How important is Bankroll management!

[BlackLava]

Hi all,

I fear coming from play money zone and trying real money could trigger a wrong feeling : Being bulletproof!

Bankroll management matter a LOT more than for play money, no single real money long time winner is playing all his chips on a table, even never half his bankroll!

There's a math explain : If you're holding AA will you fold preflop? Because if you are playing your full bankroll and go all in you'll still often have 20% chance to lose! Play 10 hours and for sure that will happen => Game over! Much more : Will you fold QQ or KK preflop or go all in too? Will you fold your three of a kind after flop if you're pushed all in by a guy simply drawing a flush? You can't play all those hands if you haven't got the money to play those hands X times : On one draw it's luck, on 10 draws the math gives you victory.
The right way to play your bankroll is a math too : if you plan to go all in everytime you would have more than 50% chance of winning, better have a huge bankroll compared to what you're planning to push on tables (At least 10 times more, but often 20 times more to be safe)! If you're really tight and will avoid all ins outside 75% draws, you should be able to play a bigger part of your bankroll (let's say you could play there with 20% of your bankroll if you really like to take risks). About mini tourneys & tournaments the luck factor is even higher, so if you're more a tourney player take care about keeping money to be able to rebuy the tourney buyin at least 20 times (yes 20 is the number : If you're playing 10$ mini-tourneys with a 100$ bankroll you are subject to luck!)

I know why players want to play all their money : Bankroll management isn't fun at all and make you play on low tables which are less exciting too... So here is a first step to try : Instead of depositing 100$ and playing 100$ on a 0.5/1$ table, make a 150$ deposit and play 50$ there! You won't lose the table feeling and you will have a 2 times rebuy for handling bad beats!
Don't make me wrong : It's not yet a good bankroll management but it's a start to understand why bankroll management is the only way to win on the long run! You'll play a more efficient poker too if you know your full bankroll isn't on table (psychological part).

I know there will be answers like "I don't care about bankroll management, if I'm losing all I will deposit again, that's the same" => that's the best way to go on tilt! Think twice before using that method : Why not a single professionnal player is doing so?

'Lava

[markosa]

very good that you pointed that out
taking a bit slowlier now lol

[BlackLava]

Thanks Markosa
Seems nobody is reading my ugly text... lol

Chris Ferguson key rules about Online poker Bankroll management
(Ferguson is the only player to have won three World Series of Poker circuit events) :
-I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).
-I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1.
-If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me.

But it's only an advice : You can play your full bankoll and lose all after reaching 1000$ if you think it's fun

[markosa]

i'll print it out and put it on the wall, so everytime when i plan to play with real money i see this lol

[meado205]

i like the thinking behind it and it take some of the math of of the game but as u and a lot of players no but not meny do the game is all about math and Avgs

[BlackLava]

For the ones who want a one line summary based on what Chris Ferguson said :
If you make a 100$ deposit, you should never put more than 5$ on tables same time!
After reaching 200$ from that way, you will be able to put 10$ on a table, and so on...

I think such strict bankroll management is too hard to start with but at least you must follow a "30% max on table" rule or you'll only feed sharks on the long run : About that it's a 100% sure deal!

[BlackLava]

http://www.onlinepoker66.com/forum/s...ad.php?p=37579 new offer in goal to make tutorials about bankroll management!

[dug]

thanks - i may try cash again sometime and this may make experience better

[Sikbeni]

Thanks for the great tip Blacklava. Have you tried eating Baklava whilst wearing a Balaklava?

[firecutting]

thanks for the tip

[holdinitdown]

This advice might help me on the free tables. At least, I can learn to make better betting decisions, which I can take to the real money tables.