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Old 05-17-2005, 03:04 PM
Guruman Guruman is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 228
Default Re: Bankroll Considerations

[ QUOTE ]

Thank you very much for the kind advice. I'll keep it very much in mind.

But I was quite interested in the first part of your reply, where you said something about applying this to poker as opposed to coin flips.

poker sessions are not the same as coinflips that pay off certain odds. Or maybe they are. I do not know.

Just trying to learn as i go along. Just want to be aware of any patterns that might come along the way and throw a curveball.

[/ QUOTE ]

The primary difference between a poker game and a coinflip that pays 1.1 to 1 is that with the coinflip you have all of the information in the game available to you, and you know that you can make a certain play (to make the bet as opposed to passing on it) every time with positive EV.

In poker there are several facets of the game that you do not know when you make your decisions, and therefore you cannot be certain about the specific EV of your play in any concrete sense.

Ex:you hold AKs on a flop of 9TQ rainbow.

The only things you can calclulate for sure are
a)the probability of hitting a J for the straight on the next card or the river
b)the probability of hitting an A or K on the next card or the river
c)the requisite pot odds required to chase each card

Things you cannot calculate precisely that affect your EV in the hand include
a)your opponent's cards
c)what your opponent thinks you have
d)the size of a bet your opponent will call
e)the size of a bet your opponent will make if checked to
f)the size of a bet your opponent will fold to
g)what your opponent's next move will be

The most you can do is estimate any of these factors, and your ability to do so will almost entirely determine whether or not your bankroll is ever going to be large enough.

Solid mathematical play is an important foundation for any poker player, but once you've done the math in any hand you have to play the art in order to execute your move.

Bankroll requirements are not hard and fast rules that will ruin a player if violated. Have an appropriate bankroll will not guarantee that you won't go broke. Having a short bankroll will not guarantee that you will.

They are guidelines in place to show winning players how much to have available when attempting specific stakes.
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