Basic Bankroll Requirements

While you may hear many different pieces of advice about bankroll strategy, two things are for sure.

1. There is no correct answer and the correct bankroll strategy varies from player to player

2. It is one of the most important aspects of gambling

So when trying to figure out the right bankroll strategy for you, the real question is, do you play for a living? Once that question is answered, here are some basic guidelines:

- Professional poker players need to have a different bankroll standard than hobby players. Players that derive part of their income from poker, but not all of it, a different standard yet.

- If your only income is going to come from poker, a good suggestion would be to have about three months worth of savings put away. Obviously that “figure” can change if your household income is shared with a spouse or roommates and, only if your spouse or roommates agree to it beforehand.

- The looser you play, the bigger bankroll you need. This is just common sense. With the mathematical variance in poker, the more hands you play, the more variance you are going to experience. Obviously, the more skill you have, the greater your edge is going to be over your opponents, which will cut down on your variance, but generally, more hands played equals bigger bankroll needed.

- If you have a way to replenish your bankroll, the smaller it needs to be. If you have a large amount of savings, and decide to player poker as a means of income between other jobs, bankroll rules aren’t as important as if you had no way to refill the roll if you should go bust.

- Also, if you have other income, say passive income like stocks or other investments, or a second standard wage paying job, your exact bankroll isn’t as important either. If you empty your bankroll during a particularly bad stretch, but can still pay your bills with other incomes, then your theoretical bankroll can be smaller than if you had no other income.


By now, you should have a better idea of where you stand. If you have other money, your bankroll can be smaller. If you don’t, it’s best to be over bankrolled for your particular limits. As a rule of thumb, standard bankrolls requirements are:

NLHE: 30+ buy ins for your standard limits – 20 if you are willing to drop down during a downswing – 10 is fine if you are just playing for entertainment

LHE: 500+ big bets for your standard limits – 300 if you are willing to drop down during a downswing – less if find if you are just playing for entertainment

PLO: 50+ buy ins for your standard limits, due to PLO having a larger amount of variety than NLHE in general – 30 if you are willing to drop down during a downswing – less if you are playing for entertainment

Omaha Eight or Better: 500 big bets is still the standard, but due to O8 being a split game, less is fine as well

Stud Games: 500 big bets for your standard limits is fine, but understand that there are 5 betting rounds in Stud, rather than 4 in Hold ‘em or Omaha Eight or Better – due to added betting rounds, it’s generally not recommended to play Stud for a living with less than 500 big bets, but again, it’s different for every person


Remember, bankroll requirements vary depending on your style of play, so none of these numbers are set in stone. One piece of advice I will give you though, playing over rolled is definitely better for your game than playing under rolled.