Bankroll Management

Well I decided I might give this blog thing another shot so I deleted all of the previous posts and am starting over. Previously I had started to make entries detailing a little experiment I had going where I deposited a few hundred bucks to play the micro stakes and see if I could work my way up the ladder building my bankroll as I go. I did very well for a while, but then I went back to my old ways of playing 1/2 NL and 2/4 NL. As you might have guessed I went broke because I only had a few buyins in my account. So this time around I'm not going to keep a session by session log, but just write about topics that have my interest at the moment.

I thought bankroll management might be a good topic for my first post since I've gone broke several times online. If you don't know what bankroll management is then let me refer you to Fox's article posted on PocketFives. I'm not going into any of the details as you can read it yourself, but basically it's considered the final word on how to not go broke (assuming you're a poker player and not a donk).

As with many things, I think this is something that a lot of people spout off about without any real thought about what Fox is saying in his article. You see posts on poker forums all the time where someone asks for advice and mentions how much is in their account and what stakes they are playing. It never fails that every other person responding to the post says to stay within your bankroll. Like that's the be all, end all of what the OP needs to do in order to improve his game. Fox is clearly stating what he believes to be proper bankroll requirements for someone who fully intends to never go broke. It's an insurance policy for those who simply can't afford to lose their playing stakes. It really doesn't apply to many of us because we're just casual players. If I deposit and win, I take it out and use it for something. If I lose, I just deposit again next time I want to play. That's just how I do things. I'm not looking to build up enough to play 50/100 NL.

So the point I want to make is that managing a bankroll properly isn't for everyone. If you're serious about online poker, then yes, please follow Fox's advice. I agree with him almost 100%. But if you're like me and just like to play every now and then, don't worry about it. If you've got an extra $50 you want to throw on your favorite site, don't think you have to play the penny blind tables. Buy in once at 50max and have some fun!