Bankroll management should be key for all poker players, but it’s particularly important if you decide to play the game for a living. Now that your bankroll is the means to generate your livelihood it’s the capital asset that generates your income for you to live off, so you’d better protect it!
Before you even contemplate going pro you should have established a win rate or return on investment you can sustain in the games you’re playing and understand the income this is going to give you. This means you need to have played a LOT of hands (at least 150,000 in cash) and sustained this win rate. You should also factor into your thinking that no matter how good you are, you will have downswings. It makes sense to be really ‘over-rolled’ – so perhaps look at 50-75 buy-ins for cash play. Not only do you want to feel completely comfortable with your bankroll, but if you are forced to move down in limits this will greatly reduce your income so avoiding that is highly desirable!
For many players a semi-pro route is the way forward. Just playing poker for a living can be a real challenge financially and emotionally and many players like to keep it as a hobby that also provides an income. In these circumstances you can be less conservative with your bankroll and maintain something like a 20-30 buy-in bankroll for your games.
Cashing out and clearing up
Cashing out from your poker account is a tricky subject without hard and fast rules. A lot of your decisions about taking money out will depend on your poker goals. If you’re playing for a living you should construct a proper business model as outlined above with your bankroll. You should know your average expectation each month and be able to take this out regularly. You should try to avoid taking out more when you win and less when you lose as monthly variations will be an aberration in the long-term.
If you’re aspiring to move up in level – whether you’re a serious or casual player – obviously it’s important you don’t take out everything you win or expect to win, as you need to build the capital base. If you’re a semi-pro or casual player, obviously you have more freedom to take out money whenever you feel like it, or if you have a big winning week or month! Your decisions about cashing out will come down to your goals with poker, but remember it’s better to be conservative as a big downswing can be around the corner and can happen to anyone.
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