The Bankroll
Using your earn rate and standard deviation, StatKing can calculate how much
bankroll you would need to ensure never going broke and how many hours you
would need to play to at least break even. For a player who earns $40 an hour
playing $20-$40 with a standard deviation of $500, you could play up to 1400 hours
and only break even. You would need about $14,000 to ensure never going broke.
If you play $10-$20 with an earn rate of $20 an hour, you would need $7,000 and
still 1400 hours to ensure you break even. At $5-$10 you will need $3500, and so
forth.
Many players often ask how much money they need to play at a given limit. A good
player who earns one big bet an hour needs about 350 times the big bet to ensure
never going broke; however, most players need more since their earn rate is less.
If you are slightly more aggressive with your money, you can play at limits higher
than your bankroll dictates; however, you just need to be sure to drop down a limit if
things begin to turn bad. For example, let's say you have $1600 to play with. If you
don't want to go broke, you should just play $2-$4. However, another strategy could
be to play $3-$6, and if your bankroll drops to $1200, switch to $2-$4 and then if
your bankroll drops to $800, switch to $l-$2.
People are different when it comes to managing their bankroll. Some players may
want to "gamble" a little with their money. If you don't mind going broke, then you
can take more chances. But if you want to play poker for the years to come, you
must ensure that you manage your bankroll effectively.
NEXT...
A Sample Bankroll Strategy
