Backup plan: Building a bankroll from scratch
Ever gone on one of the worst run of cards you can remember and check your account balance to realize the sick truth of your losses? When I first started playing online poker I would buyin for $50 and losing it was such a huge loss to me, then I bought in for $100 and on, etc, etc. Usually I would play for a few days and find myself slipping, from $100 to $70 to $40 to $15 and I would start to freak out. I had lost over 80% of my bankroll, I’m screwed! What usually followed was a loose buyin for the remainder of my money in an attempt to get it all back at once, but now I have a new strategy.
The way I play online poker is usually keeping my bankroll comfortable, usually around $200-$500. Whenever I get above that I like to cash out $200 and get it in the bank. I’m very big on making sure my profit gets into the bank account. The money I have online that is above my buyin may be profit, but I don’t think of it as profit until it is secure in my checking account. That money can be gone in one day if I hit a really cold streak. Anyway, recently I went on one of those cold streaks. I’ve been having a good quarter and kept my bankroll around $350. I had just cashed out $200 and my online account was down to $150, a little low for my liking, but all I had to do was win a few tournaments or make some money at the ring tables to get right back up when I hit my cold streak. In one day I was down to $9. I almost freaked when I remembered all those records I used to keep for heads up sit-n-gos. I hadn’t played any in a long time but I looked back at my stats and I was 45% in the money (1st place) in both the $5 and $10 heads up SNGs, so I decided that was a great place to start.
I played .05/.10 NL holdem and earned $2 so I had $11 in my account. I then split that up into two $5.25 buyins for the heads up tournament and focused on those two. I won one, lost one. That put the account back to $20, and I was feeling very confident. I then played one $10 heads up and lost. I was back to where I started but not discouraged. I got it back to $11 with the ring games and then played two more $5. Won one, lost one. Played a $10 SNG and won, and the bank account was $40. Played one more and won, account $70. BAM. Just like that I calmed down, went to the tournaments I knew I had great success in and brought my account back from the dead. The ability to revive a low bankroll without having to reload from your bank account is huge, especially in the confidence arena. I always feel when I reload that now I’m in the hole for my buyin and I need to double up to feel good again.
After getting the account to $80 I bought into one of my favorite 6-handed tournaments, the $38 freezouts. I managed to sneaked from 5th of 5 to 2nd place and a small profit of $35. The account is back to $110 from $9.
I’ll never forget coming to school this year with $3.40 in my Pokerstars account when I loaded it up and thinking, “I’ll play a bit, why not.” I played the low limit games and turned that $3 into $2600 without ever having to reload. All you need to avoid reloads is have a good backup, know the games you’re very successful at and be confident. As long as you don’t get down on yourself about the loses you’ve suffered and not throw it all into a last-ditch effort to get it all back you can mount a great comeback.
Good luck
Steve
Related Posts
- Cashing out
- Confidence is a must
- Free money at Bodog? Kind of.
- Heads up SNG challenges
- Sickest run of cards ever
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