Bankroll Management Strategy For 2012

Bankroll Management Strategy - Rationale
Now the thing is, for me, bankroll management has never really been an exact science. Although I've kept records and been very conscious of results (perhaps too conscious some might say), I've generally played an amount I've been comfortable with and that's been that. For 2012 that's going to change and I'm going to employ a concrete bankroll management strategy unlike any that I've done before. The crux of the matter is that not only will I be setting aside a definite amount of cash for poker but I'll be seeing my poker bankroll as an investment that will no longer be part of my savings; essentially money that no longer belongs to me. My entire focus will then be devoted to studying and playing the game as best as I can with the idea that the results will just take care of themselves. Important to this process is another approach which I think is crucial - and that is having a detached, almost indifferent, attitude towards the balance of that bankroll. 

Online Bankroll Management Strategy For 2012
Online poker has no doubt become tougher so consequently I'm going with safety and stability in the new year; in other words a more conventional bankroll management strategy. My effective online starting bankroll will be £2000 (~$3200) although I'll only deposit £1000 (~$1600) to start with. This will give me 64 buy-ins to play the 50nl cash games in great comfort but will also, with 32 buy-ins, suffice for the odd 100nl game as well. Incidentally, there is really not that much difference in player quality between the 50nl and 100nl cash games anyway.

To be honest, the main idea behind this is to just see if I'm actually still cut out for the online game. If, as is hoped, I manage to claw the bankroll up to $4K I'll make the 100nl cash game more my home with a view to dipping my toes into the 200nl waters once again. On the other hand, if I feel there are just too many sharks around spoiling my fun, or if I feel I just can't compete at the online game any longer, I'll pull the plug once and for all. I hate playing anything lower than 50nl so, rather than dropping down to 25nl if my online balance plummets (or if I just start to feel uncomfortable about my prospects), it will have to be a case of thank you and goodbye online poker - and I'll shift the money over to my live game bankroll.

Live Bankroll Management Strategy For 2012
My effective starting bankroll for the live cash games in 2012 will be £6000. With my usual sit-down amount at £1/£2 being between £250-£400, this gives me between 15 to 24 buy-ins. Now while this may sound like a small amount, I don't often buy in for the full £400; in fact, the average amount I usually buy in for is more like around £300 which makes it more like 20 buy-ins overall. Additionally, I'll be playing the odd £1/£1 games as well which have a maximum buy in of £200 so that gives me 30 buy-ins right there which is ample. Finally, with fewer sessions played live than online and a lot more hope and confidence in my live game, I reckon this is fine for a year's investment.

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All told, this means that the total investment for my 2012 venture in poker will be £8K. Rest assured, this is not a "leap of faith" I'm embarking on here as, with a lot of years of experience and knowledge behind me along with a half-decent track record, I'm reasonably sure that this will work out. Furthermore, without a blog hanging over me and without all the pressure to "prove myself" I hope to be able to focus more effectively on my game and on making right decisions. One more thing; if I feel I'm playing well but my early live results are going badly, I'm given myself the option of giving myself a £2K top-up from the funds from the bank (which makes it more like a £10K bankroll) - if I start off with an horrific bad run.  

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MTT Bankroll Management Strategy For 2012

With the online game I intend to keep MTT play restricted to playing just the satellites - and even then, this will not be often and will probably be for stages with an entry fee that just costs around $10-$20. I'll play the odd standard freezeout as well but this will be a rare occurence.

As far as live MTTs go, I've pretty much had my fill of the usual £30-£60 MTTs at The Fox - but I know I won't resist the temptation to enter a few of these every now and again. Like the online MTTs, I intend to enter these only very occasionally, as a kind of break from "proper" cash game poker, and to use money for them from my savings account rather than from my proper bankroll. I'll still keep track of my results and progress for these but will regard these more as a "fun night out" rather than a serious attempt to actually make money. With this method, I get to keep my serious cash game bankroll separate from the losses incurred after playing the donkaments. The only thing I really need to be careful of is over-drinking during these freezeouts, getting sloshed, and then sitting down to a cash game straight after a bust-out - bringing my C-game to the table.

Finally, what of those special mid-range MTTs of around £100-£350? Well, I'd really like to play in a few of these next year. However, even though I would like to keep payment and records of these separate from my live cash game roll, these MTTs have a slower structure and are actually worth taking seriously. Therefore, I'm going to try to play a few of these - but, again, will use money from my bank account rather than the poker bankroll. This way, cash game poker will stay as my staple diet while entry to MTTs can be kept to a minimum and just entered as a diversion from the usual routine.  

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Final Considerations
As mentioned, there is always the possibility that a huge downswing will hit both my live and online game in the first couple of months. Well, you know what? Shit happens; there are far more important things going in the world than some geezer losing a few grand at poker - and a hell of a lot of people are putting up with a hell of a lot more hardships than yours truly so let's not dwell on a few thousand going up the spout in a little business venture eh? Anyway, this can always be met with a £2K top-up from the ol' reserve funds.

As a final remark on this strategy I'd like to point out that, although I like to see myself as a semi-pro, I remain an amateur poker player. I won't be putting in anywhere near the same volume of hands or games as a pro and I certainly won't be depending on results to support my livelihood. My position at the start of January 2012 will remain the same as it started in January of this year: I still have a steady job; I enjoy a good, regular and steady income; I have a decent family in the background; I'm in good health and nothing terrible (touch wood) has really happened to me in my life. So yep, I may complain of my woeful lack of joy in poker but let's face it, with all those positives in place, I'm a lucky sort of chap really.   

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Any comments on the feasibility or effectiveness of this bankroll strategy would be welcome.

Until next time...

Uncle Wobble.