Few questions in poker have as many answers as the question “what is the ideal bankroll for tournament poker?” There are a million different answers because there are a lot of variables involved in determining the proper sized roll that will sustain a player’s tournament play. This article breaks down those variables and helps the reader find his or her own sweet spot.

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Statistical Analysis

PTBB - pokertracker big bet - refers to what the big bet would be in no-limit games, if there were such a thing. Twice the big blind. Used by Poker Tracker software to calculate winrates.

VPIP - voluntarily put money in pot. The percentage of times the player put money into a pot, adjusted for forced blind bets.

PFR - preflop raise. The percentage of times the player raised preflop. This will necessarily be less than VPIP, unless the player never calls preflop, in which case the two would be equal.

WWSF - won when saw flop. The percentage of times the player won (or split) the pot compared to number of flops seen.

W$SD - won at showdown. The percentage of times the player wins when involved in a showdown.

AF - aggression factor. A measure of the player’s aggression after the flop.

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Reading about poker in strategy forums is one good way of improving your game. It’s not perfect, as no technology to date has been developed that allows a forum to screen out bad advice, so take things that you read online with a grain of salt. Abbreviations are used often in strategy forums to make posting simple and easy-to-read, as long as you understand the terminology used. Here is a brief guide to some of the more common usages.

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If you are short-stacked in a poker tournament and on the edge of pushing all in, there is a certain play that you can make to help improve the chances of keeping your tournament life. The play that you can use is known as the ‘stop and go’ play, and it takes place over the preflop and flop betting round when you have a hand that you are prepared to move all-in with. Read the rest of this entry »

To become a winning player in the game of no limit Texas Holdem, it is important that you are able to properly size your bets at each stage of every hand. By using the correct bet amounts, you will be able to exercise greater control over the odds your opponent will be receiving to continue with their hand to chase a draw or to simply improve by some means. If you are regularly giving your opponents the correct odds to call you when you have the best hand, you will find that you have a major leak in your game. Read the rest of this entry »

When you first sit down at the poker table, it is great to be able to spot the weak players from the strong ones. By doing this you can build up an idea of how you are going to play your hands depending on whom you are up against in each particular pot. However, if you are not familiar with any of the players at the table, you may find it hard to form a good idea of how good your opponents may be within the first few hands. In spite of this, there are still a few things you can look out for to spot the weaker players. Read the rest of this entry »

Many novice and some experienced players will often find themselves questioning where the most money to be made from poker is. Should you play in the tournaments with the recreational players, or sit down in the cash games where novice mistakes can be punished greatly? Furthermore, should you play in the big multi-table tournaments or just in the smaller sit and gos? Hopefully this article should shed some light on this all to common question for you. Read the rest of this entry »

The float play is a great bluffing move that works well against some of the more advanced players in the game. The move takes place over two betting rounds and it is one of the safest and strongest bluffs that can be employed on the Texas Holdem tables. The move basically involves calling down a bet from your opponent on the flop with the intention of betting on the turn if your opponent shows any weakness. Read the rest of this entry »

In the game of Texas Holdem, the river can be a very tricky street to play. The river is different to other streets in Holdem, because players will no longer be drawing to any hands, as there will be no more cards to come. Therefore you are forced to make the best 5-card hand possible, and you must try and evaluate whether or not you have the best hand before making your action. Read the rest of this entry »

For any No Limit Texas Holdem player, it is important to be able to exercise good starting hand selection. Being able to sort between the bad hands and the good hands is key to becoming a winning poker player, which makes it a fundamental skill that all new poker players should try and learn. If you are unable to choose the correct hands that you should and shouldn’t be playing, you will find that you will be losing money through a very big leak in your game. Read the rest of this entry »

The majority of poker players will specialize in one form of poker. For most players that have entered the game over the last four or five years, this will probably be Texas Holdem. Texas Holdem has been greatly glamorised over recent years through the media, which has attracted high volumes of players to this one game in particular. However, there are a wealth of other poker variants out there that can be just as enjoyable. Read the rest of this entry »

Every live card room has their own specific rules of etiquette. These rules may vary from room to room, but they will usually have a fundamental set of rules common to them all. The online poker rooms are not too different, but a lot of these rules are not actively enforced, and it is expected that each of the players adhere to them to help the games run as smoothly as possible. Here are a few of the most common rules of online poker etiquette: Read the rest of this entry »

If you have read much poker literature or overheard any poker-related conversations, you may have come across different terms to describe the styles of play that opponents may posses. Terms that are frequently used are passive, aggressive, loose and tight, and often these will be combined to greater define specific styles of play. At first if you are fairly new to the game, these terms will mean very little to you, I know that I remember not having the faintest clue about what these meant when I first heard them. However, they are all fairly easy to understand and make perfect sense when you think about them. Read the rest of this entry »

If we are being honest with ourselves, we can all think of a time when we have gone on tilt, and stepped up a level or two to try and win some quick money. It really isn’t that uncommon at all, and it isn’t help by the fact that the limit above is only a few clicks of the mouse away. Some people have a greater tendency to play out of their bankroll than others, but what affect does playing out of your bankroll have on our game? Read the rest of this entry »

If you sit down at any Texas Holdem poker table, you will notice that before the flop there will usually be a raiser. This will force other players at the table to call more bets instead of just the blind alone to see a flop. To the amateur this may seem a little frustrating; why are players making each other pay more to see a flop? Why don’t they just call the Big Blind and see a flop for cheap? Surely that way everyone has a chance to make a good hand, instead of cutting everyone out preflop. Read the rest of this entry »