Bankroll Management--An Opinion |
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Posted Wed Aug 16, 2006 12:34 pm GMT by lwestatbus
I've been with the forum for a year or so now and have a comment on the regular questions (and answers) on bankrolls and bankroll management (BRM). Maybe this is more of a rant than a comment--you be the judge.
I believe that no discussion of BRM can be conducted without understanding what kind of player you are. I think that for this discussion players should be divided into three groups:
Type 1: Serious players who win long run at the type of game being discussed or considered. They are ahead in their winnings in a period of at least a year for each type of game being considered. Members of this group will have a sense of the length and depth of losing streaks they can encounter even with long-term solid play.
Type 2: Learners/Beginners who want to be like Type 1 but know they aren't there yet.
Type 3: Gamblers who splash around and generally play poker as if it were a slot machine.
Also, you can be one kind of player for one format (e.g., fixed low limit ring games is one format while no limit SNG tournaments is another format) and a different kind for another format.
If you are a Type 1 player your bankroll and stakes combination must be one that prevents you from going broke. The assumption here is that by being a Type 1 player you will be successful in the long run and your concern is to have enough bankroll (or buy-in at the game level) to last you through the downswings. So the answer is simple--you need enough money to keep you going through the worst downswing you can reasonably expect to encounter at the stakes and game format you are playing.
If you are a Type 2 player you are paying for your education. Here your bankroll is your tuition where you should be asking how much should I be willing to pay and how much will it cost me. Assuming ability and effort you should experience declining losses until suddenly you realize that you've transitioned into a Type 1 player. Hooorrrraaaayyyyy.
If you are a Type 3 player you aren't managing a bankroll, you are paying for recreational gambling and you are spending. You also have a simple decision. How much am I willing to pay/lose for my recreation, what is my rate of loss per period of time at my chosen game/stakes, and how much to I want to play? That is your bankroll for the chosen period of time.
A related discusson comes when a Type 1 player decides to either branch out in game formats or change stakes. If you are changing stakes the big concern you have is whether the level of play you will encounter at the new stakes is significantly different from your current opposition. Or, will your expectations for winning change disproportionately from the stakes. If they did not, then the analysis for Type 1 just applies with larger coefficients in the analysis. But if you may encounter different win ratios, then you may want to ensure that you have both the amount of money needed to outlast the swings plus some 'tuition' money.
If you are branching out in format the same analysis probably applies except that you should probably earmark more for 'tuition'. In both cases you should probably set checkpoints where you will evaluate your performance and decide if your initial assumptions need to be revisited.
Now for some preaching--Unless you can honestly claim to be a Type 1 player in every format in which you play you are a Type 2 or 3 player in the exception formats. And if you are not moving into a new format as part of a deliberate Type 2 effort to learn it, then recognize that you are a Type 3 player/gambler and you are not dealing with bankrolls, you are gambling. Pay your money and take your chances. Also, I don't see any way to seriously learn poker without focusing almost exclusively on a single format until you achieve Type 1 status in that format. That gives you the understanding of the principles of poker that give you both the financial and knowledge foundations to support your 'expansion plans' into other formats.
Finally, if you are posting or replying on the subject of BRM you should identify your level of play (when posting questions) or assumed type of play (for responders). To do otherwise is incomplete.
My two cents.
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Posted Wed Aug 16, 2006 12:54 pm GMT by Orcy
nice post 
agreed pretty much all the way.
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