Poker Bankroll Management

What a bankroll is

A bankroll is money set aside only for poker, separate from rent, bills and savings. Its job is to let you survive bad luck so that skill has time to show. Only play with money you can afford to lose.

Why you need so many buy-ins

Poker has high variance. A winning player can lose over thousands of hands and still be playing well. Downswings of ten or more buy-ins happen to winners, so one buy-in at a time is never enough.

Tournaments have even more variance because most of the prize money goes to a few finishers. Many players cash in a small share of events and win most of their profit in a handful of results.

Common guidelines

For cash games, 20 to 30 buy-ins is a common minimum, and more conservative players keep 40 or more. For tournaments, 50 to 100 buy-ins is typical, and large-field events need more, since the chance of a long losing run is bigger.

Example: with $50 tournaments and a 100 buy-in rule you need $5,000. With $100 cash game buy-ins and a 30 buy-in rule you need $3,000. These are rules of thumb, not guarantees.

Moving up and down

Move up only when your bankroll meets the requirement for the next level, and move back down when it falls below the requirement for your current one. Moving down is not failure; it protects you from busting while the game is still tilted by variance.

Do not chase losses with bigger stakes, and keep track of your results so you know whether you are really winning. Live and online poker are gambling: if it stops being fun, or you are playing with money you need, take a break and seek help.

Questions

How many buy-ins do I need for poker?

A common guide is 20 to 30 buy-ins for cash games and 50 to 100 for tournaments. Use more if you want less risk of going broke.

What is variance in poker?

The swings in your results caused by luck. Even a winning player can lose for a long time, which is why a bankroll must cover many buy-ins.