Bankroll Management Theory

Being disciplined and playing within the proper confines of your financial situation is imperative in poker and if you’re prepared to set your egos aside you will always be able to enjoy the game.

Before we set the parameters of what constitutes proper bankroll management we need to establish a correct mindset. The most important thing to understand is that poker money is poker money and you should only play with what you can afford to lose.

Anytime you cash in your money at the table you should be comfortable with potentially losing that amount. Your poker bankroll is not the sum of your entire net worth and the contents f your bank account should not be considered part of your extended bankroll.

Any money you use for poker should be strictly portioned off from the rest of your finances and that way you’ll be able to play without fear or dependency.

Related to this is the idea that you should always look to deposit as much money as you are prepared to call you bankroll in one go. Countless players will go through an endless cycle of depositing $50 to play one game, withdrawing or busting their money, then depositing another $50 the next time they play.

Aside from losing out to the various bank charges you’ll incur, you are severely limiting your playing ability at the table because you are creating a negative mentality. By constantly making minimum deposits you are subconsciously telling yourself that you are playing to gamble and any money you win is a bonus.

You are setting yourself up to lose because all the time you’re at the table you will feel as though you are on playing on the edge and this will lead to weak play. In essence you won’t feel comfortable at the table because the psychological cushion of having extra money instantly available won’t be there.

Keeping track of your finances will also become problematic as you can’t easily see if you’re winning money or losing money and the sense of progression when you are winning will be lacking.

Withdrawals should also be considered carefully. Obviously there are going to be times when you want/ need to cash out some money but it is important to consider how much you are withdrawing and how this will impact on you future playing.

For example, you are currently grinding $25NL with a $600 bankroll and you decide that you want to treat yourself to some new clothes. You opt to cash out $300 and leave $300 in your bankroll. This is perfectly fine but because you are now no longer properly bankrolled for the $25NL games you are going to have to move back down and grind out some more cash.

If you realise this before you cash out then fine, but many players feel a sense of failure if they drop back down the levels. However I will advocate routinely rewarding yourself with some of your poker winnings.

The value of the item should obviously dependent on your bankroll but if you have a good month and win $200 then cash out $40 and buy a t-shirt or something. These little rewards will not only inspire you to keep winning but also appreciate the benefits of playing poker.

One final theory you must appreciate when thinking about your poker finances is the long run.

Each play you make at the table should be the best long term EV play and every addition or subtraction you make to your bankroll should be considered in overall terms.

It is almost 100% certain that in any given day, week, month or year your bankroll is going to go up and down and that is why you need to consider the general picture in order to properly assess your game.

The common trend for professional poker players is to consider their finances on a monthly basis; much like a regular job. Using tracking software such a Holdem Manager or your own database you should be able to see whether you are in the black or the red in a particular month.

These monthly stats can then be extrapolated across a year and so on until you have a sound overall perspective on your wins and losses. Adopting this mindset will help you see beyond any negative short term results and prevent you from chasing your losses in any given session.

If you focus on one bad day in isolation this can lead you to play irrationally but if you consider that one day as the only losing day in the month then it becomes almost inconsequential.