Your Guide to Poker Bankroll Management

To make money at poker, you first have to understand how to play poker. Obviously, however, there’s also the not-so-obvious side of making money: bankroll management in poker. Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how much money you make if you aren’t able to hold onto it. 

Anyone who has played poker long enough knows that players can go on a streak or not cash in a handful of tournaments in a row. If the latter happens, bankroll management in poker is super important. In this article, we’ll dive into what being important really means and how to build, protect, and grow your bankroll.

The info we’ll share draws on proven expert advice and top strategies from pros. So, grab a drink, get comfortable, and begin building your bankroll management poker knowledge. 

What Is Poker Bankroll Management?

One of the most difficult things to do is to manage something before you really understand what that something is. So, before we jump into what poker bankroll management is, let’s first clarify what a bankroll is. A Poker bankroll is a specific sum of money that you have set aside exclusively to play poker. What it isn’t is a bank account that you use to buy gas and food with. It’s not your clothes money, nor your rent or mortgage payment. It’s an understanding of when this money is gone, no more poker for me. 

Poker bankroll management is a system that allows you to properly choose the stakes you can afford to play at, depending on the current level of your bankroll. If done correctly, poker bankroll management factors in things like game type, funds per session, and variance.

Because of this, experts agree that your system needs to be dynamic. As you play,  you’ll need to drop to lower limits during downswings and only raise your limits once you’ve reached certain milestones.

After all, online poker bankroll management isn’t just about making money. It’s a discipline that helps you push your game to greater heights while allowing you to play without the need to play mediocre hands, chase, or make hero calls.

Why Bankroll Management Matters – The Role of Variance

Bankroll management in poker matters because you can never escape variance. What is variance, you might ask? Variance is the short-term deviation between the results you actually achieve over expected value. 

Variance is the result of factors like coinflip outcomes, runner-runner suckouts, or coolers. Even for the top players in the world, variance is unavoidable. Basically, variance happens because of the game of poker. And since it’s part of the game, you’ll need bankroll management in poker. 

One way to do that is the “risk of ruin” concept. You’ll want to develop a cushion for buy-ins. What that means is that  you’ll want to set a number of buy-ins that exist within your bankroll management poker. For example, you want to keep enough money for 10 tournaments. If each tournament has a buy-in of $50, that means your bankroll needs to be at least $500. If you don’t cash in the first two tournaments, you’ll only have $400 in your bankroll and will want to drop the buy-in limit for the next tournament to $40. This will help you reduce the risk of ruin and allow you to continue to play. Once you’ve cashed, you can either up your buy-in limit or build a bit larger cushion.

Establishing Your Poker Bankroll – How Much Do You Need?

When you first decide to establish your bankroll, you’ll need to calculate the right amount. Obviously, the amount should exclude money that’s needed for other things. It should also exclude any amount that would have an impact on your lifestyle if you happen to lose it all.

Being a good poker bankroll manager requires you to analyze who you are as a player. You can use these figures for a quick benchmark:

• Casual player: anywhere from $300 to $5,000. It’s a pretty wide spread. However, the definition of a casual player covers a very wide range of players.
• Semi-pro: $10,000-$50,000.
• Pro: $100,000

The initial amount a poker bankroll manager sets can also be influenced by what you love to play. For example, if you only play cash games, you should have enough money to buy in to 50 games starting with 100 big blinds each. That helps set a realistic amount. If your entire bankroll management poker is only $500, you wouldn’t want to jump into a $1/$2 game. For tournaments, you’ll want to set your bankroll to allow you to buy into 100 tournaments. Again, if you only have $500, you wouldn’t want to enter a $100 tournament right away. That’s just bad online poker bankroll management. SNGs are a bit different and vary more. You’d want to have enough money for 50 heads-up games or 100 9-handed turbos.

And remember, since your system needs to be dynamic, your limits should change based on how you did the previous game.

Bankroll Management for Cash Games

Let’s dive a bit deeper into cash games. Online poker bankroll management is tied to 30 to 100 buy-ins calibrated to win rate and variance. So, if you win about 3 big blinds every 100 hands, you’ll need to have about 50 buy-ins to be safe. That means if you’re playing NL10 with $100 buy-ins, you’ll need to start your bankroll with around $5,000.

At the same time, if you’re a more casual player, that same amount would be around $500 if the buy-ins were only $10.

More seasoned players with a higher win rate will typically only keep about 30 buy-ins in their bankroll. To figure out a decent win rate, you’ll need to track around 30,000 hands. It’s a lot; however, it’s enough to factor in the variance in poker. You can do that with free video poker games. Remember to keep an eye on the amount of buy-ins remaining in your bankroll. Once it drops below a certain amount, you’ll want to find games with a smaller buy-in until you build it back up.

Bankroll Management for Tournaments and Sit & Gos

Tournaments and Sit & Gos often see more conservative online poker bankroll management. This is because things like bubble pressure and all-in equity realization cause a bit more extreme variance in poker. For small tournaments, you’ll want to have about 100 buy-ins while managing poker bankrolls. If you play larger tournaments, a safe bet is around 200-300 buy-ins; that’s to factor in any rebuys you may need to make during the duration of a larger tournament.

For SNGs, you’ll want to keep around 50 buy-ins for heads-up matches as the variance is a bit lower, and 100 for 9-seats as multiway pots tend to amplify swings a bit more. For rebuys, you’ll want to limit yourself to 3 rebuys max. Afterall, you can think of a rebuy as a buy-in.

Bankroll management in poker requires you to dynamically update your management strategy; you’ll need to understand your ROI (return on investment). Understanding your ROI takes time, as you’ll need to play a lot of tournaments to get a decent average. From there, if your ROI is at least 15%, on the low side, you may be able to up your buy-ins a bit. On the other hand, if you have a negative ROI, you’ll want to reduce your buy-ins enough to basically double your cushion to grind back to where you started. 

Bankroll Psychology – Mindset, Discipline & Shot Taking

Once you have your managing poker bankroll down, you’ll be able to play at a higher level. This is mainly because you know where you are and have more control, helping reduce tilt pressure. If you know you have a 40 tournament buffer, you’ll be able to make more calculated calls and avoid some variance in poker. 

From time to time, an opportunity may present itself that is outside of your buy-in limit, a table full of drunk people or rich beginners. With proper online poker bankroll management, you’ll be able to play these one-offs without much concern. 

However, online poker bankroll management isn’t always about knowing when you can play for higher stakes; it’s also about knowing when you need to play for lower stakes. Without reaccessing your bankroll after each game, it’s impossible to stay on top of where you are and what you should play. After all, managing poker bankrolls is a long game. It’s not a short, get-rich-quick scheme. Always keep that in mind.

Dealing with Rake and Costs – A Hidden Bankroll Drain

Aside from variance in poker, there are other things that make managing poker bankrolls important. One of those things is the rake. A game’s rake is the fee they take from every pot. Most rakes range anywhere from 4% to 10% of the pot, yet are often capped at a certain dollar amount.

This, of course, can affect your bankroll’s bottom line. It can also have an impact on your win rate, as the money you walk away with isn’t a direct representation of the number of hands you’ve won. Managing poker bankrolls will help manage this.

To offset this, you’ll want to try to play in games that have lower rakes. You can also try to value bet rivers thinner and avoid limped pots. To really see the impact that rakes have, keep track of how much money is taken from each of the hands you win and add it up when you’re done playing. It’s eye-opening.

Tracking Your Bankroll – Tools & Best Practices

Managing poker bankrolls by using a spreadsheet is a good idea. It will help you notice patterns and can try to play more of the games you do better at and avoid the ones with a lower ROI. You’ll want to create and track the following columns:

• Before buy-in amount
• Game type and buy-in
• Net P&L
• After buy-in amount
• Number of hands per game
• Number of hands won
• How long you played in each game

Poker bankroll managers may also include different types of info. At the end of the day, your spreadsheet will provide the answer to whether you can bump up your buy-in amounts or need to reduce them. And you’ll want to work with this spreadsheet before and after every time you play.

Practical Bankroll Strategies for Different Player Types

Your poker bankroll strategy will depend on the type of player you are. If you’d like to find out which stakes you have more fun with, check out our trusted online casino.

Beginners / Micro-Stakes Players

Beginners want to have a conservative poker bankroll strategy, managing poker bankrolls with at least 50 buy-ins. Focus on variance by playing lower-variance 6-seated cash games or SNGs. Be sure to track your progress. And remember, patience is key here. We recommend practicing with online poker games.

Regular & Semi-Pro Players

Semi-pro players want to have a bit looser poker bankroll strategy. You can now be a bit more flexible with your cushion. Having said that, managing poker bankrolls with at least 30-50 buy-ins is a good idea. You can now take occasional shots at bigger buy-ins. However, tone that down and reevaluate after any big negative swings.

Pro / High-Stakes Players

Pro players can be aggressive with their poker bankroll strategy, playing in high-stakes games against the best out there. So, you’ll want at least 100 buy-ins in your bankroll. Swings may be more massive, so use your bankroll management in poker to stay focused on when you should scale back.

Conclusion

Aside from playing well, you’ll need decent online poker bankroll management if you want to make real money over time. And you need to understand, not a single person is going to do this for you. So, it takes discipline. Take what you’ve learned today and start your own system. Just remember, there isn’t only one way to manage your bankroll. Play around with what works best for you. If you’d like to learn more, read our blog to find poker strategy content. If poker is not your game, check out other free casino games. And as always, play responsibly.

FAQ — Poker Bankroll Management