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Online Poker Tips - Managing Your Bankroll

Online Poker Tips

Bankroll management is a concept that many amateurs struggle with. While you're certainly not a failure if you have to redeposit, you're also certainly not a success if you're constantly depositing and never withdrawing. While a good and consistent strategy played at the right game and table is key to your long-term poker career, knowing how to manage your money also directly affects your bottom line.

How Much Should You Start With?
This largely depends on how much you can start with. A lot of the larger poker rooms will accept minimum deposits of as little as $10 and sometimes less. While this no doubt appeals to especially cash-strapped players, a deposit that small gives you very few long-term playing options. For example, if you are buying in with at least 50x the big blind for every ring game session, then that translates to only 10 sessions at a $.01/$.02 table.

Even if you're strictly a tournament player, a good player will only finish in the money an average of one time out of seven, so if you're playing $1 buy-ins then a tiny bankroll may not last long enough for you to win and replenish it.

Players that have the means should calculate their monthly bankroll in advance and deposit it in one go. For example, if you want to play the $.10/$.20 tables twice a week, then that translates to at least $10 per session/$20 per week/at least $80 per month. Making a lump deposit is especially important the first time you transfer funds, since it's likely the only time you will be eligible for a deposit match.

Playing in Sessions
The concept of a session is foreign to many first-time players, but for the pros playing sessions is as close as it gets to a regular work shift. As a beginner, your sessions probably won't translate to regular hourly earnings, but they're still an important part of bankroll management. Prior to sitting at your selected table, you should determine how much you can afford to play with and how long you can play before your concentration and strategy start to suffer. Regardless of which comes first, once you hit either your time or money limit your session should end.

Keep Your Personal Money and Your Poker Money Separate
While hundreds of people do profit from their poker hobby, winning consistently isn't easy for anyone, even the pros. Remember that playing the game is never more important than paying your bills (unless of course you're a pro and you've got to play to pay the bills).

It's all too easy for some beginners to get too excited by the big pots and prize pools and to lose track of both their money management and their strategy. When this happens, poker stops being a game of skill and starts being a gamble. It's a dangerous line to cross, which is why we recommend that new players open a separate account for their poker money and only use what they can afford to lose for their first bankroll.

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