Fluctuating Bankroll

I have this problem where my bankroll will go up and then down a lot. I started out a couple months ago at partypoker. I deposited $50 and after a couple days I got my bankroll up to $600. Then a few days later it went down to $50 and then I got it back to $250. Then I lost it all. I deposited another $50 and got my bankroll up to $400 and then it went down to $50 and now I am back at $250. I know part of the problem is that I am not disciplined enough and don't always follow my strategy. Sometimes I will go all in when I shouldn't or I will start playing bad cards. During one of the periods when my bankroll was getting smaller I wasn't getting good cards very often and when I did I wouldn't catch anything. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and what could possibly be my problem?

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I know part of the problem is that I am not disciplined enough and don't always follow my strategy.

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Problem - correct this.

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Sometimes I will go all in when I shouldn't or I will start playing bad cards

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Huge problem stop this right away or youll swings will continue forever.

bankroll management is one of the most important skills in poker. you can be the best player in the world, but if you don't have the money management skills you'll still go broke.

i have a friend who is very very good. he's good enough to play 5/10 regularly. but he doesn't have the roll to play there. he likes to "gamble". he would take his entire bankroll of 200 and sit down at a 5/10 table, and double it or lose it all...which is well within normal swings at that limit.

your swings seem like they are at least partially caused by tilt. one of the easiest ways to determine if you're on tilt or not, is if you second guess yourself. if you think, i really shouldn't call this all in, don't second guess yourself. you're usually right the first time. if you start to bluff people, or think they are bluffing at you all the time, you are on tilt. they really aren't bluffing you.

I assume that you are playing at the same limits and not blowing it on expensive MTT entries? ... that's what I do.

I just lost over 200 last night in NL ring games $1/.50 blinds. I had a set run down on 3 separate occassions.

If you can stand up from the table/computer, and tell yourself that you got all your money in with the best hand and lost you are fine. It will happen....just search for posts by SCGolfer.

If you know you are making stupid plays and bad calls, you have to evaluate your play a little closer.

I don't know if this is what is happening or not. After you build up your bankroll, are you losing it all in one hand? If it is, one thing you could try, is only bring a certain percentage of your bankroll to the table with you. That way you won't lose all your money with a full house to someones four dueces. Granted it cuts down on the amount you can win, but it cuts the down on the big losses, if that's the part that you're having trouble with. Just a thought.

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Originally Posted by Miggo

I don't know if this is what is happening or not. After you build up your bankroll, are you losing it all in one hand? If it is, one thing you could try, is only bring a certain percentage of your bankroll to the table with you. That way you won't lose all your money with a full house to someones four dueces. Granted it cuts down on the amount you can win, but it cuts the down on the big losses, if that's the part that you're having trouble with. Just a thought.

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Yes. This is bankroll management 101.

Thanks a lot for all your replies. I always play at $25 NLHE at partypoker. Lately I have been playing the full tables but I was playing 6 max for a while. I am getting pretty much the same results at full and 6 max tables. I have been doing some of the things you guys have mentioned and my bankroll seems to be fluctuating less. I have been playing only the best hands but still have trouble with going all-in when I shouldn't. I think my all-in problem is from watching too much poker on tv. My bankroll has been fluctuating from $250 to $300 and back a lot. So at least my bankroll is only fluctuating in about a $50 range now. After evaluating my hand histories from yesterday it looks like I have been going all in too much when I shouldn't. For example, last night I went all in with two pair after the flop and I got called by a guy who had a set. Or another time I went all-in preflop with QQ and got called with AA. Or another time I went all-in preflop with AKs and got called with AA. So I think a rule for me should be to only go all-in if I have the nuts? Thanks again for all your replies.

As a general rule, delay or avoid going all-in as much as possible, unless you love to gamble. There are good reasons to go all-in in a tournament setting (short stacked and need to get healthy, opportunity to take out another good player, etc). There are less reasons to go all-in, IMO, in a stakes game. I almost never bet all-in unless I'm playing a maniac that I know will call me, and I have the nuts. I will, however, call an all-in from somebody who's been quick on the trigger before, when I have a strong hand (like a high pocket pair and all unders on the board). It usually pays off. I never go all-in on a bluff; it's pointless. If you have to bluff, and I certainly do it a lot, pot-sized or smaller will lose you less money, and get almost as many folds in online rooms.

I think the biggest leaks I see in most people's games, and you may fall under one or both of these, are as follows:

- betting too hard (maybe pushing all-in) on a pure bluff, or a semi-bluff like second pair. People WANT to read these as bluffs and WANT to call you. Bet smaller and you may actually get MORE folds.

- reading only their own hand and not the board. It's easy to want to push all in with, let's say, trip aces; but consider the circumstances. At a full table with two aces on the board, a third ace in the pocket isn't invulnerable. If you have a low kicker you might be beat. There's also the strong possibility they paired their second card, and you didn't. Bear that in mind and really analyze the force of their bets. Similarly, if you have pocket aces and a third flops, that's great; but what if the flop is all hearts? Or Q-K-A with at least two suited? People will call you with strong draws, with straights and flushes already made, with all kinds of stuff. Don't be over-eager. Yes your trips will generally walk, but sometimes you do indeed have to fold a great hand. My suggestion is usually to bet the flop smaller than you want to and see what happens. A call may indicate weakness or possibly slowplay. The turn card might help you make up your mind, or their betting on the turn might affect it.

One reason I try not to push all-in (except in unusual circumstances) is our old friend tilt. I know that busting out, even if it's just a small cut of my bankroll, has a negative psychological effect on my game. I don't like to buy in with $25 or $50 and lose it all on a hand. So if the betting gets out of control, unless I have the nuts, I will usually fold and either look for a calmer table, or wait for a stronger hand, to push with. I don't want to have my game adversely affected by unreadable maniacs who are constantly pushing all-in.

When I hear about swings like that playing at $25 NL tables, I can't imagine that you are not a maniac.
I've recently started playing $25 NL, only about 4 weeks, and about 4000 hands. The lowest my bankroll was at has been -$50, and the highest is +$70, which is where I am happy to be sitting at now.

Stop going all-in. This is bad. It takes away all of the talents you have as a poker player, assuming you have talent. Its bad enough that all-ins when you are hugh favorites and get beat, but when you enguage with AK and QQ you are turning it into 72 off as the only people that will call you are people that have you beat. I was on the bubble on a SnG. I made a good read the board was QT2 rainbow, a guy bets the pot, hes done that with TPTK all during the 2 SnG's we amazing played back to back next to each other. I had QT and pushed all-in know that I would probably win the tournament if he called, it was a $20 SnG and I had 4 3'ds prior to it, so I was going for the win, he did, and caught an A on the river :( This is not so much a bad push, as I knew what the opponent had. Taking shots in the dark is a bad thing todo. Unless you are the "Devilfish" who pushes at the glance of weakness, don't. Of course I dont know your chip stack nor your opponents chip stacks, in certain situations they could have been good plays, but I doubt it. This also sounds like less of a bankroll question as it is a question of playing bad cards/strategy.