Poker Articles

Looking at Bankrolls in Poker - Part 2

Carrying on then from part one and in this section I want to discuss if you even need a bankroll at all in NLHE cash games? Well this basically depends on one very important factor and this is that if you intend to play poker with money that you cannot replace should you lose it. Many people the world over have not got a large amount of money to throw at being a poker player.

Let us look at an average Joe who could find maybe $500 to kick start their online poker career. We have already discussed optimal levels for bankroll sizes in part one but if Joe wanted to give himself the best chance possible with that $500 then not only would he need to have s strict bankroll management philosophy in place but he would also in all likelihood need to reduce his levels in the event of taking initial losses.

So to give himself enough time to learn more about the game without blowing out and to feel himself into the game gradually without losing his money then Joe absolutely needs a bankroll. However millions of players the world over get by without using them……how can this be? Well it may be that they have additional extra external income that they can pump into the game; it could mean that they have financial backers; it could also mean that they are sponsored or play tournament poker or whatever.

However you simply cannot just keep on pumping huge volumes of money into the game without at least keeping track of your profit and loss. This is why it is vital for all poker players whatever their philosophy towards bankrolls to keep accurate records of all their playing sessions and how many times they lost, won, what time of day they played, how many tables, what site, what stakes and so on.

Keeping accurate records will help you to improve as a poker player. However I still think that all players irrespective of their philosophy towards bankrolls and irrespective of just how much external money they have behind them would do well to have a bankroll. Managing your money in a key skill of being a poker player and the amassing of money and the keeping of money and the further investing of that money leads to exponential future growth from current poker earnings. In the third and final part of this series then I will discuss the use of fluctuating bankrolls and what that entails.

Editor's note: Carl “The Dean” Sampson plays poker at www.pokerstars.co.uk

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