time to move up a level. If this doesn’t go as planned then move back to the lower stakes until you have a more secure bankroll.
Basic Guide to Beginners Bankroll Management..
The following guide can be referred to as a good rule of thumb for beginners bankroll management. If you are playing sit and go tournaments, multi-table tournaments, or fixed limit Texas Hold’em or looking to learn how to play poker online, this may give you the extra edge you’ve been looking for:
