Allan

Hello everyone,


I'm just trying to get a feel for how most people built their bankrolls and how long it has taken. In my estimation I am an average player and I don't see how anyone survives their first year of playing poker. I'm not even half way to the 300 BB bankroll and with the natural fluctions one expects and the wins losses I see it seems like trying to climb Everest carrying an elephant. I keep trying to put one foot in front of the other though.


Allan

Very true. A small bankroll is much easier to replace than a big bankroll. I bought in many times with no bankroll at all. Just money I had saved for the purpose of playing poker. I went through a few hundred pretty easy on the lowest tables I could find. When I felt I had an ok understanding of poker theory (read as many books from this site as you can afford), I saved a bankroll of 150BB. I got lucky and started winning early. Built it up and took a stab at a much bigger game and got lucky again. I moved back down to the limit I was happy with and continued to play my game.


It takes alot to play solid poker. I am still very far away, however in the loose games you can find all over now, playing tighter than the players at your table is often enough to survive.


If you have purchased a few core poker books, read them every chance you get. I had to read TOP and HFAP a few times until I began to understand most of the concepts. If you have a few minutes at lunch or in a cab, read a chapter.


There is only one way to build your bankroll. Play better poker than you opponnents. Practice with some of the popular software on the market to learn how to play vs. some of the more aggressive players out there.


Taking and old saying and changing it to poker: "How do I get to the big apple?" "Practice, man . . . practice"


I doubt that I have a good example of how to build a bankroll, however 150BB is a start if you are going to play to learn. If you lose that, you should practice much more than you play.


Gary W.


PS: A blue jackass named Lou sure makes a big difference in the game I play in!

its hard not to go broke early in your career and later as well. you need to have a way to replenish your bankroll when it gets low. until you get more experience and skill, you make enough mistakes that keep you in jeopardy. so stay out of wild games and play only when in best of form. this should keep your win rate high, and quit games you are losing in early as there may be reasons why you are losing that you cant explain yet.