The Most Important Poker Tip
(Sticky Post – This site will start offering a new poker tip about once a week. Today, I thought I would start the list with what I have deemed to be the most important poker tip)
Tip #1 – Always play within your bankroll – Bankroll Management – Build your bankroll
If you play sit and go poker tournaments, your bankroll should have 30 buy-ins.
If you play cash tables, you should have at least 200 big blinds.
Managing your bankroll is the biggest difference between being a winning player or going bust.
Poker is a very volatile game. Even the best players go on huge downswings. I have never went on more then a 30 buy in bender, and I have played in over 5,000 sit and gos. But I have had 28 buy in downswings, and if I wasn’t managing my money I would not have gotten to this point without busting.
I put $150 into a poker room and played $5 sit and go tournaments. 30 buyins * $5 tournaments = $150 starting bankroll.
I would play $5 tournaments until my bankroll reached $330, where I would switch to $11 tournaments. $330 = 30 buyins * $11 tournaments.
At $480 I could play $16 tournaments.
at $750 I could play in $25 tournaments.
etc.
Part of managing your money is to NOT take shots. Taking a shot means to play in a tournament outside of your bankroll. The guy with a $300 bankroll playing in $100 tournaments will go broke. It is only a matter of time. Do not take shots if you are looking to play your best poker.
I found working my way up in levels with my winnings was very gratifying. By having an adequate bankroll, it also very rarely felt much like gambling. If you go down 30 buyins at a particular level, I suggest playing a new game or going back down a level. That game isn’t for you.
