Bankroll Management Calculator

Calculate proper bankroll requirements, recommended stakes, risk of ruin, and when to move up or down. For cash games, tournaments, and Sit & Gos.

Your bankroll

Total Bankroll (USD)

Game Type

Risk Tolerance

Winrate (BB/100)

Std Deviation (BB/100)

Currency

Monthly Volume (hands)

Used for bankroll growth projections. Average recreational player: 5,000-10,000. Grinder: 20,000-50,000+.

BRM Requirement: 30 buy-ins for Cash Game (No Limit Hold'em) with standard risk tolerance

Results

Your Recommended Stake Level

NL25

$0.10/$0.25 — $25 buy-in. You have 40 buy-ins (need 30).

20,000 hands each month

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Stakes Ladder

Stake	Buy-in	Blinds	Buy-ins You Have	Status
NL2	$2	$0.01/$0.02	500	Comfortably Rolled
NL5	$5	$0.02/$0.05	200	Comfortably Rolled
NL10	$10	$0.05/$0.10	100	Comfortably Rolled
NL25Recommended	$25	$0.10/$0.25	40	Properly Rolled
NL50	$50	$0.25/$0.50	20	Under-rolled
NL100	$100	$0.50/$1.00	10	Way Under-rolled
NL200	$200	$1/$2	5	Way Under-rolled
NL500	$500	$2.50/$5	2	Way Under-rolled
NL1000	$1,000	$5/$10	1	Way Under-rolled

Risk of Ruin

Your risk of going broke at NL25

0.19%

Below 5% = excellent bankroll safety

5-15% = acceptable but risky

Above 15% = dangerously under-rolled

Based on Kelly criterion approximation using your winrate and standard deviation.

Move Up / Move Down Rules

Move UP to NL50

When bankroll reaches $1,500

(30 buy-ins at $50)

Move DOWN to NL10

If bankroll drops to $300

(30 buy-ins at $10)

Session Stop Loss

$75

Stop playing for the day after losing 3 buy-ins ($25 x 3)

Bankroll Growth Projection

Expected Monthly Earnings at NL25

+$250

Based on 5 BB/100 over 20,000 hands/month

Months Until You Can Move Up to NL50

~2 months

3 Months

$1.8k

+$750

6 Months

$2.5k

+$1,500

12 Months

$4.0k

+$3,000

Projections assume consistent volume and winrate. Actual results will vary due to variance. These are expected-value estimates, not guarantees.

Why Bankroll Management Matters

Bankroll management is the single most important skill for long-term poker success. Even winning players go broke without proper BRM because of variance -- the natural short-term swings that are inherent to poker. A solid bankroll strategy protects you from these inevitable downswings and keeps you in the game.

Understanding Variance

In No Limit Hold'em, a standard deviation of 80-100 BB/100 hands is typical. This means even a strong winning player with a 5 BB/100 winrate can experience 10-20 buy-in downswings. PLO has even higher variance, which is why it requires more buy-ins. Tournaments are the most volatile format -- even elite MTT players regularly go hundreds of tournaments without a significant cash.

Conservative vs. Standard vs. Aggressive

Conservative bankroll management (50+ buy-ins for cash, 200+ for MTT) gives you near-zero risk of ruin and is ideal if poker is your primary income or you cannot easily reload. Standard BRM (30 buy-ins cash, 100 MTT) is suitable for most serious players who can handle moderate swings. Aggressive BRM (20 buy-ins cash, 50 MTT) is only recommended for players with a proven winrate and the ability to move down quickly or reload.

When to Move Up or Down

Move up in stakes only when you have the required number of buy-ins for the next level. Never chase losses by moving up -- this is the fastest way to go broke. Move down immediately when your bankroll drops below the required amount for your current stake. There is no shame in moving down; it is the disciplined and correct decision.

Common BRM Mistakes

Playing stakes too high for your bankroll after a winning session
Not moving down when on a downswing
Counting non-poker money as part of your bankroll
Ignoring game-type differences (PLO and MTTs need more buy-ins than NLHE cash)
Not tracking results, making it impossible to know your true winrate
Taking shots at higher stakes without a stop-loss plan

This calculator provides guidance based on widely-accepted bankroll management principles. Individual circumstances vary -- consider your personal risk tolerance, financial situation, and whether poker is recreational or professional.

Poker bankroll calculator quick answer

Divide your poker bankroll by the full buy-in to see how many attempts your roll can absorb. A standard no-limit cash plan uses 30 buy-ins, while higher-variance formats need more. The risk model then combines bankroll, winrate, and standard deviation. It is a long-run estimate, not a promise that a downswing will stop on schedule.

A $1,000 bankroll contains 40 full buy-ins at NL25.
The standard presets use 30 buy-ins for NLHE cash, 50 for PLO, and 100 for MTTs.
A 5% risk target depends on both winrate and standard deviation, not buy-ins alone.
Rakeback can improve monthly results, but it should not be counted before it is credited.

How poker bankroll requirements are calculated

Bankroll management starts with one plain division: bankroll divided by the full buy-in. A $1,000 roll at NL25 gives you 40 buy-ins. Under the standard 30-buy-in rule, that stake needs $750. The remaining $250 is a buffer, not permission to jump straight to NL50.

The risk-of-ruin result goes a step further. For cash games, the calculator uses the common long-run approximation RoR = exp(-2 x winrate x bankroll in big blinds / standard deviation squared). Winrate and standard deviation must use the same BB/100 scale. To solve for a 5% target, rearrange the formula and calculate the bankroll from your own measured inputs. Guessing a winrate makes the final percentage look more precise than it is.

Buy-in rules still matter because most players do not know their true winrate. Thirty buy-ins is a workable cash-game starting point for a proven winner who will move down. Fifty is saner when poker income matters or the player pool is tough. PLO, large-field MTTs, and Spin formats need larger cushions because their results swing more sharply.

Crypto adds a second kind of variance. If the poker roll is held in BTC and BTC falls 20%, the bankroll loses one fifth of its dollar buying power before a hand is played. A stablecoin can keep the accounting cleaner. Either way, record the bankroll in one unit and do not switch between coin value and dollar value halfway through the plan.

Move-up and move-down rules only work when they are written before the session. The calculator gives both thresholds. Follow the lower one after a downswing instead of chasing losses at a bigger stake. The higher threshold is a minimum for taking a shot, not evidence that the next game is beatable.

The growth projection is expected value, not a schedule. It assumes the entered winrate and monthly volume continue. Rakeback may improve the monthly result, but future rewards do not reduce today's bankroll requirement. Count them after they arrive, then update the plan with the new balance.

Poker bankroll requirements by format

These are the aggressive, standard, and conservative presets used by the calculator. Choose the larger buffer when your edge is uncertain, the games are volatile, or replacing the bankroll would be difficult.

Poker format	Aggressive	Standard	Conservative	Main source of variance
No-limit Hold'em cash	20 buy-ins	30 buy-ins	50 buy-ins	Winrate and table quality
Pot-limit Omaha cash	30 buy-ins	50 buy-ins	75 buy-ins	Larger pots and closer equities
Multi-table tournaments	50 buy-ins	100 buy-ins	200 buy-ins	Field size and top-heavy payouts
Sit & Go tournaments	30 buy-ins	50 buy-ins	100 buy-ins	Payout structure and ROI
Spin tournaments	100 buy-ins	200 buy-ins	500 buy-ins	Prize multipliers and high short-run variance

Sources and methodology

PokerStars Learn: Poker Bankroll Management: Explains separate poker funds, variance, cash-game and tournament buy-in ranges, and moving down after a downswing.
Risk Formulae for Proportional Betting: Derives long-run ruin relationships using bankroll, win rate, and standard deviation. The calculator uses the fixed-stakes exponential approximation as a planning model.

Bankroll Mgmt questions

What is the poker risk-of-ruin formula for a 5% target?

For the cash-game approximation, risk of ruin is exp(-2 x winrate x bankroll in big blinds / standard deviation squared). To target 5%, solve bankroll = -ln(0.05) x standard deviation squared / (2 x winrate). Use winrate and standard deviation on the same BB/100 scale.

How many buy-ins should a cash-game bankroll have?

The calculator uses 20 buy-ins for an aggressive NLHE plan, 30 for standard, and 50 for conservative. A smaller roll only makes sense for a proven winner who can reload or move down immediately. PLO needs a larger buffer.

How many buy-ins do I need for poker tournaments?

The standard MTT preset is 100 average buy-ins. The aggressive preset is 50 and the conservative preset is 200. Large fields, top-heavy payouts, re-entries, and an uncertain ROI all support using more than the minimum.

Does rakeback count toward my poker bankroll?

Count rakeback only after it reaches the account. An advertised rate can improve expected monthly results, but it does not protect today's roll from a downswing. Keep bonuses and pending rewards outside the buy-in requirement.

Should a crypto poker bankroll be held in BTC or a stablecoin?

BTC adds price movement to poker variance. A stablecoin keeps the bankroll's dollar buying power steadier, though it has its own issuer and network risks. Pick one accounting unit and review the room's supported withdrawal networks before depositing.