Five Tips for a Fast Bankroll

All poker players should have goals, and most of the time one of those goals should be to build the bankroll. When you focus on building the bankroll, you tend to make fewer cashouts and can move up in stakes faster. The advantages of moving up in stakes include being able to earn more money and improving your poker skills.

1. Set specific goals

Goals are important in all areas of live and poker is no exception. The power of goal setting is extremely underestimated by most poker players. Specific bankroll goals help you stay focused and give you something to shoot for. I can guarantee you that if you set specific goals and post them on the wall or next to the computer, you will see improved results.

Set both long term and short term bankroll goals. If you have a $1,000 bankroll, make your short term goal be to double that bankroll to $2,000. In the longer run, you can set a bigger goal. For example, you can say that by next year, you want to have a $15,000 bankroll. Those big figures sound crazy at first but you would be surprised at how quickly you can reach your goals if you put your mind to it.

2. Limit cashouts

As your bankroll grows, the urge to cash out becomes greater and greater. You have to resist those urges because cashouts are a major drain on both your current and future bankroll. Avoid cashing out as much as you possibly can. You’ll be glad you did when you reach your next bankroll goal.

The more you limit your cashouts now, the more money you’ll have to take to the bank in the future. Cashing out has a cumulative effect on your bankroll because not only does it make it take longer to reach the next level up, but it makes it take that much longer to reach all subsequent levels. A little sacrifice now will pay major dividends in the future.

3. Get poker bonuses

Almost every poker site in the world has a sign up bonus that’s worth $500 or more. Get as many of these bonuses as you can and you’ll see your bankroll grow by leaps and bounds. Poker bonuses are basically free money because the only thing you have to do to earn them is play poker. If you’re planning on playing poker anyways, you might as well get a bonus while you’re at it.

One word of caution about poker bonuses: don’t let big bonuses push you up to higher stakes that you’re not yet ready for. The average opponent gets slightly more skilled every time you move up a level in stakes. Make sure you can actually beat each level you play at before moving up to the next level.

4. Take shots

Don’t be afraid to take shots at the next level in stakes. All you have to do is set aside a little extra money and dedicate that money to trying your hand at the next level up. If the shot fails, you can just stay at your current level and keep building. If your shot is a success, you’ll be able to move up to that level and build your bankroll even faster than before.

Make sure you mentally separate your shot-taking money from the rest of your poker bankroll. It’s important that you leave yourself enough money for your current level so that if the shot doesn’t work, you can just continue playing at your current level. Also, you need to be willing to move back down if your shot doesn’t work out.

5. Practice bankroll management

In no limit cash games, the average recommended bankroll is 20 to 30 buyins for whatever level you play at. For example, if you play in a game with $100 buyins, you should have a minimum bankroll of $2,000 to $3,000. This is an important concept because it keeps you out of danger of going broke. Any time your bankroll falls below 20-30 buyins, you need to step down a level and rebuild.

The recommended bankroll for fixed limit players is 300-600 big bets. That means that if you play at $0.50/$1.00, you should have a bankroll of $300 to $600. For SNG players, the average recommended bankroll is about 50 buyins. Multi-table tournament players should keep a bankroll of about 100 buyins.

Bankroll management is more of a preventive measure than a way to actively build your bankroll but it’s still important. Ups and downs are common in poker so it’s important that you keep a healthy bankroll. Nothing will halt your progress more than having to start over from scratch.