Record Keeping
If you’re investing a significant amount of time and energy into poker, then it makes sense to keep records. I keep a record of every STT I play. I have a spreadsheet open as I play and I record the time each tourney starts (this is mainly to ensure I don’t miss one), the buy-in, the fee, my finishing position and my win/loss.
Using this information I can work out my ‘in the money percentage’ (ITM%) and my ‘return on investment’ (ROI). I have a separate session log that I use to calculate my hourly rate, then one last spreadsheet that I use to record my weekly results in all forms of poker.
ITM% is calculated by dividing the number of cashes by the number of tourneys and multiplying the result by 100.
You should be aiming for an ITM% of about 45%
ROI is calculated by dividing your total win/loss by your total cash investment and multiplying the result by 100.
Any positive ROI indicates that you are winning and ROI will be reduced if you play many tables at once. If you play only 1 or 2 at a time then you should be aiming for 15 to 20%.
Record keeping is not for everyone, and most recreational players do not bother. If crunching the numbers does not appeal and you play mainly for fun then you need not bother, but be aware that you may be missing valuable info, even fooling yourself that you are doing better than you really are. If you are serious about your poker or playing for larger stakes then I think that keeping accurate records is essential rather than optional. It should be noted that sample sizes of less than 500 are not very useful, you should have at least 1000 results recorded before they can be relied upon to give an accurate indication of performance.
Bankroll Management
How much money you need depends on your risk tolerance.
If you play for fun and poker money just adds to, or takes from, your recreation money then you don’t really need a bankroll.
If you wish to separate your poker money from the rest of your finances, but it’s not the end of the world if you go skint, you can get by with 20 buy-ins. Expect to have to top-up occasionally. If you don’t want to have to top-up then go for 50.
If you play for income and going skint would cause major problems then you should have a minimum 100 buy-ins.
These guides assume an ROI of 15% or more you’ll need more buy-ins if your ROI is less to deal with the increased variance.
That's All, Folks
If you made it this far then I hope you’ve found something useful. Please feel free to contact me to correct errors or discuss points.
Patrick ‘Wardonkey’ Taylor