Risk-Free Rounding

About ten months ago, my friend Colin and I decided to play a poker freeroll online. It was quite a lot of fun simply because the goal became to outlast each other. It didn't cost anything, but with 12,000 players it was all but impossible to make it into the money.

A little later, Colin was eager for a visit to the casino, but I was against it. We decided, instead, to make a deposit at an online poker site. It turned out that his bank wouldn't let him deposit, but mine would. I deposited $100.

I played that money for a long time. It would go up and down, but it didn't run out. When it was my brother-in-law's birthday, I transferred $50 into his account. I continued to play that initial $100 deposit until this past Tuesday. I cashed out $115 which left me with $12.84. Certainly not the big time, but I made a little money, had some fun, and paid for a birthday gift with someone else's money.

Even though I ended up in the black, the thing that troubled me was that I always felt like I was risking too much. I felt as though I was gambling and that I wasn't being smart. I felt that eventually I'd get stupid, greedy, or outplayed and lose it all.

I was listening to Chris Ferguson on this podcast and I decided that his idea makes sense. He took $1 and played it into $20,000 by managing his money with strict discipline. Poker, often equated with degenerates, is a game that can be played with class. Chris Ferguson certainly does that.

With the popularity of poker these days, I've seen degenerates. What fascinates me the most about poker are the professionals that are clearly very intelligent, bright, gifted people who choose to play poker over being mathematicians, doctors, and scientists. With so many degenerates, it's nice to think about poker as a game that requires thought, discipline, and proper money management.

This is money after all. It should be managed properly especially when it's in short supply and especially when you are gambling. Casinos make billions because people are willing to risk their whole bankroll on "a feeling." While I don't think that it's possible to beat a casino, I do think that it's possible to take someone's money at the poker table. I also know that everyone I play with has got their sights on me. It important to be mindful of that and to protect your money. It's sad that banks think of your money in the same way. Leave your money in a savings account long enough and it will disappear through service charges. It's sad that the only way to protect your money from the banks is to keep it under your mattress. I digress.

Chris Ferguson outlines how he used a very strict money management system to grind his way to $20,000. I have decided after cashing out that with my remaining $12.84 I would use the same money management system to try to build my bankroll.

Rules:
1) Only sit down with 5% of your total bankroll.
2) Leave the table when you have 10% of your bankroll at the table.
3) If you lose what you bring to the table, do not play for at least 1 hour (stopping for the day is best).

The system does have to be adapted because poker sites have minimum table buy-ins. The minimum buy-in at the 1c/2c table is $1.00. Though I should really only be bringing $0.64 to the table, I must bring $1.00 to meet the table minimum. That's fine. I will still leave the table with 10% of my bankroll. When I get above $20 the 5% rule will be strictly enforced.

So on the first day with my $12.84, I brought $1.00 to the table and had to leave the table when I had grown it to $1.28. I couldn't let it ride and I couldn't bring more money to the table. I hit a big pot and left the table with $1.71.

This system is going to take a long time. It's going to be tough to stick to it and to not get greedy. It's going to be difficult to be satisfied winning 71 cents. In time, my bankroll will grow and when I get a run of bad cards, it is very unlikely (if not impossible) for me to lose my entire bankroll simply because I'm never risking very much. I think that in the long run, this is a solid system that will ensure profit, and hopefully big profit.

Here's a breakdown of the week so far:



It's frightening having that written out because it clearly shows that I have spent a huge amount of time earning a whopping $4.95. It's hardly worth it if you break it down into an hourly wage. The way I see it is that I am paying my dues now with the knowledge that bigger payoffs are coming down the road.

I'm not going to become a professional poker player. I enjoy the game and I play it in my spare time. I take it seriously, but I'm not going to give up my life, friends, or work for poker. When I have spare time I'll play. This system, I believe, will ensure that I will be able to play for a long time and will earn money in the long run. With the risk all but removed, I can enjoy wins and losses knowing that after having cashed back my initial $100 deposit on Tuesday, all this is profit.