ITH Poker Forum

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Managing your poker bankroll is very important. Without it you run the risk of playing too high too soon and losing all your funds that keep you in the game. Winning players often prefer to play the highest stakes possible, allowing them to maximize their earn rate while at the same time they hope to keep their risk of ruin to a minimum.

-What is a bankroll and how do I manage it?

Your poker bankroll is the amount of money you have set aside for playing poker. When you sit at a table you don't sit in with your whole bankroll but it has to be available to you should you have a bad session. This is a good post on tracking your bankroll and its growth.

-How big should your bankroll be for playing limit holdem?
Do I really need 300 BB's and where did the 300 BB reference point come from? Here and here

-What limit should I play?
That will depend on how much you have for a bankroll and how much risk you are willing to take. If you are a new player it will be very important to build some experience first.

-What about my earn rate?
Your earn rate is the amount of money you have earned or lost divided by the number of hours you have played. A good player can earn one Big Bet per hour at a full table playing limit holdem. It takes many hours of play before you can get an idea of what your earn rate could be. You can read more about one BB per hour

-What about my standard deviation?

-When do I move up?
-When do I move down?

-I have to drop down, am I a loser at this game?
There is no shame in dropping down a limit. The only shame is losing your whole bankroll because you didn't drop back down. The very best players have all done it, your no different.

-How do I know if Im a winning player?
It takes a great amount of time before we can be confident we are winning at this game. The role that luck can play in this game is what makes many bad players short-term winners. After many hours of play the players skill will overcome the luck factor and we can begin to examine our results.

A sample bankroll strategy for playing limit holdem
Matthew has developed a sample bankroll strategy that will allow you to move up through the limits rather quickly if your doing well while at the same time allowing you to move back down if thing start to go bad.

A new player who is just starting out won’t be at the expert level but having read and studied Matthew’s book he should be ready to get started building his bankroll. The first goal for the player is to demonstrate that he can win. He could start at the .5/$1 limit with $500 and play until 100 BB’s has been earned. On average this should take about 100 hours and the player can chase some nice bonusesalong the way. Once his bankroll hits $600 and having cleared a few bonuses along the way his bankroll should be around the $800 mark. At this point he can begin to play $1/$2 until another 100 BB’s has been earned. If the players bankroll should begin to drop down he can remain at $1/$2 until he hits $500 at which point he can drop back to the .5/$1 limit and start over. If things continue to go well at $1/$2 while earning another 100 BB’s and clearing bonuses the bankroll should be at $1200 at which point the jump to the $2/$4 limit can be made.

The following chart shows the recommended bankrolls needed for moving up and down the limits.

.5/$1 $500
$1/$2 $800
$2/$4 $1200
$3/$6 $1800
$5/$10 $2500
$10/$20 $5000
$15/$30 $7500
$20/$40 $10,000

The sample plan listed above suggests that you will need to play 800 hours on average before you can begin to play $20/$40 when starting out with a $500 bankroll.

What if limit isn't my game?

niin gives us an idea if sng's happen to be your game of choice

An interesting sng/mtt question is discussed here

What aboutNL

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Sample strategy for playing NL ring games.

When playing NL, the maximum amount you can usually bring to the table is 100 big bets. We call this the max buy-in. It’s usually to your benefit to buy in for the max so you can take maximum advantage of your big hands when you double up. Some players choose to play with a short stack but this sample strategy is for players who plan to buy in for the full amount.

To play regularly at a given level it’s suggested to have at least 25 full buy-ins. You may begin taking a shot at the next higher level when you hit 20 buy-ins for that level. If your shot at the upper level is unsuccessful you should move down at 30 buy-ins for the lower level. By moving up and down through the levels, you allow your earn rate to be maximized while at the same time protecting yourself from busting out of the game. This outline is just a conservative suggestion and players usually make their own strategy depending upon their willingness to accept more or less risk.

5NL -$125
Move down at $75
Move up at $200

10NL -$250 ($10*25 buy-ins for the current level)
Move down at $150 ($5*30 buy-ins for the previous level)
Move up at $500 ($25*20 buy-ins for the next higher level)

25NL -$625
Move down at $375
Move up at $1000

50NL -$1250
Move down at $750
Move up at $2000

100NL $2500
Move down at $1500
Move up at $4000

[kevinanchi1]

Hey thanks for sharing this, I am looking for bankroll management