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Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

Nov. 07, 2009

No Plans Could Mean Big Problems

Back in the day, as the old legends of poker might say, players did not carry record-keeping notebooks. They rarely counted their money. When they won, which they did far more than probability might indicate they should, they spent their cash; when they had no spending money left, they played more poker. Not only did they not count their money before leaving the table, they might not have counted it -- ever.

That was then. Today, journeymen players who don't pursue the ego-satisfying World Series of Poker bracelet (forget the millions of collars for now), and prefer to use their poker skills the way many white- and blue-collar workers use their jobs. One difference, though is that the poker paychecks come in the form of cheques, not checks. The difference between the professional poker player -- whether a tournament expert or a live-game player -- and the nine-to-five worker is, as we know, huge. The player pays to make a living; the worker makes a living to get paid.

This is why many savvy players keep copious records. They have to know how much money is coming in, how much has to go out in the form of living expenses and work expenses, and how much they need to save for those days when the checks slide away from them at the table.

Many gamblers in other venues, such as sports bettors, use a percentage of bankroll for their disciplined wagering. An overall bankroll gets divided into segments and those segments are divvied out into sessions. The rule of thumb for these players is the Kelly criterion.

This is quite similar to a method I've used time and again when I'm playing more than recreational time. Let's say my overall gaming bankroll might be $10,000. I would divide that into how many weeks I plan to play, in many cases, ten. That gives me $1,000 per week. If I plan to play three times per week, I would then take $333.00 with me for each session. With this amount, I would head to the table. As I rake in a pot, I put a third of the pot into one stack, a third into another and the remaining third back on my bankroll stack. This gives me three stacks of cheques. If I lose the beginning stack, I will not go deeper into the second one than half way. At this point I would take that half and the third stack and leave. Otherwise, I'd continue to play until I was ready to leave and before I got tired.

This kind of bankroll management might be too obsessive for some (and believe me, this is as close to obsessive as I'd ever get), but it works.

You might set a win goal or a loss point. Or, you could set a time limit on play. (Of course, if you've chosen tournament action, you just play until you cash or get knocked out.)

How you do it is not as important as doing it.

Gamblers who do not take stock of their money are known as compulsive, not professional gamblers.

It's a matter of risk and reward, plans and rewards, winning, and enjoying the fruits of your labor.