Hello there folks; I hope all is well. I mentioned last week that we were going to talk about how to better manage our bankroll and also look at the game limit we play at.
The reason we talk about these two topics - bankroll & game-limits - in the same sentence is that they're absolutely inseparable. That's right my fellow rounders, what I say is true
You see, you cannot talk about one topic, without mentioning the other. It's as simple as that. They're forever bound together, like Laurel & Hardy or Cain & Able, like Fish & Chips or Manchester United and success.
A true fact about bankroll & game-limit is that one should never put more than 5 percent of their bankroll on the table at any given time and one should never sit in a game if the minimum buy-in is more than 5 percent of their cash flow. Also a person should never play in the game if they feel the level of play is over their head.
It's important to note that the size of someone's bankroll will often dictate the size of the game which they play in. Especially if they're operating with a smaller bankroll or just starting to build it.
You see a common mistake I see a lot of new players make is they're far too eager to sit in and play in the bigger games at their local card room, as the minimum buy-in for many of the bigger games might often be as much as $5,000, an amount which is greater than a majority of a players bankroll.
I mentioned in a recent blog, that I believed if the Almighty himself were to play the game of poker he would have trouble beating the game every time he played it. There's just far too many things which are out of the players control. Poker is a game that some one can even play perfectly yet still there's no guaranty that they will have a financial gain on the day!
We've all had those miserable bad beats, like the time that obnoxious drunk pulled a Houdini on you and went runner-runner to make a hand that you didn't even factor in, or the time you had your opponent virtually drawing dead, only to have the dealer put the turn and river down to make a straight on the board, bailing your victim out, with a chopped-pot.
You should know that almost every successful poker player will tell you the same thing - if you have a losing session, (providing it's only 5 percent of your bankroll) then what you should do is evaluate how you played. Was it the fact that you were unlucky? Or was it that you were just out played?
If it's the latter my friends, then you might want to consider dropping down a level. Some times it hard to do but there's not a lot of room for error when you mix poker and money. It's this is the kind of discipline that you will need in order for a system to work.
Let's look at an easy example.
When you have a bankroll of $2,000, you will buy-in for only $100
(5 percent of $2,000) and if you lose that $100 your bankroll is now $1,900 so the next time you play your buy-in should now be 5 percent of $1,900 which is $95 and so on.
But let's just say that you start off with a winning session and cash out with $600
Well now you are plus $500, bringing your total bankroll to $2,500, so you adjust again to $125, which is (5 percent of $2,500)
You see, I believe you have to have some kind of plan or system set up in poker. Just like anything else in life you need to be prepared for what might happen next and then, should that happen, the outcome is not so hard to deal with. Remember poker is a game that is multicultural and brings all kinds of characters to the table: the young, the old, the black, the white, of all denominations. Some are good and some are bad, but that's part of what makes our game great!
I'll leave you with this, a final note:
Yes it's frustrating, I know, yet still we play. We play because we love the game; we play because we love the thought of catching our opponent on a pure bluff; we play not to have good luck, just in hope of avoiding the bad luck. We play for the craic and the camaraderie and, just maybe, the thought of making history. Think about it. You can play against someone, though you are unable to speak their language yet, you can ever so clearly understand the same game. And many play for the simple reason that they need to make a living.
Play my friends…play!
Ciaran Big 'C' O'Leary
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