Money Management

Why You Need to Manage Your Bankroll

In this poker article I will talk about money management, bankrolls, and minimizing loses. These are all important concepts when playing poker but they all revolve around the same principals. You must limit your loses, hold on to your winnings, and most importantly always leave your self outs.

You should only play games that your bankroll will allow. If you have 200 dollars to play with for a month you don't want to lose it all in the first week playing a 5-10 no-limit game. The average pot in these games would be about the size of your bankroll. You should play lower limit games that match your bankroll.

Minimize your losses. I have seen players loose a big hand, go on tilt and loose their whole bankroll in one night. If you ever get angry because of a bad beat or loose a lot of money quickly you should take a break. A lot of mental energy will be used up worrying about your bad luck, this will effect your game in a negative way. I recommend going for a walk or even quit playing for the day. There will always be another game tomorrow.

Protect your bankroll. Not every player needs a bankroll. If you only play on occasion with extra money you probably don't need to worry about this. But if you are a player who wants to make a good income from poker your bankroll is an asset. Lets say you start with a bankroll of 500 dollars at a poker site. Now after a week of winning you are up to 2000 in your account. You take out 1500 and go buy a new TV. That is fine but if you get on a bad streak you can easily loose the 500 you still have. Then you will have no bankroll and wont be able to play. This happens to a lot of good player, and if they cant play they cant win anymore. This can put an end to your poker profits.

So just remember that poker is a game of swings. You can win a lot but you can also get on a bad luck streak and lose a lot. Just watch your bankroll, manage your money, and always leave yourself outs.

Final Thoughts
Remember to think about your bankroll before each time you play. Think about what will happen if you loose all your money in your account. Will you want to deposit more money you cant afford to lose? Are the stakes of the game so high it you loose a big hand you will be out of chips? Just think before you start to play about the worst case scenario and you should have less bankroll problems.