How Big of a Bankroll You Need for Video Poker
3 minutes
Posted by: David
Playing video poker without a bankroll and a proper strategy to accompany it will most likely cause you to lose more money than you win over time.
That said, how do you estimate and decide how big of a bankroll you need for video poker?
In this concise guide, we’ll share with you the key factors you should know about that will help you determine how big your video poker bankroll should be.
What to Consider When Drafting a Video Poker Bankroll
In most cases, it’s very challenging to provide exact answers to every player when it comes to how big of a bankroll they need.
That said, there are some helpful parameters you can use to assess this number. So, here are the most important things you should consider when putting together a video poker bankroll.
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How Much Can You Afford
Firstly, you should decide how much money you can afford to set aside for video poker without impacting your everyday life.
In terms of this, you have to take into account whether you want to play recreationally for fun or want to pursue a more serious, professional career as a video poker player.
If you don’t want to go pro, you should create a bankroll that’s no bigger than five to ten percent of your monthly salary.
On the other hand, if you’re thinking of going in more seriously, the limit is generally much higher. In this case, you should also account for different types of bonuses available at portals such as Casinofy – trusted online casinos.
In that case, you should put around fifty percent of your salary or even more into your video poker bankroll. Of course, this is provided that you can afford it.
If it involves cutting some living expenses, it’s okay. But, if it would severely impact your quality of living, it’s best to avoid it and play recreationally with a smaller bankroll.
The Variance
Next, it’s crucial to factor in the variance of the video poker games you want to play. In simple terms, the higher the game’s variance is, the more up and down your bankroll will go.
So, if you’re playing a high variance video poker game, you need a substantial bankroll to push through the losing streaks.
For example, video poker games like Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker are low variance games.
Contrarily, variants like Bonus Deuces and Double Double Bonus have a considerably higher variance, meaning that they generally require larger bankrolls.
The Risk of Ruin
When talking about video poker bankroll sizes, it’s also essential to mention the “risk of ruin.” In short, this is the chance of you spending your entire bankroll during a session and going broke.
Naturally, the larger your bankroll is, the lower your risk of ruin will be.
For example, if your risk of ruin is ten percent, you have a chance of going broke in one out of ten video poker games you play.
If the risk of ruin is just one percent, you can expect to go broke only once for every hundred times you play video poker.
So, think about what risk of ruin percentage works for you. And, try to keep the number objective, so that you avoid going broke and only lose what you’re comfortable spending.
If you don’t want to go through your bankroll in any session, you should ideally set it at twice as much as a bankroll with a one percent risk of ruin. That way, you have enough cushion to avoid running out of money.
Long-Term vs. Short-Term Bankrolls
Lastly, we should highlight the vital difference between making a long-term and a short-term bankroll for video poker.
If you’re a more serious player and want to go professionally, as we’ve mentioned before, you always need a long-term bankroll for video poker.
In this case, you need to consider both how much money you need for each average session and how much money you need weekly/monthly.
A good rule of thumb is to have a bankroll that’s at least three to four times bigger than the royal flush payout for the video poker variant you’ve picked.
In contrast, if you only play a couple of times per month or even less frequently, you can simply set a session bankroll you’re comfortable losing without it financially affecting you.
