The key to building a bankroll in poker is moderation. These days in poker a person can literally start from zero and make hundreds of thousands of dollars. There is no guarantee that you are actually going to win loads of cash, but its worth a go and if you turn out to be a good enough player then your chances are high. If your starting from zero obviously you need to find a free online poker site with some freerolls.

Try not to waste too much of your time at major sites because often their freerolls have anywhere from 2,000 to 20,000 people. Chances are that the payout at the end will be pretty big, but the chances of getting there are very unlikely. Place top 1% to win a ticket to this, for a shot at that. After placement in top 1% two or even 3 times in a row is how you make money.

This is where the majority of players make their mistake. Look for a nice smaller site with maybe 50-200 people and with a wide range of payout’s. You may not win a trip to Vegas but this will start you on your way. Winning anywhere from 10c to $5 or $10 is not uncommon and a few placements like this is all you need to be on your way. Once you have something you feel you can play with you need to know how to manage your bankroll so you don’t lose all of your hard earned money in a single tournament.

The common way to do this is said to be using 1/20th of your bankroll for NL cash games. You want to have at least 300 big blinds in limit cash games so if the big blind is 5c you should have at least $15 before you sit. If you prefer SnG tournaments with 6-10 people you should use only 1/40th of your bankroll and about 1/100th for large tournaments.

The reason for playing with so little of your bankroll is because it doesn’t matter who you are we all go on hot and cold streaks. By managing your bankroll correctly you will be able to take a beat and still have some chips left to continue betting without being down and out. Obviously, if you can fund more games after you have lost your whole bankroll then these tips do not apply to you, but its always wise to keep an eye on it no matter how much money you may have. If you, like most of us, need to build from a very low starting base then free online poker sites are ideal and will get you rolling.