You buy in and you're on a roll. You have a couple of hours to burn at the poker tables and you say to yourself, "Time to move up to the next level and make some real money; explode my bankroll!"



Before you know it your $25 turns into $50, and even $100. "Forget these $.10 / $.25 tables, I'm playing the $1 / $2," and on you go.









Then it happens, you're dealt pocket aces and ready to double up, "Who's it going to be this time?"



You raise, then it's re-raised, and you move all in. Your opponent flips over an Ace-King, "Poker is so easy."



The flop comes Jack-Queen-Four, the turn another Four, "Yes! Yes! Ye..," and a Ten hits.



You can't believe your luck; you've lost everything in a matter of seconds.



Most poker players fail at effectively managing their winnings. Whenever they win they move up to the next level and so on, until the crash. Often the rebound is to buy in for what was lost (including the winnings) in an attempt to quickly recapture their streak. This usually results in a further loss as the player has become anxious and makes poorer decisions than they did so previously; this process is often referred to as going on tilt.



The way to avoid this is to play smart poker, just like you did to rise to your previous winnings before the fall. Smart poker means good play, but more importantly smart bankroll management.



There are lots of opinions as to the percentage of your bankroll that you should play with, but I think a good medium is to never buy into games that have a maximum buy-in of more than 10 - 20 times your bankroll. This means that with $100 dollars allocated to poker, you should only be risking $5 - $10 at any given point. It also means that you shouldn't move onto the next level before you have 10 - 20 times the max buy-in for that game.



Why is this important?



To put this in perspective consider that almost 100% of the hands you play can be beat after the flop or turn even if you currently have the best hand. To protect a hand that may get out drawn, you'll probably be betting large enough to push out any callers or to remove the pot odds if someone decides to chase their draw. This can often involve going all-in and there are always going to be times where players will call with worse hands and get lucky.



The point is that you're only losing about $25 if you had stayed at the $.10 / $ .25 table leaving you with $75 left, while at the $1 / $2 table you lose everything. One scenario leaves you with 3 times your original buy in and the other one $25 in the hole.



The odds will eventually favor the player behind, which is why patience in bankroll management is so vital for a successful poker player. Whether a novice or pro, understanding and managing your bankroll is the sure path to poker success.

By: Scott Million

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Read more on bankroll management and poker at Holdem Poker X

-Article written by Scott Million