Bankroll management is a necessarily skill for any winning low limit holdem poker player. One needs to be disciplined with his poker bankroll or risk seeing it disappear from poor game selections or non poker related activities all together.
How much is enough?
As a rule of thumb I like to have 300 big bets in my bankroll for the limit that I am playing. So if I’m playing $2/$4 I would want to have $1200 in my bankroll before starting at those limits. This 300 BB cushion will allow you to absorb pretty much all of the down swings you could possibly encounter when playing low limit holdem. By having that much money it allows you continually play your normal aggressive game without ever coming too close to being broke where you might start to change the way you play.
Know when to move down in limits:
If you experience a horrendous down swing do not hesitate to move down in limits to build your bankroll back up. There is no shame in moving down in limits to one that you know you can beat at a winnable clip. There is nothing wrong with playing at a limit where you constantly win. After all playing poker is mostly about winning money right?
Do not use your poker money for other things:
It is important to keep your poker bankroll separate from any other gambling you might partake in. By keeping your bankrolls separate this will ensure that you will be able to play good aggressive poker and handle and of the swings that might come your way. Also, do not spend all of your winnings after every winning session. How are you going to continue to build your bankroll if you spend all the money from every winning session? That money is needed to help counteract the losing sessions you may encounter during the same month. If you must cash out some money while building your bankroll to move up in limits I suggest using the following method. After every winning session take 10% from the amount you won. For every winning month cash out 5% of the total amount you won for that month. And for every winning year take 2% of your profits.
For example, Joe plays 10 days in the month of June:
June 1 – +$50 (cash out $5)
June 3 – +$125 (cash out $12.50)
June 4 – -$60
June 8 – +$100 (cash out $10)
June 15 – +$40 (cash out $4)
June 19 – -$80
June 21 – $75 (cash out $7.50)
June 23 – +$65 (cash out $6.50)
June 27 – +$100 (cash out $10)
June 30 – +$45 (cash out $4.50)
Total profit for the month $460 (cash out $23)
Total amount to cash out $83
As you can see this strategy allows you to take some money out for your hard work at the tables while continuing to build your bankroll so that you can move up in limits again. Once you reach a level you are comfortable playing and not looking to move up in limits any more you can increase the amounts that you cash out and profit more from your time at the tables.
LowLimitHoldem, June 22nd 2009 |
Posted in General
When I get the itch to play some low limit holdem I’m often faced with the decision of logging into my online poker account or making the trip to a local card room. Before you go and put your name on the $3/$6 waitlist at the MGM Grand here are some benefits that online poker offers that your local brick and mortar casino can not.
- Find a game any time of the day/afternoon/night. Want to play low limit holdem at 4:30am? Just log online and there are numerous tables for you to choose from. You can even play in your bathrobe if you wish.
- Online poker offers very low limits, $.02/$.04 in most cases, for a newbie to get their feet wet with. For a very small investment you can be playing for real money online against real people.
- The big advantage of playing online low limit holdem is the sheer number of hands you can play in an hour compared to the number you see at a casino. At your typical casino you will see 30-40 hands in one hour while online you can see 60-70 per hour. That is almost twice as many hands! Not to mention that you can play several tables at one time increasing your hands per hour even greater. This increase in number of hands you play will greatly increase the profits that you see while at the tables.
While live poker does have it’s benefits, such as being able to get tells on your opponents, the pros of playing online holdem are just that much stronger than playing live.
LowLimitHoldem, June 14th 2009 |
Tags: live poker, low limit holdem, online poker
Posted in General
Ever since poker amateur Chris Moneymaker turned a mere $40 into $2.5 Million at the 2003 World Series of Poker Texas Holdem has taken the world by storm. Specifically the No Limit variation of Texas Holdem has become ever popular and is the game of choice in many card rooms. While this is the most popular form of poker today it may not be the best game for a novice to learn the intricacies of the game. Fixed limit holdem is a great way to get started with the game and offers several scenarios that are advantageous for a newbie to grasp the essential fundamentals of the game.
- By playing fixed limit instead of no limit one does not have to worry about risking all of his money in front of him on one hand. This allows for one to cheaply learn the finer points of the game while surprisingly not sacrificing profits too much.
- Many more hands go to the showdown where you can pick up valuable information on your opponents such as how they play specific starting hands, draws. monsters, etc. Once you know this information you can playing knowing exactly what your opponent will do before he does!
- Easier to gain hand reading skills playing limit poker with all the showdowns you will see. It allows you to see if your guesses as to what other players were holding were correct.
- There are a lot more fish at the limit tables. People will be more willing to gamble with you at the fixed limit tables as it costs “just one more bet” to see the next card. There are also many more inexperienced players which after you read through this site you will turn into your personal ATM.
Because of the points listed above I would recommend fixed limit over no limit to any beginning poker player. Once you start to learn the game you can take the concepts learned at the fixed limit tables and apply them to the no limit tables. Now that you know which game to play you can start to learn winning strategies for free at Cake Poker or Full Tilt Poker
LowLimitHoldem, June 13th 2009 |
Tags: cake poker, fixed limit, full tilt poker, low limit
Posted in General
