Poker

Adjusting Stakes Based on Bankroll Size

Adjusting Stakes Based on Bankroll Size

Whether a complete novice, amateur, or even an experienced professional, one of the most important features of successful poker play concerns bankroll management. Your bankroll quite simply describes the money you have available for poker, and moderation in the size of games you enter, according to the size of that bankroll, is quite simply an absolutely key long-term strategy.

Too many players just dive right in, make a common mistake, and play at stakes that are far too high for their bankroll. This is very risky and quite probably leads to losses. Understanding how to choose the right stakes protects your bankroll while giving yourself the best chance of growing it.

What is Bankroll Management?

Managing a bankroll is all about selecting the right stakes you should play with, considering the size of your poker bankroll. What you are trying to do is protect yourself from variance, otherwise known as ups and downs that occur naturally with wins and losses, yet still permitting yourself the opportunity to make a profit. 

 

Because poker is a game that incorporates both skill and luck, even the world’s best players are ultimately at the mercy of short-term whims. Proper bankroll management prevents a player from going broke during any losing streak.

Key Factors of Bankroll Management:

  • Stakes: The size of the blinds or buy-ins for tournaments.
  • Risk tolerance: How much of your bankroll you are willing to risk on a single session or tournament.
  • Skill level: A beginner should be more conservative; a pro may take a little higher risk.
  • Variance: With higher stakes, you will also be playing more aggressively, which just means you’ll see higher variance, so you need a larger bankroll to handle possible downswings.
Key Factors of Bankroll Management:
Key Factors of Bankroll Management

Example 1: $50 Bankroll – Beginner Player

A bankroll of $50 is a little on the small side, and you should approach the game somewhat conservatively if you are a beginning player. The size of this bankroll really means you must avoid playing too high of a stakes game because it can wipe out the entire bankroll due to variance alone. Here’s a basic way you could approach this bankroll management:

 

  • Cash Games: At this stage, play micro-stakes cash games. A good rule of thumb is to have at least 20 to 30 buy-ins for cash games. On a $50 bankroll, you should be playing stakes like $0.01/$0.02-in which the big blind is 2 cents. That gives you 25 buy-ins for a typical 100-big-blind game, a decent cushion for variance. A typical buy-in at this level is $2, and you should ride out any potential downswings.
  • Tournaments: The buy-ins for tournaments need to be a lot smaller in relation to your bankroll. A good rule of thumb would be to enter into a tournament with 1% or less of your total bankroll as the buy-in. In this case, you should look for $0.50 or $1 buy-ins. This allows you to play several events and build your skills without placing your entire bankroll into one event.

 

This discipline helps in cash games and tournaments. For example, out of frustration or just after a loss, never play higher-stake games so as not to burn through your funds in no time.

Example 2: $250 Bankroll – Amateur Player

As your bankroll increases to around the range of $250, you get a bit more flexibility in terms of stakes, but still, one should be disciplined enough to stick to playing with his limits, particularly if he is an amateur player in training and still honing his strategy. For at this level, you can actually start taking on slightly higher stakes but very cautiously.

 

  • Cash Games: With this bankroll, you should be playing at stakes such as $0.02/$0.05 or $0.05/$0.10, with the big blind being 5 or 10 cents, respectively. Applying the 20-30 buy-in rule for cash games, you’re well within your bankroll with a typical $5 buy-in for the $0.02/$0.05 games and with a typical buy-in of $10 for $0.05/$0.10 games. A bankroll, in that case, may comfortably see you play on 25 buy-ins for the $5 game or 20 buy-ins for the $10 game.
  • Tournaments: During this stage, you can play in slightly higher buy-in tournaments, but once again, it is wise to remain conservative, perhaps only up to five or ten dollars. With a bankroll of $250, you can make a regular appearance at $2 or $3 tournaments and know you can do so comfortably without overextending yourself. Of course, in sticking to the above buy-in ranges, you will protect your bankroll from any substantial losses while still giving yourself the opportunity to build it.

 

One big determinant for beginners is assessing your skill level. If you’re constantly losing, then you need to drop back down to smaller stakes. You will be able to increase the stakes you play as you get better but always make bankroll preservation important.

Bankroll Management in Poker
Bankroll Management in Poker

Example 3: $500 Bankroll – Advanced/Pro Player

If you have a bankroll of $500, you’re in a pretty good position, especially if you consider yourself a more advanced or semi-professional player. You could start playing at higher-stakes games, but you still want to stick to more solid bankroll management principles. The professional or advanced player could take some more risks, but even at this level, protecting your bankroll from severe downswings is vital.

 

  • Cash Games: The $500 would put you in a good position to comfortably play at the $0.10/$0.25 cash games, for which buy-ins for such games cost roughly $25 for a 100-big-blind game. Following the 20-buy-in rule, this would place you square in a safe zone, but if you are more conservative, you could revert to $0.05/$0.10 games to give a great degree of variance and grind steadily without risking too much in each session.
  • Tournaments: With a bankroll of $500, you have much more flexibility in your tournament choices. Playing $5 or $10 buy-in tournaments should be easily manageable since this is 1-2% of your bankroll size. It’s still conservative, but it opens a window of options for larger tournaments with big prize pools and increases the probability of a big hit. You can also throw in some $20 buy-in tournaments from time to time if you feel that you play well enough and the prize pool makes first prize a worthwhile risk.

 

For a professional, bankroll adjustments according to current bankroll size are an ongoing process. Even at an advanced level you may have a run of losses that would suggest moving down to allow rebuilding of your bankroll.

Odds and Bankroll Management

Another very critical factor in managing your bankroll effectively is understanding odds. Pot odds, implied odds, and expected value come into play when determining whether to commit more of your bankroll to a hand. 

 

Suppose the pot is $100 and your opponent bets $20. You’ll be getting 5-to-1 on the call. If your odds of making a winning hand are better than 5-to-1, then the call will be profitable in the long run. However, if you have a small bankroll, even a profitable call may be risky if it consumes too much of your available funds.

Final Thoughts on Bankroll Management
Final Thoughts on Bankroll Management

Final Thoughts on Bankroll Management

Whether a beginner who is comfortable with only $50 or an advanced player with $500 or more, success in poker, in the long run, demands that one changes the stakes he or she plays according to the bankroll size. Good bankroll management allows one to keep playing, learning, and improving without going broke because of variance or poor decisions.

 

One should always pay attention to the selected stakes, considering one’s skills, and not get into a big game just because of chasing losses. If you follow good bankroll management principles, then you can minimize the risk while maximizing the profit opportunities.

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