Bankroll management is perhaps one of the most important fundamentals of poker and it’s not always a clear-cut process. Each player has their own comfort zone , what they are willing to risk and lose. Some people say that bankroll management is almost a science. However, it is not necessarily true because of those individual comfort zones.

Newbie poker players feel certain that bankroll management is a cut and dried process. They only bring enough money that they are comfortable losing. By the same token, they tell themselves that when they win more money, they can move to a game with a little higher stakes. There is usually just one little problem with that thought; they do not define that dollar limit. It is kind of tough to practice bankroll management without that defining dollar amount.

Most poker players start out on the lower limit games. So, thinking about bankroll management, they should probably have about two hundred times the game limit. This is a very conservative estimate and some players feel more comfortable with twice that amount. Having a cushion is a smart move in bankroll management. That way, poker players have a little breathing room should they run into a streak of bad luck.

Pride sometimes gets in the way of poker players in higher stakes games. When they are on a losing streak and their bankroll is shrinking, it is tough but necessary to know when to push back from the table while they still have a few bucks left in their pocket. Knowing the time they need to stop and say that’s enough is an essential part of bankroll management.

A clear-cut process does not describe bankroll management; however, common sense and knowing those comfort zones do. Keeping tabs on those comfort zones are what saves many poker players from spending their entire bankroll.