Online Poker Bankroll Building Strategy
For the casual online poker player seeking little more than the social simulation of a card game to help unwind after a stressful week at work, poker bankroll building makes about as much sense as a morning coffee-on-the-way-to-work bankroll. Such players barely notice the few bucks they blow over the weekend while they chat with new friends.
However, for those who hope to successfully turn a profit competing in a game of intermingled skill and luck, a poker bankroll-building strategy is of the utmost importance.
What is a Bankroll Strategy?
A poker bankroll-building strategy is money a poker player has set aside from all of their other money to gamble responsibly, with minimal risk. If more money is won than is lost in poker games, the bankroll grows. With patience and self-control, it is possible to poker bankroll building to building up a bankroll from any amount you are
willing to invest, with no cap on how large it can climb. Online poker games provide the perfect arena for building your bankroll, with softer competition and minimal risk. There are several crucial practices that, when diligently observed, will result in an ever-expanding bankroll.
Slow and Steady
It can seem very tempting to jump into the biggest No Limit Texas Hold’em game you can afford; however, unless you just get lucky, you will only be able to play a few hands before you bust on the blinds. The key to getting your bankroll off the ground is to ensure that your chips will last through as many hands as possible over the course of at least ten games. This will ensure that you never blow your entire bankroll in a single session.
How Much Do I Need?
How much do you need to deposit in order to provide a useful foundation to your bankroll? To determine this, start with the low-limit Holdem stakes, usually $0.01/$0.02. You should buy into the game with enough to call or post the big blind at least 100 times if you are going to play a tight game, but 300 times the big blind will give you plenty of room for variance.
That means bringing at least $6 to each $0.01/$0.02 limit Hold’em table for ten games, so $20 to $60 is a good estimate depending on your variance. For a very tight, solid player, an even smaller amount is feasible.
Pay Attention to Variance
Pay attention to the variance in your game, and adjust your buy-in calculations accordingly to ensure that you always have enough chips to suit your playing style. Once you have doubled your original investment, it is time to move up to the next blind/buy-in level. In this way, you can work your way up through the micro-stakes limit Hold’em games as your bankroll increases to the small stakes.
For no-limit and pot-limit games, 400 times the big blind is generally a safe, conservative amount to bring to the table. If you are a particularly loose player, 500 or 600 times the big blind should help keep you in the game for quite a while to look for that big score.
Additional Poker Bankroll Building Advice
Table Selection
Other factors, such as table selection and recognizing tilt, can play key roles in the successful growth of a poker bankroll. Paying attention to these matters will boost your performance and significantly improve your results. Poker bankroll building should be thought of as a step in your poker career.
Many online poker rooms allow you to view statistics about each table from the lobby, giving you important information about the experience of the players seated in the game, as well as the average pot size and current chip counts. Use this information to find tables of soft competition with players who rarely fold before the flop.
Avoiding Tilt
Another issue that affects all poker players to some degree is tilt. Tilt is when a poker player is overcome with frustration or anger, which leads to faulty decision-making in the course of gameplay. Recognizing tilt in other players can pose a huge advantage to yourself, and, conversely, failing to realize that you are tilting can bring a devastating blow to your bankroll. There are several methods for avoiding tilt, such as accepting the fact that bad beats happen to everyone now and then. If you notice that you are becoming frustrated or deviating from your normal logic in order to just win one more pot, the best thing to do is leave the game and go for a walk to clear your head.
Keep Your Head Up
Finally, don’t become discouraged if you hit a downswing. Even the best professional poker players suffer rough patches of consistently bad cards; especially the loose, aggressive players. Take a break for a while, try playing a tighter game, or drop down to micro-stakes until the next upswing. Remember to have fun and take a break if you start feeling stressed.