How to build an Online Poker Bankroll : Poker Player

How to build an Online Poker Bankroll

Good poker players know how difficult it is to beat online Texas Holdem games without being properly bankrolled. In order to secure yourself this very important edge, you have to invest quite a lot of money into online poker, money that most players just don't have or find it too much of a gamble to risk.

The reason why you have to be adequately bankrolled (being in possession of about 200 BBs at the stakes/limit you play at) is not only the fact that a hefty bankroll offers you a tactical advantage over your under-bankrolled opponents, but it will also swallow variations easier.

Texas Holdem is a game where luck-induced variation is right at home. That's why rookies have a short-term edge over better players, and that is exactly why you need the generous bankroll: to dismantle that short term advantage.

Anyway, as I said, many people do not have the money to always play properly bankrolled, so what they do is start with smaller sums and end up being dominated by sharks who know how to exploit this aspect of the game.

This is especially true for those who start out on free bankrolls. Before I go any further though, it may be a good idea to explain what “free bankrolls” are. There are poker rooms out there, which actually offer their new players free money, without any strings attached, just for signing up with them. Naturally, the amount that they give out is all but impressive. The point I'm trying to make is, that players who venture into the world of real money poker on such free bankrolls, will always be short-stacked, and as such, at an even bigger disadvantage, when faced with sharks.

Since the bankroll they possess is not going to provide them any support, these players should focus on other aspects of the game where they can indeed get an edge over the opposition.

For one thing, when aiming to build up a bankroll, a player should avoid regular cash games. There are several reasons why he shouldn't play at such tables, one of which would be the bankroll issue I wrote about above.

Another problem would be that cash tables do not put a good price on surviving. In winning poker, a lot of the value comes from merely staying in the game and making it from one hand to another. At a cash table, the value of surviving is exactly 0. Break even at the end of the day, and you'll have wasted all that time and energy for zilch. The rake makes its presence felt in each and every single hand. This usually leads to tighter games which are more difficult to beat (you can take advantage of a rakeback offer though, to take the bite out of the rake a bit).

Bottom line is: stay away from cash tables when your bankroll is running thin. STTs are where you should play. They have some obvious advantages over cash tables: the bankroll issue will be gone, since pretty much everyone around the table will be poorly bankrolled. Survival is the key here. Even if you fail to win, surviving for long enough may well land you ITM.

You can choose the buy-in you wish to, according to the size of your bankroll, and nobody will put you under pressure real-money wise. The rake that you pay, will be much reduced, too. (it is a well known fact cash tables are much more profitable for poker rooms than tournaments)

STTs even have an advantage over MTTs: the competition. In order to land ITM in a STT you have to best 4-7 other players, in order to achieve the same thing in a MTT, you have to see hundreds of other players eliminated. STTs value skill far more than luck. While in a massive MTT luck will play a huge role, in a STT it is much less of a factor. Pure poker skill is required, and games do not last nearly as long as they do in MTTs. On one hand, that means you'll have to invest less of your time into STTs for about the same results, on the other hand, it still leaves STTs long enough so that the short-term luck variation doesn't overcome skill.

Whenever you reach the very bottom of the pit as far as your poker bankroll goes, Heads-up STTs are a great way to recover. You see, you only have to beat one guy in these tournaments, and you double up. Reasonable play can get you as much as 75% of these heads-up encounters won.

Avoid committing the whole of your bankroll on a single call, even if it carries positive odds for you. Remember, whenever you go all-in, in a tournament or when you invest your last few bucks in a STT, the odds will have to be far better than just "positive" to justify the move.

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