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Aaron "GambleAB"
Bartley
August 22, 2005
One of the most important poker
lessons has nothing to do with how to
play Aces in late position or how to
adjust for the maniac in seat three.
It's how to manage your money in a way
that will make it grow as quickly as
possible with minimal risk.
Some of the most highly skilled
players in the game have gone broke
(repeatedly) simply because they
played too high, too fast, too often.
How can we make sure this problem
never happens to us? It isn't a matter
of smarts, but rather, one of
discipline.
The most important step is to be
honest with yourself. You should know
your relative skill level at all
times. Suppose you're a $1/$2 No-Limit
Hold 'em player who's had a great
night, and you're toying with taking a
shot at the $5/$10 game. Your bankroll
is up to $1,500, but you would need to
bring at least $500 to the table in
order to play comfortably at the
higher level.
Why would you risk putting a third
of your bankroll on the table to play
in the $5/$10 game? For starters, your
bankroll isn't big enough for the
stake; more importantly, you also need
to consider that the skill level of
the $5/$10 players is greater than the
competition you're used to. (That's
not always true, of course. There are
some very skilled $1/$2 players and
some weak $5/$10 players, but it's not
unreasonable to assume that the
higher-level games are filled with
better players.)
This is where self-control comes
in. One slip-up can spell disaster for
a bankroll, and watching six months of
hard work disappear in six hours of
foolish play is enough to crush
anyone's spirits.
The safest course of action is to
continue doing what you're doing.
You're beating the $1/$2 game for a
tidy profit every week - stay right
where you are. Continue proving that
you can beat the game. While you're
doing that, your bankroll should grow
accordingly. Beating a game for six
days is proof of very little. Beating
the same game for six months is better
evidence that you are a winning
player.
Start tracking your results. You
can buy tracking software or easily
create a database of your own. Put in
all of your information after each
time you play - limits, time at the
tables, profits/losses. Go over your
information every few weeks, both for
your recent play and for your entire
poker lifetime. Try to spot bad trends
before they get out of hand. If you've
been playing well at a certain level
over a long period of time, only then
should you consider moving up to the
next highest level.
Above all, know where your money is
at all times and how it is being used.
Ask yourself, "Is this too much
risk for me considering my current
bankroll?" If the answer is yes,
do the responsible thing and change
tables. Months later, you'll be
thankful you did.
Aaron "GambleAB"
Bartley
Play Online Poker
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