Hull suggests starting with a ‘golden buy-in’. There is something about keeping a physical bankroll that provides emotional stability at the table. In poker, it’s a long walk while trying to stay out of the gutter (going broke), but the wider the sidewalk (your bankroll) the less chance there is of hitting the gutter.īankroll management is a bit of a psychological trick. If he hits the wall, he will most probably just drag his face along the wall, but if he hits the gutter, that will be the end of his walk. He imagines an infinite long sidewalk with a wall on the one side and a gutter on the other, with every step the drunk will walk closer to the wall or closer to the gutter. Hull discusses a concept called the “drunkards walk” which references bankroll management perfectly. The essential part of bankroll management is being a winning player, if you are not winning it doesn’t matter, you will never build a bankroll. For most poker players, bankroll management does not matter, because they are losing poker players.

Starting bankroll for poker