I'
m going to chime into this thread with a few words of sound advice on a few things I am reading here.
First,
tilt is the single biggest destroyer of bankrolls, poker psyches and poker play. I'
m sitting here writing this reply, glancing to the right of my monitors. I have two poker books sitting on my desk [and a bunch of poker magazines] as I type. The important book is The Poker Mindset by Taylor and Hilger*.
The Poker Mindset will fix a lot of your problems if you take it's words to heart. I'
m not here to
sell a book.
Tilt, however, is too big a
leak and sometimes people need help and resources to curtail it. It has a chapter on
bankroll that incorporates the perils of
tilt within it.
Second, proper
bankroll management is necessary, otherwise you are just playing to play. There are many different opinions on what a proper
bankroll is for each limit, no-limit,
SnG and tournament
buy-in and
stake, but the underlying fact is that all of them are targeted to helping players understand the importance of following one. Following proper
bankroll management will almost always ensure that a decent player never goes
broke. Built into each are guidelines for
moving up and down limits as
well as tournaments and SnGs. This doesn't mean you can't take an occasional shot at a higher tournament or limit, but that you really need to know the consequences of doing so and also the ramifications of doing so on your
bankroll if you happen to fail the endeavor.
If you are rolled for $2.20 tournaments, an occasional $4.40 or $5.50 [maybe once a month or every other month] is OK. Your $220
bankroll can take that occasional hit. The $4.40
buy-in represents 2% of your
bankroll. What we are arguing against is taking a chance on an $11
buy-in as that is 5% of your
bankroll. That's a big hit.
Being an American, I've been out of the European market for far too long to rightfully remember the perks of
PokerStars or the other Euro-sites. However, since I now play on Bovada, I have the ability to convert my points there into tournament tickets. I'
m rolled to play as high as $5.50 in tournaments, although I usually play NL and FL cash. I tend to stockpile $2.20 to $16.50 tickets for the inevitable round of tournaments I get the
bug to play. If any of your sites allow this
option then that is the ticket to you taking shots at higher tournaments. Play within your
bankroll and trade in points for tournament tickets and use those to take your shots at higher buy-ins. This way you won't be affecting your
bankroll and, more importantly, you should never feel the pinch of playing scared or feeling you have to make bad decisions based on the
bankroll percentage you have invested.
Good luck!
*Disclaimer: I know Ian Taylor and Matthew Hilger personally. I worked for Matt for 6 years. I haven't found a better book addressing
tilt and setting oneself up for the right mental attitude than this one.
Originally Posted by Piscivorous
I'm going to chime into this thread with a few words of sound advice on a few things I am reading here.
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