Building a Bankroll From Scratch
I'm the prime example that with enough drive a poker player can
turn as little as $50 into a fortune playing poker. That's what I
started with five years ago and since then I've bought a truck, a
boat, a laptop and more with my poker earnings, and I've never had
to re-deposit any money.
It took me about six months to make my first $10,000 playing
Hold'em, and I realize now that I could have cut that time down
considerably had I made a larger initial deposit. Some people would
rather just deposit more money and play the higher limits right
away, but an inexperienced player, such as myself when I started,
will be safer starting small and building up a bankroll as they
learn and grow as a player.
Building up a bankroll from scratch isn't easy - it takes
patience and determination. You will spend a long time building up a
bankroll when starting from a small deposit, and you must have the
patience to ride out the ups and downs of consistent poker play to
attain that profit.
Determination comes into play because you have to set your goal
and make it your highest priority. Everything else in life will
become secondary as you play poker as much as possible to meet that
goal. Get in the zone before every session and treat it as if it
were your last so that you'll always be playing your best poker
while working towards your goal.
The first and easiest way to meet your bankroll goals is through
tournaments. I started out playing $10 sit-and-go tournaments with
10 people in them until I'd made about $300, then I graduated to $30
buy-ins. When I had about $700 in my bankroll, I moved up to $50
buy-ins and the rest is history as I made my first $1,000 and
advanced to the cash tables.
You can also use the cash game route to build your roll. This
route is harder because you have to start with playing extremely low
and boring limits at first. Plus, the swings can be horrible since
many inexperienced players will try to draw out on you. If you do
decide to go the cash game route, the best way to go is to play only
premium hands - "push and pray" is the motto.
The beauty of building a large bankroll is that you can play
weaker holdings in hopes of flopping a monster, and when you do hit
that big hand in No-Limit, you'll get paid handsomely. Just remember
that Rome wasn't built in a day, and your bankroll won't be either.
Give it some time, and I'm sure you'll eventually be sitting with
the big dogs. |
