Author: horse-racing-free-tips

Any player must at first ask himself the question: “How much should I invest in this?” Any player that wants to start playing for real, because if you are just playing for fun you can have any bankroll, anything you can afford and if you win it’s for the best, but if you lose, you don’t have to worry about it. So, if you want to become a serious poker player you’ll have to take inconsideration many things. The first thinks you have to reflect upon are related to your gaming style, what games they like playing, where are they playing these games and their budget and reason for playing poker.

Experts calculated some possible bankrolls and you might often find information that says a good bankroll to start with should be about 300 times higher that the value of one bet. So, if you want to play a $2-$4 game, then your bankroll must be something like $1,200, 300 times higher than the big bet. This can work, but it is too general. You must really look into your playing style. If you are a solid player, that thinks every hand and folds often when needed, then you probably don’t need that much. If, on the other hand you are rather loose and play almost all the hands, then you will be involved in many pots and you might need more.

The type of games played is also an important factor. If you play draw poker then you need less money than in triple draw. It’s just some calculus and the solution is obvious. Also so me games have more betting rounds that other games and these games require an extended bankroll.

Also, when you play no limit holdem this limit is way too little. If the big blind of the game is $3, the bankroll of $900 is way too little for this type of game. Here you can find your self in the situation where you have to bet $50 at a time, and just dividing you can clearly see that if raised and re-raised the bet can be pretty high and you can end up loosing all the bankroll in just a few sessions. The key for an appropriate bankroll is to make it fit into the statistic. The more games we can play the more chances to increase our bankroll we have. So if you only have $1,200 to spend for this, then do not choose a no limit game. It is for the best if you consider your financial possibilities also, because you don’t want to end up playing just to win, being afraid at all times that you are going too lose your bankroll and be broke. Playing scared will only make you lose, so don’t do it.

Your bankroll is the amount of money you have set aside to play poker with. Some players can easily add to their bankroll from outside sources while others have no way to add if they lose theirs. If you fall into the latter category, it is very important to not play at limits that exceed your bankroll. One very important point you should know is that until you become a consistent winner it doesn’t matter how big your bankroll is. The only thing that will matter is how much you have to lose. For this reason, the information below is written for you assuming you are a winning player overall.

The first rule is to not confuse bankroll and buy-in. A buy-in is the amount you sit down in a game with or the entry fee in a tournament, not the entire amount you have available to play poker with over a period of time. For example, you may have a bankroll of $10,000 to play 15/30-limit holdem. If this were the case you would probably buy-in for between $500 and $1,000.

I have seen bankroll size suggestions ranging from 200 times the big bet at the level you are playing at ($800 at 2/4) to 300 times the big bet ($1200 at 2/4). My recommendation, particularly for holdem, is to start with 300 times the big bet. I play much better when I have this cushion. I have played at levels that I had much less than 300 times the big bet in bankroll and it sometimes hurts my play. This is a psychological hurdle but when reduced to facts it makes sense. 50 times the big bet is a common downswing, even for professional players, and nothing to become too concerned about if you are still playing well. However, if you start with only 100 times the big bet, if you are down 50 big bets you have lost 50% of your bankroll. If you had started with 300 big bets and are down 50, you have only lost roughly 17% of your bankroll.

If you are a very sound Omaha/8 player, you can play with a 200 big bet bankroll. This is because Omaha/8 is a much more mathematically direct game than holdem, or in other words there is less short-term variance or luck. Because of the short-term variance in holdem, even professional players may see a 200 big bet downswing at times. For this reason, that extra 100 big bets may keep you from being forced to drop down a level before the cards turn in your favor.