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Money & Risk

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Introduction


When you want to start playing poker with real money, the first question you should ask yourself is how much money you want to put at stake. The answer to this question depends on a number of factors. The first and most obvious factor is the amount of money you own. Another factor is the reason why you want to play poker and how much you're willing to risk in connection to that. For example, if you're a beginner and you just want to play for fun, you should play with an amount that will not matter in case you would lose it. Most starting players choose an amount between $50 and $500. In case they play good and with discipline they can slowly yet steadily build their account towards a larger amount. Some players transfer their initial deposit back on their bank account once it has doubled and then continue playing with the profit made.
For the good and experienced players the situation is different. They know in which poker game and limit they are able to earn the most money and they want to continue doing that. In that case a proper directive for a sufficiently large bank account is approximately two hundred times the big blind of the game they want to play. For example, if you earn the most money on $1/$2 limit Hold'em tables, you need approximately 200 x $2 = $400 on your poker account to play smoothly. Everything above that you can cash out. The advantage of such a large bankroll (= amount on your poker account) is that a couple of bad sessions will not cost you your complete bankroll. In other words: You will always have enough money to play with.
Furthermore, it is advised to keep track of the performance of your poker sessions. This will make it possible for you to determine which game and limit are most profitable for you.


Choosing your limits


It is important to start playing on tables with low limits. For one because when playing at low limits the level of players is lowest, making it the best place to practice and make a little money. You should take into account that normally the higher the limit, the better the players. Another reason is that the required bankroll is smaller. As we have explained in the above text, playing on $1/$2 limit Hold'em tables already requires a bankroll of $400. Therefore, if you want to start on, for example, the $5/$10 tables you should already take along $2000 (200x$10)! This is for many beginning players way too much money. Besides that, the chance that a beginner loses all his/her money on these limits is very high, because there are more good players at these tables.

If you play successfully on a certain limit and you do not cash out the redundant capital, there will come a moment that your bankroll will be large enough to start playing on a higher limit. For example, imagine you started at the $0.50/$1 (in English the comma is the dot and vice versa with numbers) tables and your bankroll has grown slowly towards $500. Your bankroll is then large enough to shift towards the $1/$2 tables. However, this decision does not solely depend on the required bankroll. What matters even more is that you feel at ease to play with these limits. If you're afraid to lose money we guarantee you that it will actually happen! Playing when frightened = losing money with poker! The reason for this is that when you're afraid you will let go too many opportunities to win. In case you start playing on a higher limit and you lose a big part of your bankroll it is wise to go back to playing on a lower limit. Many players do not do this because they want to win their money back. Those are players that will ultimately lose all their money. On the other hand it is also important to not play on a limit which is too low. When you play with amounts so small that you don't care in case you would lose them, you will start playing too many hands or recklessly and lose your money as well! You need to be motivated to win at any time!


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