Things it took me a while to learn part 4, Bankroll management

[Bond18]

If there’s only one thing I could teach or imprint upon another poker player it’s how important bankroll management is. There are a ton of talented poker players who are extremely capable in the games they play, but due to poor bankroll management stay stuck around broke for years.

What seems to be the standard rule for MTT bankroll management is as follows: Always have at least 100 times your average buy in. I say average buy in because this allows for a player to ‘take shots’ without over extending.

As far as the maximum amount of your roll you should put on one event, that mostly comes down to your preference, but I personally (and these days I’m a pretty big BR nit) can’t imagine putting down much more than 5% of my roll on one event.

The largest problem with playing outside of your bankroll is that for most players it tends to force up emotional involvement. Building a bankroll and then blowing it due to mismanagement is mentally crippling to almost everyone and often results in going even higher and faster.

I encourage people to not try to move up to fast and when they do to do so in moderation. Creating a bankroll so big that the stakes you play makes it nearly impossible to busto but gives you room to take a shot now and then is truly the ideal.

As always, if anyone has a question or needs me to elaborate, just ask.

[Rocco]

Short and simple... I think bankroll management is just as easy if you can control yourself. I want to emphasize on the importance of 'taking shots' since it's a must-do in a tournament player's evolution. The 5% rule sounds like a good one to stick to.

[BarryLyndon]

Bond,

Two years ago I sucked at poker and took wild shots and won 1.8K at a live tournament in NYC only hours after cursing out a train conductor for calling me a liar (I told him I didn't know the train fee was $11, I had $10 on me). I ran the sickest streak ever that night - everytime there was a push, I had the nuts. I then ran it up to 3.2K playing limit. I then lost it all one night with a fever playing NL400 and NL1000.

Now I'm grinding and I'm getting pretty good (IMO). My BR has been quite consistent with what you said. But, it's a grind. I have never hit such a heater as I did that night in NYC. Is Karma slapping me around - a hefty reward for what was ultimately violent immaturity coupled with a slow grind now that I'm more mature.

In terms of Bankroll management, what can I do to get a sick heater?

Barry

[auc hincloss]

Completely agree with this post, as my online (and live) BR fluctuate with such swings i find myself occasional going busto, and struggle to rebuild. At the moment im doing ok, and building steadily, but is there any posts/ links/ threads whatev's on how to build a bankroll effectively?

[Dunkman]

I just want to say that I miss the days of never ending bonuses and casino whoring. It was impossible to go broke then.

[Rocco]

[ QUOTE ]

In terms of Bankroll management, what can I do to get a sick heater?

[/ QUOTE ]

You have such good understandings of the game and I'm sure your next big score is just around the corner. Honestly, I'm surprised you only have that one time big score under your belt? Or is it that you just don't practice what you preach?

[AudioPhile84]

I am very guilty of poor BR management. Last night I had a bad run on cards playing limit so I played a 6max SNG that was about 20% of my BR, won that, and then won two more heads-up matches that were around 15% on my BR. Luckly I won and booked a decent profit for the night but I know that it could have turned ugly quick and I could be re-buying today. The problem I need to adjust (and I suspect a lot of people do) is the feeling that playing at lower stakes is boring, or a waste of time. I know all the BR management principles but sometimes it's hard to stick to them.

[Pokerfarian]

What someone would consider a "bankroll" is also different from person to person...some people have a good job, play poker mainly for fun & could reload easily, pros obviously different. Also some people might have a bankroll of X but just might not be able to face losing more than 0.5X...etc. That's one of the problems with trying to address this issue.

[ZenMusician]

[ QUOTE ]
I am very guilty of poor BR management.

[/ QUOTE ]

If I wasn't employed, I'd be out of the game a long time
ago! Good post! The other big important thing often
ignored is game selection. I'm not a super player, but
I am if I sit amongst weak spots!

-ZEN

[BarryLyndon]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

In terms of Bankroll management, what can I do to get a sick heater?

[/ QUOTE ]

You have such good understandings of the game and I'm sure your next big score is just around the corner. Honestly, I'm surprised you only have that one time big score under your belt? Or is it that you just don't practice what you preach?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I can answer that, publicly, since it may provide some insight (doubt it)?:

Well, Rocco, back last year, I basically only played cash games, for the wrong reasons, without thinking at all about the game. I had one "big score" when I luckboxed in a tourney. You could play this game for 20 years based on emotion and "competitive spirit" as opposed to logic/match and not make a buck. You could find yourself 3-betting in all the wrong spots for a year if you are so inclined.

I only started playing tournaments and actually posting/reading in SSMTT about February of this year. A couple of months I made a lot of really brash plays - I think experimentation is important to an extent. I probably lost like 10 to 15 buy ins just making "moves" on my gut rather than on hand ranges. You know what? That's fine because it weathers you a little. You become a little hardened, which is very important in late game.

I play Part-time and have like 200 tournaments and 300 SNGs (mostly 6 max) under my belt since then. Maybe the biggest problem is that I don't play enough. I also think I learn slow, but I say this with as little ego as possible, I learn well.

By the way, guys, my BIGGEST problem was bankroll management and wanting to move up where play is "respectable." Seriously - stay down and learn and be comfortable with your roll. I promised myself that if I could build from $50 in March and make a nice score, I would do nothing but play $10 SNGs and small tournaments until I built my roll. In finished 5th in a FTP $75, which took me to about 1K. Now, many players will say "well, if I can win that, I should just start playing $50s and compete against thinking players" Well, you're [censored] wrong. You lose four $50s due to variance and/or bad play, and you just lost 20% of your stack, and it stings like a bitch. Wouldn't you rather break even in 4 $10s and learn that your push with KJo from UTG is NOT going to work? Yes, please, after two years of BR management hell, I would, anytime. In the past, I'd play NL400 with $800 and cripple myself. Or $20 SNGs at 200. Without reading or writing considered posts. This time, I took the alternative route. But I still gripe like a beast [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] - to each his own.

By the way, why do I speak of 6-max SNGs so much? Here's what I think. It's because you will be FORCED to make more than 1 decision for your life during a 45 minute period. You will learn that at a 1500 stack, you HAVE to have a structured plan. You will be in a perennial blind war after the first half an hour. You will constantly be under some kind of heat, which can only make you saltier and wiser. If anything, you will stop posting stuff like "What do I do with AK here?" or "I have 88 on the bubble, what do I do?" Preflop plays start to become automatic, and you will see that those automatic plays are just the tip of the iceberg. Maybe most importantly, you will eventually gather that being short stacked with ~900 at 40/80 does not necessarily mean the tournament is over for you. Even when deeper, good plays have to be made (you could lose a ton in SNGs if you don't make good short stacked decisions and just start WTF pushing or making awkward raises and folding). Because I have a suspicion that this mentality. a achilles heel for a lot of otherwise good players. I know I've been in that boat for months - talk about not practicing what you preach).

18-max SNGs can also be quite nice. I don't play them as much, but the bottom line is this: at the 9 max final tables, the blinds are going to be tough and you are going to have to make precise push bot decisions from all sorts of positions. Also, 1st prize is usually quite nice (on FTP, 20/18 pays $144 for first and the competition is usually very soft, about 1 15 min of your time).

I feel like I've become better over the past month or so by playing a lot of HU100 (FTP - they should have HU50, wish they did) at 50BB. OK, so what does this do? Well, one, it can make you money because you play against flop donks. Two, you are forced to blind battle every step of the way. Three, you are forced to a decision on every street. You learn not to be too loose in the BB (Hamnegger - sorry for calling you out [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]), how to small ball, how to commit your opponents, how to make quick adjusments, and so forth. You also get closer to the mind of the donk rather than having to watch as a 3rd party while he dukes it out with minbets against his buddy.

I'd say that I started "practicing what I preached" in like June of this year. That's why I have become a better poster. But it all starts with bankroll and finding good learning forums - 6 max SNGs are the great if you want to be forced to make a lot of decisions. HU is great for learning blind battles, especially if you can find a 50BB donk. And, of course, playing tournaments within your BR limits is key because that's how I feel I've developed a better attitude, which I think, when push comes to shove, is the #1 most dangerous weapon for any player to have.

Of course, you have to play tournaments more than SNGs, which may be my pitfall. But the bottom line is that in terms of a pyschological perspective (BR wise), I've finally stopped concentrating, I think, on making "big moves" and "competing" and so on and just decided to try to make good decisions. If I fall into that category of "better poster than player," well that sucks. But my plays are merging very close to my posts [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. And that can't be bad.


Barry