"Jesus" Shows The Way to Riches

Filed in archive Poker Blogs on May 4, 2007

Every low limit player dreams of cashing big. I started with a $100 deposit into Pacific Poker nearly three years ago and through several books, variance swings, and definitely my biggest supporter, other poker bloggers, I have enough to afford a couple of happy meals and McDonald's once in a while. Without a few swings up and down the bankroll ladder I would have never known that $100 isn't optimal to be playing $3/$6 limit hold em with.

Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, the 2000 World Series of Poker main event champion, probably has a few bucks behind his name after also collecting four other bracelets at the WSOP and various other tourney wins. But, even the top players need to exercise bankroll constraints because going busto is only a few bad nights at stakes you cannot afford.

Ferguson has taken on the challenge to build a bankroll using simple bankroll rules which are part of his posting at Full Tilt Poker's blog.

Check out part of it here:

To ensure that I keep my bankroll intact, I've adopted some key rules:

• I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).
• I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1.
• If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me.
I think a lot of players would do well to apply these rules. One great benefit from this approach to bankroll management is that it ensures you'll be playing in games you can afford. You'll never play for very long in a game that's over your head because, when you're losing, you'll have no choice but to drop down to a smaller game. You can continue to sharpen your game at that lower limit until your bankroll allows you to move up and take another shot. These rules also prevent you from being completely decimated by a bad run of cards.