Building your bankroll vs cashing in some winnings
I'm pretty conservative wrt bankroll management. The majority of my games are cash games and I am a winning player. I'll play a low limit tournament here and there mostly to allow myself to play like an idiot for a while.
I generally play limit holdem/stud/omaha and like to have a minimum of 300bb before moving up limits as a primary game (I take some shots here and there). Currently, I don't spend any of my winnings...just plugging along and now have a fairly comfortable 20 40 bankroll.
What about you?
I generally play limit holdem/stud/omaha and like to have a minimum of 300bb before moving up limits as a primary game (I take some shots here and there). Currently, I don't spend any of my winnings...just plugging along and now have a fairly comfortable 20 40 bankroll.
What about you?
Comments
Latey though, I've started using my mad money cushion to take shots. But 300BB!!! your way out of my league.
Is this rather standard? Having 300BB to move up in limits??
I stick to playing the $3R's, $5R's and $10R's as well as playing in the occasional satellite to the big Sunday tourny. I usually try at least 2 or 3 of the sats, if I don't win my seat by then, I give up and get back to just the MTT's.
Do I withdrawl money? Absolutely!
I think it's a good trade-off, since not only do I get to play more (and I couldn't make nearly what I am on "spare hours"), but my family cheers me on. It's fun when you're kids are hurrying to finish their paper-route because they want Daddy to be able to leave and "go win some money for Disney".
My goal is $5k, cash out $2k for something fun and repeat.Â
What I do is when my bank roll hits a certain limit I take %50 of it and deposit it into a Savings account with the idea of using that money for a vacation or trip or something. Every time my bank roll hits that limit the %50 goes into the account.
I have noticed that with my bank roll growing I have branched out and play high limit games. Not really taking a shot but playing games that when I first started that I considered way out of my bankroll.
In the next couple weeks I will also re-start my b&m bankroll by playing $2-$5 at Brantford. My goal is to be playing $10-$20 by christmas..
I haven't had time to play much poker lately and can't wait to visit Brantford again. In the past I have found that patience and setting small goals is the best way to build your bankroll. If you jump up a level to early you may find yourself starting from scratch again very shortly.
I usually give my wife most of the earnings Period. She in return buys stuff for the family or for our new home ie: curtains,yard stuff, things in the garage. or clothes for the kids herself or even for me lol, underwear, sad but true
As my on line game sucks most of my winnings are from league tournaments.
The big picture is practicing on line small stakes, learning and getting paid off at our league.
When the wife is happy she does not t mind me playing although she has noticed the well has run a tad dry lately.
I keep a small percentage about two months of tournament cash about 60 bucks and that is just about it.
A happy partner = more playing experience, thus maybe growing to higher levels although all in all keeping a level head.
What sort of message does this send to your kids. You;re basicaly telling them its ok to gamble to make money for stuff rather then work hard for it. Worst even, what happenes if you by some chance crap out in this mission and then have to tell the kids that the trip is off. I'm all for using gambling winnings to buy things but you're wandering around in some dangerous teritory there Beanie.
SocietyRed, you pose a very good question, which I will do my best to answer. First, I apologize for the late reply as I was away for a few days. Also, I apologize to everyone else for briefly hi-jacking this thread, but I think it's very worthwhile in case I'm missing something in my thinking that others can point out, or if I can help out anyone else who has to deal with "poker and kids".
I take my parenting responsibility VERY seriously. As anyone who knows me will attest to, I am careful with what I teach and expose my kids to. Just as point of reference, we (my wife and I) won't allow our kids to watch any movies we have not checked out first. Our cautiousness takes a lot of extra work and time, but I think it's worth it. My kids are my most important treasure, and because of that, I thought a lot about whether to play poker at all. I will not hide what I do from my kids, since that is a pretty bad example. If it's ok for me to do it, it should be something I can at least explain to them. As I've learned more about poker, I feel even better about my decision, and I've actually been able to use poker to teach quite a few lessons to my kids about discipline, financial management, language (thanks Mario
As far as "gambling to make money for stuff rather then work hard for it", I don't think poker is gambling. This has been debated in a different thread, and I won't debate it here, rather I will simply state my opinion. I consider gambling to be "risking money in an attempt to multiply the money on something that is against the odds". Buying a lottery ticket is gambling, because it is -EV. I believe playing above your bankroll, playing any 2 cards to get lucky, playing in games where you have no edge (for example against all better players) are all forms of poker gambling. However, playing at stakes your where your bankroll can sustain the variance, where you have an edge over some of the players, and where you have enough skill to be profitable change it from something against the odds to something more akin to skillful investing - there will be variance, but over time you will see profit. Again, others may have different opinions, but this is mine, and the basis for what I teach my kids.
I also consider poker to be "work". I don't play and hope to get lucky and win. I play and expect that for every x hours I play I will make $y. This is not static every session, this is an average over time. I have done a lot of research into what to expect, and I also track my results very closely, so my expectations are based on historical results (both mine after a lot of hands, and "standards" published by those I respect) rather than just guesses. Also, playing profitably requires spending dedicated time playing, as well as time doing "training" either by reading, discussing, or getting coaching - very similar to what I have to do in my real job. When my kids say "go play poker to make money for Disney", it is the same as saying "go work on computers to make money for food". While I have fun playing, I treat poker as a part-time job, and that's how I explain it to my younger kids. With my older kids, I have gone into a bit more detail.
As far as "crapping out in this mission", that is possible. However, if that occurs I will simply have to explain to them what happened. I see that as highly unlikely since I am being very careful to play in such a way that my bankroll can manage the variance, and I believe my skill is adequate and improving, but anything is possible. However, I could also lose my job and not be able to put food on the table, and I would have to explain to them about the unforeseen problems with my regular job. In this case, I would have to explain about problems with my part-time job.
Considering my view that poker (played with a certain amount of discipline, as described above) is not gambling, and that poker is work, I have no problem letting my kids know about it. My kids understanding is that the reason I am playing so much is to try to afford something I could not afford with my regular salary alone. You are correct that it is dangerous territory, but I think that simply means you need to be more active and intelligent when discussing it with kids, not that you should avoid the subject.
That said, I do take "poker and kids" very seriously, and I am always interested in hearing other's views...
I am certainly not laughing. Half of my bankroll paid for all of the christmas presents my wife and I had to buy last winter. I don't see the way you are using your winnings as being sad at all. I see my winnings as another source of income for our family.
I'm hoping that somehow I can perhaps work up to pay my last year's tuition, but that's a lot of money, and a lng way away.
Yeah Trevor, you nailed it, well said...I think there are a few of us that treat the game this way, I'm on the same page as you. I was calling it a hobby but your part-time job analysis is much better. Right now I am playing working towards a summer vacation at the end of July, then Disney in 2007 or likely 2008, then the Olympics in 2010. I go at it a little bit differently though, I budget the trip from our regular sources of income so that we're tucking a little away to save for these trips so we're going regardless of where my poker bankroll is but then I also play work my poker roll towards that goal as well and if I am successful then it helps the bank account that much more. I see nothing wrong with how we are approaching this and as far as kids and poker go I truly believe there are numerous good life skills to be learned in learning how to approach and play this game. My kids are too young yet to play with the big boys when I have home games but if they want to play with Daddy I will not hesitate to spend the time with them doing so.
That said, you really need to decide whether you want this as a part-time job, since that increases the "boredom" a bit, while decreasing the enjoyment. Poker is a great hobby that you can make money at as a side effect. But treating it as a job that you make money at, and enjoyment is only a side-effect, really changes things. Most of my live games are for fun, and my online stuff is work, and keeping the 2 mindsets/approaches separate is important for my sanity. My wife also plays, but purely for fun - she's not interested in getting into the grind, she just wants a fun hobby. Treating it as a job isn't for everyone. As mentioned in the "going pro" threads, spend some time seriously thinking about why you play.
This has been a pretty good system for me and I've been able to use my winnings to pay my tution, as well as move up stakes pretty aggressively.