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Poker Bankroll Management

The following principle is key to becoming a successful poker player. Without the proper money management skills, the best players in the world would go broke. For all you skim-readers, here are the basic rules of bankroll management for Texas Hold’em.

Bankroll management is where you play at certain limits to avoid losing all of your bankroll due to bad runs of cards, which any poker player must expect from time to time. This is called ‘playing within your bankroll’. Subsequently, if you play at higher limits where there is too great a chance of losing all of your poker money, you are ‘playing out of your bankroll’.

The reason why you should choose your limits carefully in poker is due to the variance. Variance is a term used to describe the ‘ups and downs’ of poker where you fluctuate from having bad runs of cards to good runs of cards, resulting in varying profits and losses. If you play poker for long enough there are going to be periods of time where you will consistently lose money, not because you are playing badly, but because the cards are not falling your way. This means that if you do not have enough money in your bankroll to absorb these downswings, it is likely that you will lose it all.

What’s your poker bankroll?
Your poker bankroll is the total amount of money you’ve set aside for playing poker. If doesn’t matter if you have $500 spread across 3 poker rooms or $500 in one room, you always have to look at it as a whole. The bankroll must be managed on a daily basis as it will help you find out at what stakes you can play without risking to lose too much money.

Basic rules of bankroll management
For No Limit or Pot Limit cash games, your bankroll should be 20 times the full buy-in of the table you want to sit at. So if you want to have the best opportunity of making money at a 25c/50c table where the maximum buy-in is $50, you should have a bankroll of minimum $1000. You can also apply bankroll management by only putting 5% of your bankroll on the table at any given time, which matches the 20 times full buy-in rule.

For tournament games, the best method for bankroll management is 40 buy-ins for the table you wish to play at. So if you want to play at a $5+$0.5 Sit&Go, you should have a bankroll of $220.

NL Holdem			Limit Holdem			Sit&Go’s
Blinds	Bankroll		Blinds	Bankroll		Stakes	Bankroll
5c/10c	$200		5c/10c	$30		$1+$0.1	$44
10c/20c	$400		10c/20c	$60		$2+$0.2	$88
25c/50c	$1,000		25c/50c	$150		$5+$0.5	$220
$0.5/$1	$2,000		$0.5/$1	$300		$10+$1	$440
$1/$2	$4,000		$1/$2	$600		$20+$2	$880
$2/$4	$8,000		$2/$4	$1,200		$30+$3	$1,320
$5/$10	$20,000		$5/$10	$3,000		$50+$5	$2,200
$10$/20	$40,000		$10$/20	$6,000		$100+$10	$4,400
$25/$50	$100,000		$25/$50	$15,000		$200+$20	$8,800
$50/$100	$200,000		$50/$100	$30,000		$500+$50	$22,000

Conservative vs. agressive bankroll management
The basic rules above should give you the best chances of making money playing poker, but depending on your style of play, there are two other bankroll management methods that can work effectively.

• The conservative bankroll method – 40 cash games and 80 tournament buy-ins
  This is for long-term players who want to avoid variance and intend to make a living playing poker. A deep bankroll will help you withstand downswings.
• The Aggressive bankroll – 10 cash games and 20 tournament buy-ins
  If you want to move up quick and see instant results, the aggressive poker bankroll method is for you. However, you have to understand you’ll run into variance and you should be ready to drop down in stakes when you lose a few buy-ins because losses will have more impact on your bankroll.

Dropping down and moving up in stakes
As I said earlier, variance will always come into play in poker and there will be days where you’ll have good runs of cards and bad runs of cards. So your bankroll will alternatively be too small or too big for the stakes you’re playing at. Keep in mind that if your bankroll drops below the 20 buy-ins limit, you should also drop down a level to continue playing within your bankroll. Then, when your bankroll gets larger, you can switch back to the next level. Also, if your bankroll allows you to comfortably play at the next limit up, then you can move up to that limit.

Sometimes you might be tempted to move up a level just to test your skills and to see if you can beat a more competitive game. Taking a shot is doable as long as you continue to manage your bankroll wisely and you don’t get carried away by the big wins you get at higher levels. When taking a shot at the next level up, you should not buy in for the maximum amount so you won’t be putting too much of your bankroll into the game. Stick with the 5% rule and you should not run the risk of going broke.

Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Poker Strategy 

Sit and Go Poker Strategy

A Sit and Go (or SNG) is a single table poker tournament which starts when enough players join the game. SNG tournaments are extremely popular online as they are one of the best ways to build your bankroll and win entries to major poker tournaments. In 2003 and 2004, both WSOP winners earned their entrance through satellite tournaments at PokerStars. Other rooms like Titan Poker also offer nice SNG tournaments such as the Jackpot Sit and Gos. This article will teach you the basics of Sit and Go strategy by exploring the different stages of a single table tournament.

Early Stages
At the early stages of a SNG tournament when the blinds are small and the stacks are deep, you should play tight and solid poker. Tight play is better at the beginning because at middle stages and bubble play, the dynamic known as ‘fold equity’ comes into play. When the blinds increase, having the ability to force your opponents to fold is essential, so it’s very important to keep enough chips for the later stages. You should generally limp in with nothing less than small or medium pairs and bet strongly if the flop gives you a good set. Also, you should not slow play premium hands because other players will try to outplay you. Play tight, catch the fish when they call you with their weak hands and bet your premium hands aggressively.

Middle Stages
At the middle stages when the blinds increase and the number of players starts to drop, there will be lots of blind stealing, raises and re-raises. The remaining players should now consider you as a tight player and they will respect your bets, so it’s time to change gears and play more aggressively. There should be one or two small stacks below you, so put pressure on them to force them to fold. However, don’t play like a maniac against the short stacks. Try to bust them out, but only with your best hands. You should of course avoid confronting the bigger stacks unless you have a premium starting hand, but you should have enough chips to make strong bets both preflop and on the flop to get your opponents to fold and win a hand without a showdown.

At the early stages, you gave an image of a tight player who folds under pressure and gives away blinds without a fight. Now you can trap your opponents by playing two big cards or strong pairs even more aggressively but avoid drawing hands unless you can limp in as the small or big blind.

If you took bad beats during the early stages and you are short stacked, you should play more loosely against the smaller stacks and not hesitate to shove your chips with any decent hand. You will need some luck to get back into the game, but if you keep folding you’re not pushing your luck so play your hands aggressively.

In The Money
In a SNG tournament, there are usually 3 paying places, so when your reach this stage, you can relax a bit because you should have at least doubled the buy-in amount. When you sense weakness in your opponents’ game, you should be extremely aggressive. Just raise or fold. Put the pressure on limpers with strong raises unless you think they are slow playing premium hands. If you are the chip leader or close second, do not let the third player keep his big blinds. If he’s your typical SNG player, he will probably avoid confrontation and wait for a huge hand, hoping that the two top stacks fight each other and allow him to finish second by default.

When you get heads up, play loose aggressive and raise like there was no tomorrow. Don’t hesitate to go all in with any big pair, King or Ace and raise with a Queen high or Jack high. Trap your opponent with your premium hands and you should be set for a huge payday.

Evaluation
To sum it up, while you will still run into variance from time to time and endure your share of bad beats, this basic Sit and Go strategy should help you regularly finish in the paying places and make a good profit.

Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Poker Strategy 

How to Bluff in Poker

Bluffing in Texas Hold’em poker is the ultimate deception, and is what separates the amateur players from the true pros. Taking down a pot that your opponent should have won is a great feeling. However, you should keep in mind that even if most new players say that bluffing is key to winning at Texas Holdem poker, it’s actually not true. You can be a winner without ever bluffing, but the fact that poker is a game of incomplete information makes it possible to win just by getting you opponents believe that you have the best hand when you don’t. Here are the 10 best bluffing tips that will help you become a master bluffer.

Tip #1: Don’t be scared
Don’t be afraid to bluff when you play live poker because it’s going to show. The art of Texas Hold’em is reading your opponents, and if you aren’t confident enough when throwing out chips on a bluff, there are good chances that you’ll be called out. When you’re trying to bluff, you should look as normal as you do on any situation. Of course, this tip doesn’t apply when you play online since you don’t have to put on your poker face.

Tip #2: Scare your opponents
If you want to bluff, don’t do it passively. If you throw a small bet at a big pot, you will not make other players fold a decent hand. You have to bet agressively, but not so agressively that you will be stuck committing more than you wish to fold away.

Tip #3: Your should bluff after the flop
While it’s possible to bluff pre-flop, most Texas Hold’em players with a good hand won’t likely fold before they see the flop. Only huge pre-flop raises will make your opponents fold a good hand, and if you compete against premium hands like aces or kings, they will probably go all-in against you. However, after the flop comes out, even aces can be kicked out of the pot if the board pops up nasty, which brings us to the next tip.

Tip #4: Analyze the flop and bet accordingly
If the flop doesn’t look too good for premium hands (6-7-8 for instance, or three cards of the same suit), bet like there was no tomorrow. If your opponents call you, they probably have a piece of the draw, but if they have a high pair, or KQ without the flop connecting with their cards, they will likely be scared. Flush and straight draws are the worst enemies of AA’s, so you should turn that into your advantage.

Tip #5: Don’t let pride blow your bankroll
If you throw your chips at a pot twice and keep getting called or raised, never hesitate to fold your hand if you feel your opponents aren’t going to lay down their cards. To bluff successfully, you must learn to read your opponent. If he’s staying in the hand, swallow your pride and get out of the hand before you give away too many chips. I know it’s hard to do, but this will keep you away from trouble.

Tip #6: Give yourself a loose image
If you continually try to bluff your opponents and get caught from time to time, they will try to catch you and make loose calls against you, which will give you a big advantage. In No Limit Texas Hold’em, loose calls can be very profitable if you really do have a premium hand. If you get a loose and agressive player image, your opponents will overplay their weak hands when you bet you will win a lot of chips in the process. Also, people hate to be deceived out of their money, so if you make a successful bluff and show them your hand, they might become so frustrated that they will play weak hands in an attempt to win their money back. That’s what called putting other players on tilt.

Tip #7: Use table position to your advantage
You should always take into account your table position when bluffing. If you’re in early position, you have much less chance of pulling a successful bluff than if you’re on the button or close to it. If you’re in late position, you’ll have more information about what’s going on. You should be ready to fold if there is a bet and a call, but ff you’re seated early in the hand, you can check and see how your opponent act in the hand. If the player on the button bets out after many checks, try to raise them as they are likely trying to steal the pot.

Tip #8: Bluff at least with a draw
Bluffing with nothing is doable, but don’t expect to win if your bluff gets called. The best plays you can make are the ones where you have an emergency exit if you get called. Let’s say you flop four cards to a straight. In that situation, you have two chances to pick up the pot when bluffing; your first chance is when your opponent folds, and the second chance is hitting your hand if he calls. However, if you bluff with nothing, your only chance of winning is if your opponent folds.

Tip #9: If you think your opponent missed a draw, then bluff on the river
If you the river turns up a card that completes no draws and your opponent played softly during the hand, you should bet at him hard to scare him. Your opponent has probably chased and missed a straight or a flush and he will usually fold to a hard bet. But if he plays back, you should fold it because there’s a good chance you read him wrong.

Tip #10: Pay attention to your opponent’s stack
If you bluff an opponent running low on chips, he will probably bet all-in against you if he has any decent hand, to either try to catch your bluff or to out-draw you. Also, bluffing the chip leader is very difficult because he has enough chips to call you without risking to lose much of his stack. So you should try to bluff against people who have a similar amount of chips to your own. They will often be scared of facing an all-in, just what you need to take the pot.

Continual Evaluation
One last thing to note is that the experience of your opponents will have a huge impact on their reaction to your betting. You should never bluff against new or bad players because they won’t realize what you are trying to achieve and they will nearly always call a bluff instead of laying down their cards. Good Texas Hold’em poker players will be aware that you could be have a strong hand when you bet hard at them, and they are more likely to fold.

Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Poker Strategy 

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