If you’ve been playing poker for some time, you will have your share of bad beat stories to tell. That’s because poker is a game of probabilities (some critics would call it a game of luck but that’s because they don’t know better). Even if you’re ahead of your opponent with a pair of aces on a A93 rainbow flop, there’s always the possibility he catches running 5′s for 4 of a kind. This element of chance is the basis of all variance in poker. Variance combined with your skill set at the tables is what makes your stack fluctuate from hand to hand, and your bankroll fluctuate on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. If you’re a poker novice, your bankroll will most likely decrease because you still have a lot to learn, but even poker pros
have bad runs.

Besides learning all the poker rules, proper bankroll management is your best weapon against variance and the risk of ruin. It goes without saying that you’re much more likely to lose a 100$ bankroll playing NL100$ tables compared to NL5$ tables. With proper bankroll management you will always have enough buyins in your bankroll to outlast bad spells. As a rule of thumb, you will need between 20 to 50 buyins on the level you’re playing to make sure you won’t go broke in the long run.

Before you make your first deposit, make sure you realize the consequences of your bankroll management choice. If you’re looking for quick thrills and the chance of building a bankroll with lightning speed go ahead and put your entire bankroll at stake on one table. Just be aware that you have a low chance of success. If on the other hand you’re looking to sustain your bankroll for a long time then stick to the 20 to 50 buyin rule of thumb. However, following this plan means that you will be grinding it out on small buyin tables for a long time in order to increase your bankroll enough to move up to the next level.

As for me, my grinding days are over. Some years ago I followed a strict bankroll management scheme for about a year and made enough money to pay for a road trip in Asia with my best friends. The trip was the best I’ve ever been on, but I realized that grinding isn’t my cup tea. Nowadays I deposit on average $100 a month into various poker sites and just have fun playing tournaments. If I cash big, I pull out the money and if I go broke I don’t worry too much about it.

If you don’t have money of your own to deposit, or belong to the group of unfortunate poker players in the US who are not allowed to deposit into poker sites, freerolls are a great way to start up a poker bankroll.

One of the best ways to increase your poker bankroll is playing online poker and taking advantage of the download and sign up bonuses where you are going to receive a dynamic, bankroll building depositor’s bonus, and continue to receive bonuses as you play. Titan Poker gives you $50 free and a huge deposit bonus when you come in as a new player. The bonuses at Titan don’t stop there and each one increases your bankroll without you putting a lot of money into it from your own savings.

You will need to figure out exactly what limit you can play comfortably, with your starting bankroll, and adapt to a strict discipline in following and staying within your guidelines. You should never jump up a limit or two, even if you have had a good run, until you know you are completely ready to make the move and your bankroll can handle the downside of variance. Many people feel that a few days of winning should let them take a shot at a higher limit. While playing a higher limit with a win from a previous session is not a bad thing, it should only be exactly that, a onetime shot with your winnings. And if you win in that session, put it in your bankroll and step back down to your regular limit. Don’t move up in limits until you know you can fade the heat and don’t be afraid to move back down if it isn’t going well.

Another way to continue to build your bankroll is playing at Full Tilt Rakeback. With Full Tilt Rake back calculator you can calculate your savings and know how much money you will get back every month. Since you are playing poker and giving up part of your hard earned dollars to each pot in rake, be sure to take advantage of receiving rakeback and defray the costs.

You may be concerned because you own a Mac and want to play internet poker but everything appears to be geared towards a Windows Operating PC. Mac Poker is available and you don’t have to spend a chunk of your poker bankroll to utilize it.

Once you have taken all the steps to build your bankroll and set up your goal and game plan, keep in mind that starting in limit, rather than no limit, may be the best move for you. Winning the first few pots in limit will keep you in the game and able to win more pots vs. playing no limit and losing all of your buy-in, plus your win, in one hand because of a mistake by you or a lucky draw from an opponent.

If you manage yourself, as well as your bankroll, coupled with deposit bonuses and rakeback, you should be able to build your bankroll into a nice sum that will allow you to move up in limits in a timely manner. And remember, there’s always a game tomorrow, you have plenty of time to work on your game and your bankroll. Keep your focus on your game, not someone else’s.

Why did you enter the freeroll that won you $2? Was it your first time playing poker?
I’ve been playing poker since I was a teenager in high school, about 15 years now. It wasn’t until about the last 5 years though that hold ‘em became my game of choice. I take my online hold ‘em journey seriously, but the game itself is still in a bit of a “hobby” stage right now. When I started playing online (about mid-summer 2007), since I wasn’t taking the game itself very seriously, I thought I’d try playing for free and see how it goes. After quite a few freerolls with 10,000-12,000 players, I finally hit a spot and won $2.00. Shortly after I decided to start this journey.

Why did you choose $100 as your goal? Any reason behind it?
That was the first goal I ever set (aside from my overall goal of never putting money in), and I set it more for something to shoot for than anything else. Since then my goals have been based on 20 to 30 buy-ins for that level, and I’ll likely continue to set my goals like this from here on out.

Now that you have hit the $250 bankroll mark, what goal have you set for yourself? How long do you think it will take to hit it?
My next goal is $700, and then I plan to move up to $25NL. If I had to guess it’ll take me 6 months, give or take a month. It isn’t uncommon for me to go a week or more without playing, or only play 1-3 sessions in a week. So progress can be slow, but as long as it’s progress, then I’m happy.

Do you currently play any forms other than NL Holdem?
Not so much. Occasionally I’ll still play an Omaha, Razz or HORSE freeroll, some of them fixed or pot limit, for fun more than anything. After I won my $2.00, I started with fixed Limit Hold em. Now I play NL holdem 99% of the time.

As you have moved up in blinds, has there been a difference in the performance of your opponents?
Very little, and I’m not trying to be arrogant. I haven’t changed the general way I play on my latest move up to $10NL. Before that my game changed as I progressed and learned, but not because of my opponents performance.

What playing style do you find most difficult to handle in an opponent? How would you characterize your poker style?
Great questions. How do I answer those without giving away too much information? Extreme loose aggressive players are probably the toughest for me to read. They play so many hands, and play some very well and some very bad, which makes it very difficult for me to gauge where my hands stand and if he/she has a specific range at all. My poker style is patient. I try to balance my play, mixing in bluffs and semi-bluffs. This helps expand my perceived range while giving me a chance to pick off some passive players. That’s all I have to say about that.

What do you believe is the best facet of your personality that has suited you to poker?
I’m a fairly patient person, and that works great for me when it comes to poker. I’ve had people tell me they wish they were as patient as me. I believe my patience makes my overall game better. Patience leads to discipline too, which not only helps on a hand by hand basis, but also with my bankroll management.

Do you have any superstitions while playing? What about pet peeves?
I don’t have superstitions now, I used to though. I don’t have any pet peeves in live play. It’s the idiots online that get me sometimes. They say things in chat that they’d never say to someone face to face. I’ve learned to let it go these days, but there was a time when someone would call my mom names (to put it nicely), or call me out in a myriad of ways, and I’d take it personally. Now that I’ve realized they’re just idiots and only making themselves look foolish, I just let them dig themselves a deeper hole.

You have played in the Twitter Poker Tour. What would you like to see changed about it, if anything?
As of this interview I’ve only played in the one PokerStars event we’ve had. I exited early but it was fun. I think the best part about the TPT is the friendly and usually funny chatter both on twitter and at the tables. So I have no complaints…yet.

What would be the one piece of advice you would give to someone to improve their game?
This was the hardest question to answer, I mean how do you narrow it down to just one? If I must though, I’d tell them to be patient, and have fun. Is that two? They work together though. If you’re truly committed to playing poker long term and continuing to get better along the way, you’ll struggle at times if you’re not patient and having fun along the way. There was a time or twenty when I went to bed and couldn’t sleep because that last session had me so frustrated. I’m not going to say I don’t get frustrated any more, that would mean I’m not trying to be competitive at all. I’m just saying that if you’re not having fun playing poker, then you’re doing something wrong and you’ll burn out eventually.

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So if you need to build that bankroll up a bit, and want to have fun while doing it, then check out PokerBRB.com. They will welcome you with open arms and help you on your way.