Poker Glossary

Bankroll

Money set aside exclusively for poker, sized so normal variance cannot destroy it. Standard guidance runs at least 20–30 buy-ins for cash games and considerably more — often 50 to 100-plus entries — for tournaments, whose swings are wilder. Bankroll management is the discipline that keeps a losing month from becoming a forced exit; moving down in stakes when the roll shrinks is the system working, not failing.

At the table

A $2,000 roll at $1/$2 with $200 buy-ins is ten bullets — one rough weekend from zero. Forty buy-ins turns the same downswing into a footnote.

House note

Your bankroll is your oxygen tank. Manage it, or the game decides how long you dive.

Full bankroll guide →← Full glossary — all 52 terms

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