A player’s bankroll is the total amount he has to play poker for a session. This should not be confused with the buy-in, or the basic amount of money that a player has to ante up to join a table. Instead, the bankroll is everything the player has available and it is important that this amount is appropriate for the table.
A poker player that has very limited funds is more or less forced to play focused on his bankroll as opposed to being focused on the cards. The range of options, as well as the general enjoyment of the game, is significantly lessened by joining a table with an inadequate bankroll. Further, since a player in this circumstance can afford few mistakes, it is entirely possible that he will either lose all his money by folding hand after hand or that he will resort to making desperate plays.
Texas Hold’em
In general, most professionals suggest that a player should have between two hundred and three hundred times the amount of the big bet when playing Texas Hold’em poker. So, for example, if you are playing Texas Hold’em 2/4, the big bet is $4.00, meaning a player should have either two hundred times $4.00 ($800) or three hundred times $4.00 ($1,200) in his bankroll before ever sitting down at the table. This allows the player enough leeway to play the game properly, and make his plays based on the cards as opposed to his bankroll. This same idea holds true regardless of the limits of the table. If the game is Texas Hold’em 15/30, then the player should have a bankroll of either $6,000 (200 x $30.00) or $9,000 (300 x $30.00).
Of course, a player does not have to have this money available to play, and even professionals will sometimes stay at a table with fifty times the big bet during a downswing. This is not unreasonable, but for most non-professional players, have a safe bankroll of three hundred times the big bet affords the player a healthy cushion to mitigate the effects of bad decisions and allowing the player to still learn and enjoy the poker game.
Omaha Eight-or-Better
In typical Omaha poker, the big bet is just a set amount that allows a player to buy-in at any particular point during the game. However, Omaha Eight-or-Better is a much more mathematically direct game, meaning there is less short-term variance. Further, since there is a greater chance of winning at Omaha Eight-or-Better, many players are less inclined to fold even if they are holding a less than ideal hand. For this reason, a smaller bankroll is usually acceptable for people playing this game. This is also why many Omaha Eight-or-Better games do not use a big bet at all and instead opt for limits on the pot.
Assuming a person is playing Omaha Eight-or-Better and already has a decent grasp of the game, it is usually recommended that they have a bankroll of roughly two hundred times the big bet. As is the case with Texas Hold’em, a player can of course play with a smaller bankroll, but two hundred times the big bet amount provides plenty of room for a resourceful player negotiate the game.
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