I've heard a lot of people chatting on the forum and at pokerstars about how they have deposited before but have busted out and now dont have any cash in their account
Bankroll management is one of the most important aspects of making money in poker. I'm no expert but ill let you know how I built up my bankroll slowly but surely
I first played at poker room - I deposited about 25 bucks and after playing above my limit at the no limit tables I had about $125 in about 2 nights - with very little experience and game time, like a lot of new players who pick up a few pots - I thought I was fantastic at poker.
After nearly busting out and going back down to about $15 I quickly realised that there's more to this game than I though.
A $20 deposit at ultimatebet was also busted due to me getting greedy and over aggressive at the low no limit tables.
If your a newbie all this might sound familiar
So what did I do - first of all I went back to play money. I started playing tighter and improving my game. I started playing in freerolls more also - I thought, I cant deposit until i'm consistently not losing. (Looking back I don't know if playing play money a lot is a great idea as it can make you play more aggressively than you should and this can remain when you move to real money)
I was mostly playing the poker room freerolls - I was consistently getting into the top 100 out of about 1500-2000 people. At this point I realised it was time to move on.
I got some money in my neteller account - since I wasn't verified and I didn't want a cheque I withdrew to pokerroom but left about $20 in the account after withdrawing the rest to my bank account
I started playing at the limit tables. This is when I started to realise I could actually make money from poker (damn I sound like some late night commercial!).
Now, usually you take about 25-50 times the BB (big blind) to the table per session. I'm personally comfortable taking about 10% of my total bankroll to the table. Its not as likely to bust out of a limit game but its still very possible. You have to ensure that you have enough in your bankroll to hold off a bad run of cards - which happens just like a run of good cards.
If you are consistently losing at the level - drop down a level (for example move back to the $0.25/$0.50 tables from $0.50/$1) and play there until you have built your bankroll a little.
What you have to remember is that you don't want to have to deposit again - you want to use the same bankroll for all your poker games without dipping into your own wallet. I use [url=http://www.neteller.com]neteller[/url] for withdrawing and depositing.
I slowly built the $20 to about $550 in about 2 and a half months. I was a little tempted to move up the limits but remained at the $0.50/$1 of which I still call home.
playing above your limit - playing with scared money is going lose you a lot of cash. You cant win money if you cant play your usual game which you cant do if your concerned about the cash your putting into the pot.
Drinking, Sleeping, Pissed off, On tilt - goodbye money, goodbye. Don't play if you are drunk, tired or on tilt. Seriously, I cant stress this enough
Take advantage of bonuses - I never made all that cash at the one site. I made that money at about 6 or 7 sites. Jump around sites taking advantage of sign up and deposit bonuses. Party had a reload bonus of 20% at the end of January and I made $58 alone in bonuses in 2 days not to mention the $50 I made at the table. As our resident expert dr winston keeps saying, taking advantages of bonuses should be a major part of you making money online.
knowing when to move up a limit - if your consistently winning at the tables and have built up a big enough bankroll, don't hold yourself back - move up and take your poker to the next level.
I've started playing sng's as I want to improve my tournament play. The best site for this is probably victor chandler as they have very low sng limits which gives you a chance to improve your tournament game without worrying about bankroll (though some sites don't count tournaments & sit and gos as part of the bonus requirement so remember to read the terms and conditions of the site)
now, this isn't a very advanced or fantastic guide to bankroll management - there are plenty of better guides out there but hopefully this will point some people in the right direction.
Also - this is what worked for me - it may not work for others.
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:D
Kevin Muldoon plays poker around 20+ hours per week and is the owner of http://www.texasholdemforums.com. TexasHoldemForums is a large online texas holdem poker community with thousands of players and dozens of private tournaments and game for members every week. They have a large group of players who play poker professionally and several of the members have played at the World Series of Poker. This wealth of experience ensures every member can improve their game in some respect.