Bankroll Management is a skill that is vitally important if you want to have any sort of stability as a professional poker player.

The Heart of Bankroll Management, is that for each stake, you have a ample reserve of funds, if things go less than favorably to you.

Below we’ll list some examples of Bankroll Management by Stake, and Bankroll Management by Game Type, each bankroll is assuming you are playing No Limit Holdem.

Bankroll Management for Cash Games

Bankrolls for cash games are further defined  by whether you need a Heads Up Bankroll, a Full Ring Bankroll, or a 6 Max Bankroll. As heads up poker has the most volatility, it requires the largest bankroll of the three cash games types,  I wouldn’t dare to play without at least thirty buyins for the stake, assuming you’re buying in for 100 Big Blinds, in heads up its especially important to know that no bankroll in the world will help you if you selected an opponent better than you, knowing when you’re beat is an important part of poker as well.

For 6 Max I would feel okay with twenty five buyins at 100 big blinds each for a safe 6 Max Bankroll. At Full Ring 20 Buyins is fine.

Bankroll Management for Multi Table Tournaments

Multi Table Tournaments is one of the most volatile experiences in poker, going many hundreds of buyins in the negative is not an uncommon occurrence for the average poker player. Buyins in Multi Table Tournaments are measured as an Average Buyin, meaning you base your bankroll off the average buyin of all the tournaments you play in a given group, if you set yourself 200 Buyins aside, with an Average Buyin of $10, you wouldn’t be limited just to $10 Tournaments, but you could play things above and below, as long as your average landed somewhere around $10.

Echoing my previous statement, 200 Buyins for Multi Table Tournaments is where you want to be, to give yourself ample breathing room in the event of a large downswing.

Bankroll Management for Sit and Gos

For Sit and Gos, 35 buyins is where you want to be, more if the structure of the sit and gos are quick, they’ll likely be labeled as Turbos if they are, for those I would recommend around 50 buyins.

Your Bankroll should be Appropriate for the Stakes

Other Important Thoughts on Bankroll Management

If you are the fish in the game, no amount of bankroll will save you, if you’re a losing player. Be sure you are playing in games you can beat, and games you can afford to lose if things don’t go your way.

Moving Down buyins is also very important, if you start with 30 Buyins for Full Ring, and you end up dropping 10 Buyins, you no longer have a suitable bankroll for the stakes you were playing, so move down! Grind back up at lower stakes, and move back up slowly. Online poker isn’t going anywhere, taking undue risks is a sure way to the poor house.