Archive for the ‘Money management’ Category

Enjoying the spoils – When to Cash Out

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

cash-outWhatever your reason for playing poker, at some point you are going to want to benefit from your ever increasing bankroll. If you are a professional it will be to pay the bills and buy biscuits, for those more recreational players you might want a new pair of shoes. Or you might want to buy biscuits as well.

You can cash out your winnings from an online poker account any time you like, though some are much better than others. For instance bodog are very good, 888.com not so much. So you should look at how quickly you want to with draw and how much transfers back into your bank will cost.

Making regular withdrawals will make you feel better about the days when you lose and stop you blowing all your winnings on a crap shoot because ‘it’s there’. Obviously you want to be building your bankroll but you want to see some reward to.

]You can set yourself withdrawal goals in many different ways. Some set themselves a target, say $100, and cash it out when they have made it. Others, like me, like to cash out a percentage of their profit on a weekly basis. The benefit of the latter is you will be building your bankroll as well as seeing a reward.

Keep an Eye on your Bankroll – Keeping Records Pays off

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

moneyHow much did you make last month? Last week? Yesterday? If you don’t know then you are probably leaking cash faster than a sinking ship. If you want to be a profitable player then you should be keeping accurate records of your play. Keeping records makes you focus on whether you are actually losing. If you don’t keep them you may not notice you are not really winning until all your cash has gone. It will also give you an accurate reflection of how good you actually are.

Records you should be keeping include the following as a minimum;

Where: the site or casino. I would also think about adding days and dates. Knowing where you play best is important. Some sites will have players that you can crush easily. Other sites will have players that can crush you.

Type of game: This is important as not every type of game will suit you. Are you better at cash games or tournaments?

The profit: Not how much you won but the real profit. Winning $100 in a tournament sounds good but if you paid $99 to enter in reality it isn’t that good.

Time played: It is easy to while away the hours. If you made $50 dollars yesterday that is good but less impressive if it took you 16 hours to do it. Honestly you are better off working in Mc Donalds

You can record all your games/sessions/tournaments in a simple spreadsheet or you can a program like Poker Tracker or Hold’em Manager to help you.