3/18/2022

Proper Poker Bankroll Management

Proper

Another important factor for poker bankroll management is your mental game. The main problem with having a small bankroll is that any significant downswing will likely lead to tilt. The better you are at controlling tilt, the smaller your bankroll can be.

Bookmakers don’t take wagers as some kind of public service, they do it because it’s a profitable line of business. Why is it so profitable? Well, it’s ultimately because they’re the ones that get to set the odds, which allows them to effectively build in a profit margin on every wager they take in.

  1. If you're dabbling around for fun at stakes you can afford, a properly managed poker bankroll is not the most important factor in your poker lifestyle. If you answered 'obsession' or 'profession,' though, then proper bankroll management is (or should be) of the utmost priority to you.
  2. A sufficient poker bankroll is necessary to act as a cushion against variance. A bankroll is the one aspect of this crazy game of poker that we can control – which is why bankroll management is one of the most important poker skills. While it takes discipline, it’s a skill that must be learned if you are going to be successful at poker.
  3. Bankroll management ranges from taking 2% of your total bankroll (all the money you have on the different poker rooms added up) to each table you play on to taking 5% of your total bankroll to any one table. The first is called conservative bankroll management, the second is called aggressive bankroll management. 3.3%-4% is the normal norm.
  4. Poker bankroll management for cash games It is a bit easier to build concrete bankroll management strategy for cash games because the win rate is the only thing you need to take in consideration. The most common stat to measure it is EV bb/100 (how many big blinds you win per hundred hands).

The bookmakers’ advantage CAN be overcome though. Successful sports bettors are typically very knowledgeable about the sports they bet on and about all the strategy involved in betting too. They know that they have to work very hard to be successful, and they’re not afraid to put that hard work in. Best of all, they recognize the importance of managing their money correctly.

Money management is arguably the single most important skill required to be a successful sports bettor. This skill is more commonly referred to as bankroll management, and in this article we’re going to teach you all about it. We start by explaining what’s involved, and then highlight its importance by detailing the benefits it has to offer. We also look at the dangers of poor bankroll management, and offer some useful advice for managing a bankroll effectively. This advice includes details of the various staking plans that can be used.

Before we continue, we need to make one point very clear. Please don’t think that bankroll management is only important for those who are specifically trying to make a profit from their sports betting. It’s important for ALL sports bettors, regardless of whether they bet primarily for profit or primarily as a form of entertainment. Poor money management not only decreases your overall chances of making a profit, but it also increases your chances of having an unpleasant experience.

This poker bankroll calculator allows you to work out which limits you should be playing at in poker depending on how much money you have in your bankroll.

This calculator is based around the rules of basic no limit Texas Holdem bankroll management, which are:

Proper Poker Bankroll Management Online

  • You should have at least 20 times the buy in for cash games.
  • You should have at least 40 buy ins for SnG tournaments.

This bankroll calculator will tell you; which limits you should be playing at, how many buyins you have for that level, how much more money you need to win to move up to the next level and advice on how to approach the games at your limit.

The bankroll calculator.

Quick Stats
Advice

How to use the bankroll calculator.

Proper Poker Bankroll Management Spreadsheet

  1. Enter your bankroll to the nearest Dollar (no decimals).
  2. Choose your game type. (only works for NL Holdem cash games at the moment).
  3. Let the calculator know if you are a US or a Non-US player (for room recommendation reasons).
  4. Click 'Calculate'!

Make the calculator better.

If you have any comments about the calculator or would like to offer advice on how it can be improved, I would love for you to shoot me an email at greg[at]thepokerbank[dot]com. I would really appreciate any feedback that you can give to help improve the bankroll calculator.

Proper Poker Bankroll Management Calculator

Go back to the handy Texas Hold'em tools.