Bankroll Management
Bankroll Management Introduction
To become a successful poker player you need a much bigger perspective than that of the single tournament. You need to ask yourself:
• How do I get maximum value for my time?
• How do I get there from where I am now?
The answers to these questions constitute your financial plan. Self evidently, higher buy-ins mean bigger prize pools and bigger prize pools mean bigger prizes and ultimately more value for your time. However, it takes time to learn the game and this time is best spent at low buy-ins where mistakes are affordable. Beginning at low buy-ins and moving up one step at a time is the most efficient use of time and money for a beginner.
| Your financial plan: Incrementally moving up from low buy-ins to higher higher buy-ins and bigger prizes. |
This brings us to the next step; how to realize the plan. No matter what Sit N Go tournament you are playing, the risk of losing is always present and no skill in the world can prevent losses from happening. By playing correctly you will win more than you lose but there is no guarantee that your wins and losses are evenly distributed over time. Even professional players have bad streaks. In order to cope with bad streaks you need a generous poker budget. A budget that will give you the margins you need to reach higher buy-ins and bigger prize pools. This budget is known as the bankroll. To make any long term profit from poker you must manage your bankroll properly. You can play every single tournament correctly and still lose all your money if you don’t have a proper bankroll management.
Bad streaks: Extended periods of time during which you lose more than you win, even though you play in accordance with the odds.
Bankroll: Your poker budget.
Bankroll management: Bankroll management is all about maintaining a relatively safe ratio between your poker budget and the buy-ins you are playing so that you can afford to play a large number of tournaments. This increases your chances of winning more money than you lose and helps you climb to higher buy-ins where you get more value for your time. |
Sit N Go Bankroll Management
When playing sit n go tournaments you are extremely susceptible to bad streaks due to the payout structure. You can play five Sit N Go tournaments in a row without finishing in the money even once and then suddenly win three tournaments in a row. This means that sit n go tournaments require a substantial bankroll. The general consensus is that a sit n go bankroll should correspond to 50 buy-ins. This bankroll is big enough to cushion your losses and small enough to be fully utilized. You don’t want your losses to eat up a big portion of your bankroll but you don’t want a big portion of your bankroll sitting around collecting dust either. 50 buy-ins give you the perfect balance.
| Recommended sit n go bankroll: 50 buy-ins. |
This rule does not take the entry fee charged by the poker room into account. The rule only encompasses the buy-in that goes to the prize pool.
Bankroll Example
If you play $1+0.05 SitNGo tournaments you will need a bankroll of $1 x 50=$50
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The lowest sitngo buy-in you can find in most poker rooms is $1 and it is a good buy-in to start at for beginners.
Suitable buy-ins for a beginner: $1
Corresponding bankroll for $1 buy-ins: $50 |
We have already established that proper bankroll management will help you reach higher buy-ins and bigger prizes. However, it is not realistic with a continuous ascension to higher buy-ins. You will occasionally have to move down to a lower buy-in to cope with bad streaks. This brings us to the final bankroll management rule, namely when to move up to a higher or down to a lower buy-in:
Move up to a higher buy-in: As soon as your bankroll exceeds 50 times the higher buy-in.
Move down to a lower buy-in: As soon as your bankroll goes below 50 times the lower buy-in. |
Bankroll Management Example - Move Up
You are playing $1 SitNGo tournaments. The next buy-in level is $2. You should move up to the higher buy-in as soon as your bankroll exceeds 50x $2=$100.
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Bankroll Management Example - Move Down
You are playing $2 SitNGo tournaments. The lower buy-in level is $1. You should move down to the lower buy-in if and when your bankroll goes below 50x$1=$50.
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Please observe that it makes no difference to your bankroll management if you play only one tournament or several tournaments at the same time. Playing two tournaments at the same time is the same thing as playing two tournaments in a row as far as your bankroll management is concerned. Playing several tournaments at the same time does not require a bigger bankroll, it just gives you more value for your time. It goes without saying that all the tournaments you play must match the buy-in allowed by your bankroll.
Below is the bankroll road map for the initial buy-ins:
| Buy-in |
Bankroll |
| $1 |
$50 |
| $2 |
$100 |
| $5 |
$250 |
| $10 |
$500 |
| $20 |
$1000 |
| $25 |
$1250 |
| $50 |
$2500 |
We will round off this chapter with a proverb that you should carry with you at all times:
Play only the tournaments your bankroll can handle and use only a bankroll that you can handle.
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