Ask the Poker Pro - Bankroll Management
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Date: July 28th, 2006
By: Tight Poker Staff
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Q: Dear Poker Pro,
There is no strict guideline for when you should be playing at what
stakes. Is it based totally on bankroll? Is it based on skill? When
should you move down or up in stakes?
Basically, can you describe a system that allows a player to determine
which stakes he or she should be playing at? I'm assuming there have to
be different systems for no limit cash, limit cash, and tournaments.
- Fish
A: Hello Fish. Yes, this is a common question that is very good to answer. When I was a beginning poker player, I often made the poor mistake of playing in poker games where I did not have enough money to cover a big loss. I was always confident that I was the best player and that there was no chance I would lose my entire stack if I played carefully. Unfortunately, I was proved wrong numerous times. I had disastrous losses both from being outdrawn and also from not being able to play aggressively enough because I was scared to lose my money.
Since that time, I have paid careful attention to my money habits when I sit down at the table. For a regular buy-in, the minimum is normally 20 times the big bet (example: $200 in a $5/10 game.) When I want to sit down in a game, I do an easy math calculation of whether or not I have 20 minimum buy-ins for the game, or a total of 400 big bets. With 20 buy-ins, this leaves enough safety for me to play how I want and not worry about losing my buy-in if things go poorly at the table.
You can see that my system is based on total buy-ins, because I think a skilled player will make around 2 to 3 big bets an hour if playing online. If you are skilled, this means it will take 130 to 200 hours of play before moving up in limits. If you are not skilled enough to make 2 big bets an hour, then it will take much longer, which is exactly the purpose of using big bets as a measurement. Some people may say that this is too long or they do not have to patience to wait, but poker needs to be taken seriously and any flaws or problems at your current limits will be an even bigger problem if you move up too early.
If you are playing very low limit games, such as the $1/$2 or below, I would say that you might consider going with only 300 big bets because it will take a long time to move up to considerable limits otherwise. The very low stake games are also quite different than how 'normal' poker is played, so it can even develop bad habits for yourself if you become too accustomed to that style of play...
The Step-Up and Step-Down Bankroll System
Also, another strategy a good poker buddy used is the "step up, step down" system. My buddy was more impatient than myself and always wanted to move up limits because he thought he could beat the bigger game. He would wait until he had "enough skill" at his current limit and then play in a higher stakes game for one hour each day. No more, no less. This is so he would discipline himself not to chase any losses or try to hoard any wins he might have made.
At the end of the week, he would compare his winnings at his regular game with the higher limit game. If his higher limit game was doing well, he would increase it by another hour each day. If it was going bad, he would make it only one hour on the good days he had won. If he was breaking even, he would keep playing one hour each day. A few times, my buddy came to me and said "I lost all seven days, can you believe it!?" and it was my duty to tell him to stop playing the higher limit game and go back to the limit he was winning at.
I like my buddy's system because it makes it gradual progress, but it still has the risk of hurting your bankroll with one very bad day at a higher limit. This is why self-discipline to play one one hour a day while learning the new limit is very important. Not keeping to your schedule can mean serious loss if you are not able to quit when you are losing.
Tournament Bankroll Management
I am not a major tournament player and do not rely on tournaments to fund my bankroll. However, it is easy for me to see this same system for tournament players. Instead of having 20 buy-ins for a cash game, I would say 30 buy-ins is a good number if you are a winning STT player. For a MTT player, because you will cash far less often, 100 buy-ins is a much safer number if you only play MTT games (but I do not recommend you do this unless you are a very skilled tournament player). Optimally, you will want to mix between STT and MTT tournaments so that you can play in both without putting your bankroll in risk of being lost.
If you want to move up faster, use the step system for tournaments in the same was as the cash games. Play in a higher tournament once for every 5 regular tournaments you play. If you are a winning player, then move that to 2 out of every 5, then 3 out of 5, then 4 out of 5 and finally 5 out of 5. This is a good way of stepping up slowly without risking very much.
-Poker Pro
Answers from the Poker Pro
Ask a Poker Pro is a weekly column dedicated to answering any and all questions
from beginning, intermediate or advanced players of texas hold'em. Question and answer
columns from the Poker Pro are archived below for your reading enjoyment.
July 14th, 2006 - Week #1: How to Read Players
July 21st, 2006 - Week #2: How to Play Pocket Pairs
July 28th, 2006 - Week #3: Bankroll Management
August 2nd, 2006 - Week #4: Are Online Poker Sites Rigged?
Getting better at reading people? Then play at
PokerRoom.com, a recommended
site by the Poker Pro for beginning poker players.
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