Poker bankroll management is extremely important; without it you stand a high chance of going broke. If you have been playing online poker for about a month now, getting familiar with the software, jumping around from play money table to play money table, you have built a bankroll. As you become more familiar, you are ready to make your first real money deposit and see where it takes you.
How does one use the correct poker bankroll management? Normally the first real money deposit a player makes is roughly around $50 (in most cases the sites minimum deposit). If you are really serious about playing online you will probably deposit somewhere over $100 dollars with the thought of tripling it. However, for the beginner entering into his or her first real money game, how do you manage your funds and build your poker bankroll?
Beginning to Manage a Great Free Poker Bankroll Management Program
The first step towards poker bankroll building is discovering what is comfortable for you. Most new players are comfortable playing in single table tournaments. Single table tournaments could be key when starting out for the new player. The primary goal of bankroll management is to earn your initial buy-in back (in other words double your initial deposit). This insures that you cannot lose any money; the $50 that is left over in your account will be all profit. By starting out with $50 you can play 4, 10 dollar tourneys (because of entry fees). By winning one of these, you have made your initial deposit back and should cash out your $50.
Focus on Building Your Bankroll by Cashing Out
Often times people go on their “beginners luck streaks” and may triple or even quadruple their poker bankroll within the first couple hours of playing. While this is a rare occurrence, many people develop the mindset that they just can’t be beat. However, no matter how much you think you are the next Doyle Brunson, there is no way to predict the bad beats that are bound to happen in online poker. It’s a brutal fact of the game especially because online poker allows a player to see about three times the amount of hands then the regular live player would see. Many people have turned pennies into riches and then down to broke without ever hitting the “cash out” button. Do not let this happen to you. It will not only make you feel terrible, and will probably cause you to re-deposit and tilt away the rest of your money very quickly.
As a new player who intends to quickly build your online poker bankroll, it is important that you still are disciplined enough to set limits for yourself. Tell yourself when you reach a certain point that you will cash out, no matter what. Don’t be greedy either. If you say that you are going to cash out $100 when you reach $200, and you’re at $197, CASH OUT! Players have most definitely lost their entire poker bankrolls while trying to just get that extra $3 so they reached their nice even number.
What to do if and When Your Bankroll Gets Low
If you find yourself getting low on cash, my suggestion would be to start playing heads up tournaments if your site provides them. Heads up tournaments is one on one, each player puts the same money up and winner takes all. If you win a heads up tournament you essentially double up your money. Even if you are not experienced in heads up tournaments, you should know that they can be great bankroll saviors. It allows you to play more hands, but play smart, if one uses their head and is patient, they can win about 75% of these games and really do some major poker bankroll building.
It is Fun to Be Smart When Building Your Poker Bankroll
The most important thing about poker bankroll management is to be smart. We all want to cash out funds and still leave some money to play with, because playing poker is fun, and we do not have to go through the hassle of depositing money again. This is fine, however, it is important that you use this money wisely, and to not leave too much left over. Possibly leave $22 and play in 2, $10 tournaments, who knows? You may win them and be able to make another cash out. Nobody likes to lose, so manage your poker bankroll accordingly.
Poker Bankroll Building Summary
Don’t get caught up in the hype of going on a hot run. And no matter what, in poker, nobody is invincible. Make sure you remember to cash out as soon and as often as possible and you will correctly preserve your funds by using good poker bankroll building and management techniques.
