How To Protect Your Bankroll While You Play

by Robbie Strazynski

For anyone who enjoys gambling and playing casino games online, one ingredient is essential: money. For recreational players who only play here and there, it’s unnecessary to worry about proper bankroll management. As when all is said and done, they’re ok parting with a few bucks for a few hours of fun (with a chance to win, of course). But for players who take the games and wagers a bit more seriously, proper bankroll management is critical.

Photo by Vitaly Taranov

“Bankroll” Definition and Advantages

“Bankroll” refers to funding; in this instance, the bankroll is the money a player uses for wagering on online casino games. As mentioned, without money, one cannot play in a real online casino. However, a person who regularly engages in online gambling needs to pace themselves appropriately. To be sure there’s always money available in his or her bankroll.

The main benefit of having an online casino bankroll is obvious: it’s money you keep completely separate from money needed for life expenses. Thus, regardless of whether you win or lose during any particular online casino gaming session, you don’t affect your actual bank account in any way.

Bankroll Wagering Tips

But simply having a bankroll isn’t enough—it also needs to be properly managed. The ways to do this effectively are by ensuring you:

– Never risk too high a percentage of your money in one single bet or session

– Always stick to playing for stakes that your bankroll can afford (i.e. withstand in the event of losing)

– Never withdraw too much money from your bankroll for “outside” personal use. Even when you win regularly or have a lucky windfall once in a while

There’s no hard rule that an online casino player must limit his or her individual bets or losses to a specific dollar amount per session. Rather, it’s best to establish and stick to percentage-based rules for oneself based on the bankroll size. A good, conservative strategy that all but ensures the life of a bankroll is to not allow oneself to lose more than 5% of the overall bankroll in any one given session. With that limit in mind, it’s easier to pace oneself accordingly and size bets appropriately during the session. Players with somewhat looser standards may up the limit to 10%. But, no more than that should be risked over the course of one session. Especially if you want your bankroll to last through extended dry spells.

Stay Cautious, Even After Winning

There’s also the flip side of the coin. Some players get lucky even during multiple consecutive online gambling sessions. If that’s the case, the player should adhere to their predetermined percentage limits, but of course individual wagers could be somewhat higher in accordance with the larger bankroll.

Beyond that, especially after a big win, withdrawing some of that money is tempting. Even if you decide to withdraw a small amount from the bankroll, just remember that proper bankroll management shouldn’t be neglected. After the wins, there could be losses; be mindful of the risks of not having enough saved when you want to place a bet.

It’s often said that with great risk comes great reward. However, that kind of thinking can get you into trouble because some risks come with no reward. And unfortunately, there will be losses. You need to have a bankroll and know how to manage it correctly to ensure that it can withstand long spans between wins. If you’re able to stick to the betting strategies and strict wagering limits you’ve set for yourself, your bankroll will always survive and you can keep playing another day.

Table of Contents

Robbie Strazynski Written By:
Robbie Strazynski

Robbie Strazynski is the founder of Cardplayerlifestyle.com, the world's premier poker blog. He is also the co-host of Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast and creator of the Poker Notes Live mobile app. Robbie translated Pulling The Trigger: The Autobiography of Poker Pro Eli Elezra, from Hebrew into English.

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