Poker is a game where you have to endure a lot of setbacks. Mentally, you must be able to withstand the downswings, but the money you possess also needs to be resilient. In short, your bankroll management must be in order. The stakes you play shouldn’t be so high that you could lose all your money in one session.
If the stakes are too low, it can feel like a waste of time. But what exactly is good bankroll management? Is there a difference between tournaments and cash games, and between live and online play? How can you ensure that you have the discipline to step back to lower stakes when needed, and when can you confidently move up in stakes? In this blog, we will answer all these questions.
Good bankroll management in poker
Poker has rapidly evolved over the past few decades due to the rise of numerous study platforms, streamers, GTO programs, and tracking software. This has made information about poker increasingly accessible to a broader audience. As a result, more players have improved their skills, making it significantly harder to make a living playing poker compared to 15 or 20 years ago.
Consequently, at any stakes, the edges of better players over their weaker competitors have diminished, and smaller edges mean more variance. For your bankroll management, this means you need to be much more conservative than before. In other words, you should invest a smaller percentage of your total bankroll per tournament or cash session.
Where 15 years ago, it was common to use 100x buy-in per tournament for online MTTs—meaning 1% of your bankroll—that is no longer considered sufficient to handle the swings. Nowadays, the rule of thumb is to have between 150 to 300x buy-in on hand, depending on the stakes.
Bankroll is an investment
One of the most important things to remember when managing your bankroll seriously is to treat it as a long-term investment. Separate this money from your living expenses and, in a sense, say goodbye to it. Just like investing in stocks or cryptocurrencies, investing in poker is something for the future. How far away that future is depends on the long-term goals or dream goals you set, but for now, let’s assume a timeframe of 5 to 10 years.
Differences in bankroll management for online & offline poker
Different game variants have different bankroll management rules. For simplicity, let’s focus on NL Hold’em cash games and MTTs. For online cash games, it is recommended to maintain between 80 and 100 buy-ins. So, if you’re playing €200NL, €1/€2, your recommended bankroll would be €20,000.
For MTTs, as mentioned, it’s advised to have a bankroll of at least 150 to 300 buy-ins. If you’re playing €10 tournaments, you would need a bankroll of €1,500 to €3,000.
Because online games do not have to hire dealers, bar staff, or physical locations, they can afford to offer micro-stakes starting from €0.01/€0.02 without incurring losses. This allows people with smaller bankrolls to participate and grow their bankrolls. In live poker, however, the aforementioned costs come into play, making it impossible for casinos to offer very low stakes.
Since not every poker player has a bankroll large enough to handle live buy-ins, the term “live budget” is often used instead of “bankroll.” This allows you to play enjoyable tournaments live without going broke. A budget is a predetermined amount of money that you set aside, which is separate from your bankroll. The challenge with a budget is having the discipline to stick to it and not exceed it. How to do that is discussed below.
Building discipline to stick to your bankroll: use very specific goals
Discipline is an important aspect in all areas of poker, but especially in your bankroll management. Discipline is a mental skill that you can train and improve. One way to do get disciplined in your bankroll management is by setting and writing down the right goals.
Determine when you will decide to move up or down in stakes. Write down an exact amount for when you will move up and an exact amount for when you will move down.
If I reach amount X, then I will move up/back to stack Y. This is called an implementation intention or if, then goal.
Also, do this in advance for the next stakes so you have a clear path to follow. Hang these goals in a prominent place so you are frequently reminded of them. Each time you see these amounts and goals, you will reflect on yourself and your behavior. This way, you create more motivation and reduce impulsive behavior, allowing you to stick better to your pre-established plan.
Writing a visualisation script can also be a great way to practice your discipline. What you do is seeing yourself taking the measures to move down in stakes. So if we put that to online it is playing this scenario like a movie where you realise your BR is not sufficient anymore for the stakes you play and you go to limits and select the right parameters. Doing it this was increases the likelihood of you actually performing the act when it happens because you will be better prepared mentally.
Discipline strategies
Also, do this in advance for the next stakes so you have a clear path to follow. Hang these goals in a prominent place so you are frequently reminded of them. Each time you see these amounts and goals, you will reflect on yourself and your behavior. This way, you create more motivation and reduce impulsive behavior, allowing you to stick better to your pre-established plan.
Writing a visualisation script can also be a great way to practice your discipline. What you do is seeing yourself taking the measures to move down in stakes.
So if we put that to online it is playing this scenario like a movie where you realise your BR is not sufficient anymore for the stakes you play and you go to limits and select the right parameters. Doing it this was increases the likelihood of you actually performing the act when it happens because you will be better prepared mentally.
Conclusion bankroll management
Bankroll management is highly dependent on the type of game you play as a poker player, whether you play live or online, and what kind of player you are. The most important thing to remember is to make well-considered choices when deciding on a particular variant and stake, and to be able to pull the brakes in time and move down to a lower limit. Additionally, setting concrete goals greatly aids in creating and maintaining motivation and helps in developing discipline!
