Bankroll Management Tips :

If this is the first article you've ever read about the game of No Limit Texas Hold'em, then I would to to say you are one very lucky person. Why? Because after reading this article, you will learn about the single most important aspect of being a winning poker player. That was your intentions, right?

Sure enough it can be a gamble if that's how you want to play poker. I don't think you'd be human if you didn't like a little action-induced adrenaline rush every now and then, and there is no better way to do that then to fire up a few online poker tables.

However, if you allow your emotions to get the better of you when playing no-limit hold'em, where your stack is at risk at any point in the hand, then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you have the potential to lose a lot of money fairly quickly.

It doesn't matter how much you love the game, or for that matter how good you think you are at poker, if you don't practice smart bankroll management - you will end up broke, likely sooner rather then later. While that all seems a bit dramatic, it's the truth.

And you know what's worse then getting sucked out on the river when you have pocket aces? Not having a sufficient bankroll to be able to actually play poker when you want.

Imagine that? Well actually, I wouldn't want to. But you get the point. If you are not smart about managing your bankroll, there is a very real possibility of not being able to play.

So what does bankroll management really mean? Well, it basically refers to having a certain number of buy-ins for a given level. Depending on the games you play, this could mean a different multiple.

As a general rule, if you are playing cash games, you would want to have at least 20 max buy-ins.

For example, if you are playing $1/$2 No-Limit, typically you are able to buy-in for $200 max, so you should have 20x the $200 max buy-in, or $4000. Keep these buy in requirements in mind when playing at the top American poker sites.

On the other hand, if you are playing Multi-Table Tournaments (MTT's) with really large fields, because there is a lot more variance involved in these games, your bankroll should be at least 100 buy-ins. As a MTT grinder, although you may have long periods where you don't win a tournament, it only takes one decent win to see a huge boost to your bankroll.

Sit-and-Goes (SNG's) differ to MTT's in that the fields aren't typically as big, with the smaller ones being 9-player SNG's. Due to the smaller fields, the variance wouldn't be so bad, and you could play these games with a smaller bankroll.

Some poker players might suggest that playing cash games with only 20 buy ins for the limit you want to play is far too aggressive. If your skills and attitude are good enough, it allows you to adopt more aggressive bankroll management. That being said, if you are new to the game, then I would recommend playing with at least 30 buy ins for cash games.