Bankroll Management

Bankroll management is the key to being a consistent winner at poker. Even highly skilled players with weak bankroll skills will likely lose money in the long run. If you have solid poker skills and good bankroll management, you will find yourself winning consistently at online poker.

The first key is to never play with more money than your comfortable playing with. If you're broke, in debt, and have bills to pay, you shouldn't be wagering all your money at online poker. However, the opposite is also true. If you have $300 in your poker account, and are playing one cent/two cent blinds, it will be hard to take the game seriously. Since you're wagering and winning so little money, you often play looser than you should.

Limit Hold'em

To keep it simple, here are a few rules you should follow regarding your bankroll management. If you're playing at limit cash tables, you should always have between 200 and 300 big blinds for your total bankroll. So, if you are playing $2/$4 Limit Hold'em, you should have between $800 in $1200 in your account. Although this may seem high, it will prevent you from blowing your entire bankroll in one session. As you play more poker and become more of an advanced player, you will be able to move up limits without having the entire 200 to 300 big blinds.

No Limit Hold'em

If you play a no limit game, then you should follow a different rule. Since games like No Limit Hold'em have bigger swings then limit games, you should keep around 25 buy ins for the level you're playing at in your bankroll. So, if you're playing $1/$2 No Limit Hold’em, you should have a bankroll of roughly $5,000. Although this may seem like a lot of money, it will ensure that you do not go broke to a bad run of cards.

SNG's

Now, if you're playing sit and goes it's a different story. Since in the sit and go you can only lose what the initial buy-in is, you will have fewer swings than at a cash table. A good rule of thumb is to always have 10 times the buy-in of the sit and go you're playing. Even though you should be okay with 10, it's even better to have 20 or more, so you can survive any bad runs.

MTT's

With multi-table tournaments there is another rule you can follow. Since multi-table tournaments have more variation, you should keep at least 50 buy-ins in your bankroll. Some players even recommend a hundred. The reason for this is that it's much harder to win consistently at multi-table tournaments that it is at cash tables or sit and go tournaments.

Although you will get your occasional big win, you need to make sure your bankroll is big enough to sustain any bad runs. If you follow the rules outlined in this guide, it will ensure that you do not go broke to a bad swing. By playing with solid poker tactics and good bankroll management, you will find yourself a consistent winner. Good luck!