Poker Tips – Managing Your Bankroll
One common mistake that intermediate level poker players make is to move up the ranks too quickly. A common progression path is to start out in the freerolls / play money rooms, and then move up to microstakes tables, staying there only for a short time before making the leap to higher stakes rooms.
Sadly, the stay in the “big boys’” rooms doesn’t usually last long. Even if the player has the skills to support their time there, they go in far too early, and lack the bankroll to survive.
If you’re winning in the microstakes rooms, even if you’re suffering from the occasional bad beat due to the unpredictability of lesser-skilled players, stay there and build up a bankroll that’s a couple of hundred times the size of the blinds in the next room up. Resist the urge to move on to the bigger rooms until you have that bankroll. If you’re playing no-limit poker, you’ll need a bigger bankroll than you would for limit rooms.
The reason for this is simple – a couple of bad beats in a low stakes room won’t do you any harm. You can just keep playing and earn back what you lost. If you only have enough to support a few dozen hands at the higher stakes table, then you’ll be bullied out of the action in no time if you show weakness.
Don’t rush to move up just because you want the chance at bigger wins – doing so puts you at the wrong end of the risk/reward equation. Don’t move up because you want the prestige of the bigger tables, either. If you’re playing poker for the profits, treat it like a business, and make the moves that show good business sense.