What Is a Bankroll?
A bankroll is money set aside exclusively for playing poker — separate from your everyday living expenses. It is your investment capital. You should never play with money needed for rent, food, or bills. A bankroll is money you can lose without affecting your life.
Why Is Bankroll Management Crucial?
Even the best players go through long losing streaks (downswings). Variance in poker is enormous. Bankroll management protects you from going broke during a bad run and lets you survive until results even out.
Without proper bankroll management, even a winning player can go bankrupt. This is not a question of skill — it is a question of mathematics and probability.
Bankroll Management Rules
The basic rules differ by format:
- Cash games — minimum 20-30 buy-ins for your level. At $1/$2 (buy-in $200) you need $4,000-$6,000.
- Tournaments (MTT) — minimum 50-100 buy-ins. Tournaments have huge variance because you win rarely but win big. At a $10 buy-in you need $500-$1,000.
- Sit and Go — minimum 30-50 buy-ins. Less variance than MTTs but more than cash games.
When to Move Up or Down in Stakes
- Move up when you have 30+ buy-ins for the new level AND a solid win rate at your current level (minimum 50,000 hands in cash or 200+ tournaments).
- Move down when your bankroll drops below 20 buy-ins for your current level. Do not hesitate — this is not failure, it is risk management.
Moving down in stakes is one of the hardest decisions for a player, but also one of the most important. Ego destroys bankrolls faster than bad beats.
Common Mistakes
- Playing too high after a win — you win a $500 tournament and immediately sit at a $2/$5 cash game. That is a fast way to give back your winnings.
- No separate bankroll — mixing living money with poker money. This is a fundamental mistake.
- Ignoring a downswing — losing 10 buy-ins and continuing at the same level because you think you will bounce back.
- Playing with money you must win — if you MUST win to pay bills, you should not be playing at all.
Bankroll and Responsible Play
Good bankroll management is not just strategy — it is protection against gambling problems. If you cannot afford a bankroll at a given level, do not play at that level. If you cannot afford any bankroll at all, do not play for money. Poker should be education and entertainment, never a source of financial stress.