Everything you need to know about bankroll management in 2025

Apart from a lack of skill, the second biggest reason poker players lose their money is poor bankroll management—the ability to manage their poker funds effectively.

Ask any professional player for their top three tips on how to start playing poker successfully, and nearly all of them will mention bankroll management in some form.

So, what exactly is bankroll management, and what should it look like in 2025? In this article, we’ll answer the most common questions on the subject in detail.

We’ve also put together a list of the best poker rooms for players of all levels. Browse the options to find the best site for regular play.

What is bankroll management?

Simply put, bankroll management (BRM) is the process of managing your poker funds in a way that ensures you never risk more than you can afford to lose.

Effective BRM requires a clear understanding that the amount of money you allocate to poker should determine the stakes you play. In theory, this sounds simple—but in practice, many players struggle to follow it.

BRM also involves recognising and accepting that variance (or short-term luck) is a natural part of poker.

The goal of BRM is to give you confidence that your allocated bankroll can withstand the inevitable downswings that come with high variance. That’s why strong bankroll management demands discipline and mental stability.

It’s also important to understand that BRM isn’t just about protecting your funds. It ensures you’re playing at limits appropriate to your current skill level—neither too high nor too low.

For players looking to build their bankroll without risking their own money, taking advantage of offers like the Slotozen Casino no deposit bonus can be a great way to start. Such bonuses provide extra funds to practice solid BRM and gain experience before committing your own bankroll.

In short, a solid BRM is essential for playing both profitably and safely.

Why is a good BRM so important?

The money you win or lose in a single hand, session, or even across several sessions is often influenced by short-term fluctuations—this is variance. In simple terms, it’s what makes poker not just a game of skill, but also a game of chance.

While you can’t eliminate variance from the game, you can reduce its impact by following proper bankroll management (BRM). That means ensuring your bankroll is suitable for the stakes you’re playing.

If your bankroll is too small to handle the natural swings of the game, you’re setting yourself up for failure. On the other hand, if your bankroll is too large for your current limit, you may be playing too conservatively and missing out on potential earnings.

With solid BRM, you can trust that your bankroll is working with you—not against you.

What are the basic principles of poker bankroll management?

There are three basic principles of bankroll management (BRM) that every poker player should follow:

• Only risk money you can afford to lose
• Play only at limits that match your actual skill level
• Be disciplined and patient while building your bankroll

These principles form the foundation of successful BRM and apply to all players, regardless of experience or skill level.

Always remember: your poker bankroll is for poker only

Let’s get one thing straight: only use money you can afford to lose when playing poker!

This is one of the golden rules for playing poker safely. The money you set aside as your poker bankroll should never be needed for anything outside of poker.

For example, if you have £2,000 available but need to pay £1,500 toward your mortgage or other essential expenses next month, then your actual bankroll isn’t £2,000—it’s just £500.

It’s absolutely crucial that no part of your poker bankroll is required elsewhere. Once you start playing with money you can’t afford to lose, you’re risking financial harm—and that’s a death sentence in any form of gambling, including online poker.

Always keep your poker funds separate to minimise any risks to your financial well-being.

BRM will help you find the most profitable game for you

Poker bankroll management (BRM) is more than just making a one-time deposit and playing within that limit. The size of your bankroll determines which games you can afford to play.

Every poker player dreams of moving up to higher limits to win bigger money, but very few plan to move down in stakes when needed.

Being honest with yourself and having the discipline to move down when necessary is key to long-term success.

Using BRM as a tool to choose your playing limit ensures you stop exactly where you can still make a profit. This means you must be ready to drop to lower limits if you suffer losses.

Once you start winning again, you can rebuild your bankroll to return to your previous limit—or even move up to the next level.

Ultimately, you’ll find the games that are profitable for you, reducing the need to lower your limits frequently.

How to speed up the process of building your bankroll

The best way to build your bankroll quickly is to play under the most favourable conditions. By choosing poker rooms that offer good rakeback, you can grow your bankroll significantly faster than in rooms without a strong loyalty program.

By earning 100+ rake per month, anyone can receive additional rakeback. PRO deals not only help strengthen your bankroll but also make the playing conditions as favourable as possible in your chosen room.

On top of that, you can earn PSP points while playing. This internal currency can be spent in the poker software store, saving you from having to use your bankroll to buy tools that improve your strategy. PSP points can also be used to pay for coaching sessions with professional trainers.

Beginners just starting out may find it helpful to practice in freerolls for a while. There are detailed schedules of free tournaments with real prize money—an excellent way to build your bankroll from scratch.

BRM won’t let you go broke

One of the main purposes of your bankroll is to act as a safety net when losses occur—which is inevitable, even for the best players in the world.

For example, if you sit down at a $0.10/$0.25 cash table with a bankroll of only $25, losing just one buy-in means you’re broke.

If you can’t afford to replenish your bankroll, you won’t be able to play poker for long. However, having several £25 buy-ins behind you gives you a buffer to stay in the game, recover losses, and ride out the swings of variance over time.

If you follow proper bankroll management rules, you won’t risk going broke. When losses pile up, you simply drop down to a lower limit. Having enough buy-ins is essential.

Remember, it’s better to play at the lowest limits than not to play at all.

How many buy-ins should be in your bankroll?

The size of your poker bankroll should depend on several factors. These include the format you play, your playing style, and your individual tolerance for variance—both good and bad.

For example, an NL Hold’em cash player at a 6-max table can manage with a smaller bankroll than a Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) cash player because Omaha inherently involves more variance than Hold’em. Similarly, PLO cash players can play with a smaller bankroll than multi-table tournament (MTT) players.

Below is a table showing the recommended number of buy-ins for the most common types of online games:

Game Format (Online)	Minimum BI	Average BI	Reliable BI
No-Limit Hold’em (6-max), cash	30	50	100
No-Limit Hold’em (full ring), cash	25	40	75
Pot-Limit Omaha (6-max), cash	50	100	150
Pot-Limit Omaha (full ring), cash	30	50	100
No-Limit Hold’em (9 players), SnG	30	50	100
No-Limit Hold’em (45 players), SnG	50	100	150
No-Limit Hold’em (180 players), SnG	100	200	500
No-Limit Hold’em, MTT	100	200	500
No-Limit Hold’em, MTT (kilo fields)	200	400	600

You may be surprised by these numbers, but they are common recommendations often given in response to questions from novice players about how large their bankroll should be. Feel free to adjust these figures to find an amount that suits your personal situation.

Overall, these guidelines can help you handle the often extreme swings that occur in poker. Even the world’s top players experience serious downswings.

No matter your experience or the stakes you play, it’s essential to stick to proper bankroll management to handle variance and avoid going broke.