Managing the bankroll -- other than just a getting a bigger pile?

[Sifmole]

I was curious if anybody else approaced their playing and bankroll in a systematic fashion. I am not talking about stop-losses or win-stops or anything like that.

When I finally started deciding to play "seriously" about 6 months ago two things popped to the top of my thinking:

1) If this is serious, then it has to be for more than play.

2) Bankroll usually increases at a rate out of line with a player's ability to move up in limits.

So I decided that I needed to set a goal other than just building a bigger bankroll, and what to do with my whoring bonii. My son has a set of medical supplements that he takes and it costs us $xxx per month; this is why I would play "seriously". I also decided that my poker play should support buying the poker books and computer stuff to play better poker -- if it doesn't then I need to quit. Also, using bonii to reach the monthly goals would be "cheating". So I set out these rules for reconciling and balancing my accounts at the end of the month:

Monthly Goal: $xxx medical + $??? poker expenses + $?? other related expenses

Balancing:
All bonii get cashed out as "investment" returns, they do not count as winnings and do not stay in the roll.

Winnings up to 50% to match the monthly goal is cashed out.
Beyond the monthly goal 25% is cashed out ( to reduce BR bloat ).
The rest stays to grow the roll, steadily.

Final two rules of monthly carry over:
If I don't achieve the monthly goal, the debt carries over to the next month.
If I exceed the monthly goal -- there is NO credit carry over.

It has worked out well; and my initial concern that it would place adverse stress on my play was totally wrong. Instead it seems to keep me more properly focused. I don't piss away the roll on tilt because the roll means something more than just a pile of chips.

I was just curious if any one else has anything like this to guide them.

[ThePinkBunny]

I don't use anything like this, but it sounds very disciplined... good for you

[boogerboy]

I second the bunny's reply

[Muisyle]

Every time someone says "bonii," god kills a kitten.

Would somebody please think of the kittens!

http://img173.exs.cx/img173/9836/incredibly20cute20gray20kitten.jpg

[itsmarty]

I think most serious players deal with their bankroll in a similar fashion. I've kept a bankroll spreadsheet for some time now, and have used it to guide me towards meeting several goals (new pc, vacation, IRA contribution), to get my bankroll back on track after unexpected withdrawals (dryer, fridge), and to move up twice and add no limit play to my rotation. With any luck this will be the year I hit 5/10, although I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

You seem to have a good system worked out, but a couple of things to keep in mind are preparing for a downturn and moving up in limits.

With six months behind you, you may not have experienced the crushing blows that variance can deal your bankroll. If you come to expect poker to pay for the medical bills every month, it could get pretty disappointing to have a couple of consecutive months in which you don't meet your goal. If I were you, I'd consider my bonus money as one with my winnings to decrease the variance on that particular goal.

As far as moving up levels, it can be difficult to find the right time when you're drawing down your bankroll for expenses every month. In addition to your goal of taking out x% of your winnings every month, it might be a good idea to set a target number for your bankroll at which point you'll move up in levels (or start learning 6-max, add a new table, whatever might be your goal). It would be a good idea to have a target winrate at your current game and minimum number of hands played to go along with this bankroll goal, and here you should consider bonus money separate from winnings.

Martin

[Sifmole]

Thanks for the reply "itsmarty".

I think one thing I left out that might make my method make a bit more sense -- I had a pretty decent paying Full-time job that covers all these bills any way; so the poker is not neccessary to making ends-meet.

As for the moving up in levels thing. I currently 4-table at $1/$2 ( I can't even comprehend these guys that 8+-table these things! ). Also part of the goal is to put a governor on the bankroll increase; if I can't take these wins out and still move forward, then I probably am not ready. I can say with confidence that right now I am not ready to move beyond the $1/$2, so it isn't an issue. But you are probably right about having the # of hands as a checkpoint.

Thanks again.