Managing Your Poker Bankroll

If you only take in one tip from my site I hope its bankroll management. It's a simple concept but it's easy to fall foul of unless you have a plan in place.

Some players consider poker as a hobby, they deposit when they feel the urge for a game. Many of these players have a double or bust mentality; they don't bother building a bankroll. By default, these players often go bust as they up the stakes too quickly, focusing only on the money.

For more serious players you need to keep tabs on your bankroll, your bankroll is your lifeline and has to get you past your bad runs.

A bankroll is money you put aside solely for poker. Your initial deposit will be your first step, after that it's about building your bankroll through your winning poker strategy. Any withdrawals come after you surpass a preset limit. OK, I told you bankroll building was simple, but it's not that simple, there's more to it, you have to know what limit's to play with your bankroll.

Limit 32 Card Draw

I suggest using a 250 x big blind.

At 50c/$1 Limit you require a $250 bankroll.

At $1/$2 Limit you require a $500 bankroll.

You may think playing at such low limits with a $250 bankroll is crazy. You might be thinking to yourself "If I move up to the $4/$8 limit I win a lot more, I know I am good enough." Yes, you might also be lucky enough to avoid a natural downswing of fortune that will ultimately crush your bankroll. In the other scenario, you use the 250 rule, you gradually build up your bankroll and stakes until you safely get to the stakes you are comfortable playing. Variance in poker can be high, falling foul of it can bust you but if you use proper bankroll management, the chances of a good player going bust is minimized.

No Limit/Pot Limit 32 Card Draw

I suggest using a 500 x big blind.

At 50c/$1 Limit you require a $500 bankroll.

At $1/$2 Limit you require a $1000 bankroll.

It is possible to lose your chip stack in one hand. You can have the second best hand in the world but if the other guy gets the best, you lose. Knowing this, you should never lump your entire bankroll at the table. One thing to consider is if you hit a big hand at with only $5 at the table, you won't win much and probably ending up blinding out of the game. Play with a maximum of 10% bankroll at the table, and that is an absolute maximum, I would suggest less.

32 Card Draw SNG's

I suggest using 20 x Tournament buy in.

At $5 buy in you require a $100 Bankroll.

At $10 buy in you require a $200 Bankroll.

The SNG's are played with five players. Two players get paid.

In a $5 SNG the winner gets $17 and 2nd place gets $8. As you can see, the pay scale is top heavy. You get over 3 buy in for winning and just 1.5 for 2nd. If you play to cash, that wont cut the mustard, eventually a losing streak will wear you down, you must play to win, it's worth twice as much as 2nd place.

Multi-table Tournaments

I suggest using 50 x Tournament buy in.

At $5 buy in you require a $250 Bankroll.

At $10 buy in you require a $500 Bankroll.

I just checked the last MTT on devilfishpoker.com. It was a $5 Freezout, there were 51 entrants and 9 got paid. This payout scale strongly favors the top three and that is what you are aiming for. Play to win, don't play to scrape into the money, you will benefit more in the long run. It's always worth noting the payout structures as they can vary from site to site or game to game.

MTT's are notorious for long dry spells, if you feel the need to cushion your bankroll more and use a 100 buy in rule, feel free, the safer your bankroll the better.

Moving up the stakes

The beauty of bankroll management is that it can guide you through the stake levels. Let's work it out.

We will use the MTT bankroll limits

At $5 buy in you require a $250 Bankroll.

At $10 buy in you require a $500 Bankroll.

If you are playing at the $5 buy in level and want to move up to the $10 games you must get your bankroll up to $500, the minimum requirement for the $10 buyins. If you are at the $10 limit and see your bankroll dwindling, don't let it go below $250 before moving down to the $5 games.

Bankroll management will help you realize your best playing limit. Everyone has their skill level. It's better to win $5 at the micro limits than lose $100 in higher stake games. Find your optimum level.

Some Exceptions

Anyone can have a massive run of good fortune and win a disproportionate amount in one week at the cash tables. You could strike it lucky tonight and win a big tournament. Your bankroll now indicates that you should be playing at the higher stake games. First you have to ask yourself, "Can I compete with these guys?" If you are an experienced player you can answer this yourself, for the newcomer, you are probably not ready yet. Poker is very easy to learn but it also has a steep learning curve. The best players are still learning new tricks but the chances are, they already know the ones you are about to learn.

My suggestion is to move up one stake at a time, spend some of your bankroll on something nice, keep enough to keep yourself within your bankroll limits, learn to win consistently at your new level then progress as your bankroll suggests. Always take a step back and reassess your position.

Bankroll Management

Bankroll management is your lifeline to poker. You must protect it from the bad (but natural) swings of fortune. If you feel you are playing above your level, get out quick. Poker for many is a hobby but it can also be a profitable hobby. World class players have known to have gone broke because they didn't know how to manage their money. Buy applying one of the simplest techniques to your game will put you ahead of many a better player. Good bankroll management skills are essential.

Where can I play 32 Draw Poker?

32 card draw is exclusively played on the Entraction network. probably the most famous and reputable site on the network is devilfishpoker.com. I suggest you stick with established sites when choosing somewhere to play.

As a direct result of the U.I.G.E.A. , players based in American cannot play real money games on the Entraction Network, this means they cannot play this form of draw poker online. For real money US players, I suggest either pokerstars.com or fulltiltpoker.com. Although you won't be able to play 32 Card draw, you have some great alternatives, including the usual old guard.