Money Management

You do not have to be a professional card player to practice good money management. If you merely intend to play poker to win money, and endeavor to play higher stakes games over the course of your life, then money management will be just as important as knowing how to play the game.

Stakes: Start off with stakes you can afford. It is commonly recommended to size your bankroll at approximately 200 big bets in the limit you are playing. You may be tempted to move up levels when you are winning, but do so only if you can remain at that level over the long run.

Tournaments: Tournaments are good ways of making money, but you can go a long time between tournament wins. Try and earn entry fees through rings games in order to keep your total bankroll from decreasing.

Losing: Even the best players have losing sessions or days. When you are on a cold streak, resist the urge to keep playing simply to try and recover your losses. This rarely works, and most often serves only to lose more.

Seek Optimal Conditions: Though conditions cannot be perfect all of the time, a good player knows to play in advantageous conditions and avoid conditions that are negative.

Optimal conditions can be a loose-passive table, a scheduled session, no external stress taking your mind from the game, and a healthy bankroll supporting the game.

Negative conditions may be a tough-agressive table, trying to fit in a few minutes of poker just to score a quick win, external stress in your life, being extremely tired, or entering a game knowing you must win or else you will be broke.

Withdrawing from your Bankroll: Most people want to win money to enjoy benefits that come from more money. If this is the case for you, then you will at some point want to withdraw money from your bankroll. When deciding how much to withdraw, keep in mind your goals for your games in the future.

If you are going to want to play the same games you have been playing, don't withdraw so much that it becomes hard to support.

For a while, you can direct 100% of your winnings back into your bankroll to support moving up levels. When you reach a game you are comfortable playing and feel you are not ready for the next level, then start taking some profits back into your wallet.