« Back to Aaron Bartle

Holding On To Your Winnings

By Aaron Bartle, August 23 2005

One of the most important poker lessons has nothing to do with how to play Aces in late position or how to adjust for the maniac in seat three. It's how to manage your money in a way that will make it grow as quickly as possible with minimal risk.

Some of the most highly skilled players in the game have gone broke (repeatedly) simply because they played too high, too fast, too often. How can we make sure this problem never happens to us? It isn't a matter of smarts, but rather, one of discipline.

The most important step is to be honest with yourself. You should know your relative skill level at all times. Suppose you're a $1/$2 No-Limit Hold 'em player who's had a great night, and you're toying with taking a shot at the $5/$10 game. Your bankroll is up to $1,500, but you would need to bring at least $500 to the table in order to play comfortably at the higher level.

Why would you risk putting a third of your bankroll on the table to play in the $5/$10 game? For starters, your bankroll isn't big enough for the stake; more importantly, you also need to consider that the skill level of the $5/$10 players is greater than the competition you're used to. (That's not always true, of course. There are some very skilled $1/$2 players and some weak $5/$10 players, but it's not unreasonable to assume that the higher-level games are filled with better players.)

This is where self-control comes in. One slip-up can spell disaster for a bankroll, and watching six months of hard work disappear in six hours of foolish play is enough to crush anyone's spirits.

The safest course of action is to continue doing what you're doing. You're beating the $1/$2 game for a tidy profit every week - stay right where you are. Continue proving that you can beat the game. While you're doing that, your bankroll should grow accordingly. Beating a game for six days is proof of very little. Beating the same game for six months is better evidence that you are a winning player.

Start tracking your results. You can buy tracking software or easily create a database of your own. Put in all of your information after each time you play - limits, time at the tables, profits/losses. Go over your information every few weeks, both for your recent play and for your entire poker lifetime. Try to spot bad trends before they get out of hand. If you've been playing well at a certain level over a long period of time, only then should you consider moving up to the next highest level.

Above all, know where your money is at all times and how it is being used. Ask yourself, "Is this too much risk for me considering my current bankroll?" If the answer is yes, do the responsible thing and change tables. Months later, you'll be thankful you did.

You can play with Aaron Bartley at online poker room

  • Aaron Bartle - Tips and Articles:

  • Holding On To Your Winnings

    August 23 2005

    One of the most important poker lessons has nothing to do with how to play...

FULL TILT POKER

$100 FREEROLLS

Available only to member of this site

Any player signing up using the bonus code 100FULL can play at this exclusive freeroll. More details here...

Register here

Open a new account at Full Tilt Poker, write in the a promotion field the following code:

'100FULL' Download & Play

 

Full Tilt Poker News

  • Full Tilt Your Way to Vegas

    IfThe WSOP is just around the corner, but for many Vegas is a very long way a way; a visit to Full Tilt Poker could make it that much closer.

  • Team Full Tilt WSOP antics

    Full Tilt’s team of poker professionals is certainly taking it to the competition in this year’s WSOP. They have captured a couple of bracelets in the first 4 events. It was only bad luck that prevented them from …

  • More Team Full Tilt WSOP news

    Starting with event #14, the Full Tilt professionals really got going. Erik Seidel would only finish 5th in that one, but there was nothing that could stop Mike Matusow from winning #18, as Jens Voertmann, Max Pescatori and Kenny Tran followed suit in events #22, 24 and 25 …

Bonus and Promotions

Full Tilt Poker has nice offers and great promotions, where we give away tons of money. Free poker play and freerolls are available to all players!!!

This Full Tilt Poker deposit bonus can only be used by new players when they sign up for a new player account.

Full Tilt’s SNG Madness is back! - SNG freeroll

If you’re a Sit’n Go specialist, you’ll be glad to learn that Full Tilt Poker’s SNG Madness is back! From June 19 to June 21st, you’ll be able to participate in this rather unique promotion, to secure your share of a $125k overall prize-pool. All you need to do is to play in your favorite SNGs all weekend and you’ll qualify for the promotion.