Proper bankroll management:

Sit and Go Bankroll management

Why do we need bankroll management? Proper bankroll management allows you to play and withstand variance. Variance is what keeps losing poker players coming back because they some times beat the consistent better players. However if you are a winning player you can consistently avoid variance. The question is, how good are you really, how can you avoid the pitfalls that most every winning poker player has faced? When I think about bankroll management there are many factors that come to mind and these are things most players try to avoid. The first question you must ask yourself is what kind of a player am I. Without this knowledge you cannot begin a quest of proper bankroll management. A few other questions you must ask are am I a winning or losing player, why am I playing, do I want to move up in limits, when should I move up in limits, what kind of edge do I have and what size and type of game do I want to play. Let's examine these factors and then determine what correct bankroll management is for you.

There are many losing players out there approximately 80% of all players playing poker lose money in the long run. That doesn't necessarily mean these are losing players. Many of these players are undisciplined, careless, and reckless and they don't know or participate in proper bankroll management. So are you a winning player or losing player? If there is no game that you can consistently beat the rake at then you are a losing player. Sorry, no matter what you do you won't win money over time until you get better. My advice for you is have fun, play as low as you can humanly stand and you will lose as little as possible. For everyone else let's continue.

What games can you win at? So, when you play, do you stick to only the games you are a winner at? If you play games that you are currently a losing player at then you need to set aside a budget above your bankroll to play those games to become a winning player at them as well.

What size game do you play? Each offers a different set of guidelines. For example Heads up players are going to win their game more often than any other game but variance is huge because even the best heads up players are only winning at a rate of just over 1.5 to 1. That means the best players still lose a lot. Sometimes they lose in huge stretches due to variance. If you play turbos you need a bigger bankroll than non turbos. Luck is more of a factor.

Let's look at some numbers and safe guidelines for sit and goes. If you are better than the average winning player then you are going to need less of a bankroll and if you are worse then the average winning player you are going to need more. Determine your average return on investment. Let's make some assumptions you are an average winning player with an approximately 10% return on investment and you play non turbos. For every $1.00 you invest you get $1.10 back over time. You will need to withstand variance with proper bankroll management and to do so based on the size of game you play you will need to have the amount of buy-ins below to have little chance of going broke:

Size sit and go
Buy-ins
Make Money

Heads up
45
50.00%

6 person
50
33.00%

1 table 9-10
50
30.00%

2 table 18-20
50
20.00%

3 table - 27 -30
60
16.66%

5 table - 45
75
15.55%

10 table - 90
100
10.00%

20 table -180
125
10.00%

Now if you are ok with perhaps going broke go ahead and take a shot with a lesser bankroll. You may get lucky like I did when I started my current bankroll. When you move up in limits use these guidelines. Now that you know proper bankroll management you must have the discipline to control your tilt. The number one killer of bankrolls is someone moving up in limits after being on a huge down swing due to variance. Control your urge; if you must play then play at penny stakes, what you should do is just walk away. This game is about numbers but life is about mindset. Your life changes as your mindset changes and if you are pissed off at the world I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the cards are not going to fall in your favor. There are many ways to explain this phenomenon but many of great players have lost their bankrolls because they didn't change their internal dialogue. Walk away and you will be better off. Good luck and I hope to see you at the tables.