PIF, Bankroll Management Entry

The Pay It Forward crew is doing a great thing here for this site, in respect to them, I will write a short blog (for me) with my tips for managing a bankroll !

First off, if you have less than $100 on any poker site, you don't really have a bankroll ! Anybody who wants to bad enough, can find a way to deposit that much in a months time, and if you make a deposit, you should be able to afford to lose that amount, without it having any effect on your life.

$100 a month gives you about $3 a day to play with, and we all know that is not enough to do very much with ! Hell, you can't even play ALL the RMR games for a whole month, even if that is all you play ! This would leave me to say this: Play what you want, when you want, and don't worry about where it fits into any bankroll management philosophy ! You can use play chips the last week of the month if you don't have any real cash left, enjoy playing and don't worry about it, it is all for the fun of it anyway ! Consider it an entertainment expense !

Real bankroll management comes into play, when you have more of a bankroll than you need to play the level you are comfortable with, AND have a serious goal you are trying to achieve ! If you are just playing for fun, or don't have a goal where you want to be in a specific amount of time, there is no bankroll management needed, just play what you want, when you want, and have fun !

If you do happen to have more money in your account than you need to play for a month at your comfort level, and have a realistic goal as to where you want to grow it to, then there is reason to manage what you have. What you need to do is simply, set the goal, divide the amount of money you have by the number of days that you give yourself to get to the goal, and that will give you your daily amount available to play with. Example $300 for 30 days= $10 a day

Once you know how much you have each day to play with, determine where you can make the most profit, and play there. Stick to it, and never go over the daily amount, even if 20 days into the month you are $500 ahead ! Keep your original goal, and your original daily amount into play for the entire 30 days. If you have the self discipline to do this, you will find your game is better also, you will be a more disciplined player, and therefore profit more.

If you cheat and take more one day to play, you are only cheating yourself, and causing you to miss out on the great feeling at the end of the month when you see that you have stuck to the plan, and realized your goal ! If you give up in the middle of the month, you are a loser ! Start over the next month, with an amount you are comfortable with, and withdraw the rest, set a new goal, and a new daily amount to play with ! If you do this and stick to it, you will find that the self satisfaction from doing something you preplanned to completion is more of a reward than the money you have earned over the month !

The whole point of bankroll management is to reach a predetermined goal, and it is the method you use your available money, to achieve this goal ! What works for one won't necessarily work for another, you just have to figure out a formula that allows you to play within your means, and still reach your goal ! You want to be successful at poker, right ? Success is : The Progressive Realization of a Worthwhile Dream !

Even on the days you lose your stake, you can feel good, if you are making a steady, progressive realization toward that monthly goal. One losing session won't change the monthly end result much, nor will one day of winning , it is the series of wins or losses for the 30 days that determine whether you are successful or not, but giving yourself an even chance every day, is just a smart way to manage getting there....IMHO....If you have a comma before the period in your bankroll, there is a LOT more to it, but I don't think there are that many of us here that are at that level, to go into it in this blog.

....play on ...Tc....