Managing your poker bankroll is a key factor to online success, yet the clear majority of online players fail miserably in doing so, thus stacking the deck against themselves without realizing the importance of knowing which games to play and how much to risk at any given time.

The absolute best way to manage your own poker bankroll, is to use someone else’s money, then your total risk is limited to profits already won from opponents. If you are just starting out this may be confusing because a lot of professional tournament poker players and writers will recommend having say 50 or 100 buys-ins compared to your game of choice. In a sense that is true, but if you want to play $5 buck sit and go poker tournaments and learn the game a little, a $500 deposit is a tad unreasonable and really not very realistic.

This is one of those areas where pro players lose touch with the little guy and place outrageous expectations and rules as to how to play and manage their online activities. That isn't how you want to start, as you can build on a small deposit of as low as $50. If a fresh poker player puts more into his poker account than that, what invariably happens is they end up on higher skilled tables and will be faced with a reload far more often than not.

So how do you get other’s players money in your poker bankroll when you’re just starting out? You earn it! You play the low stakes games like $1 and $2 buck sng tournament or the .25/.50 limit hold’em tables. If your skill level doesn't allow you to win here, then don't make the classic mistake of moving to higher limits? Why not start with the 50 bucks and work very hard to double it. Get to $100 or $200 in your account, then start playing $.50/$1 limit holdem and $5 sit and go tournaments. Work your account up to $400 - $700.

This is NOT easy to do, but neither is it difficult. The good thing about OPM (other players’ money) is that if you get to $500 from your original $50 deposit, you’re likely to value it more as hard earned poker money and think twice about moving up to faster, harder, stronger levels and risking too much against superior players.

By working your way up levels with accumulated winnings you are really earning your way up because you have proven to be able to adapt, learn, and control your own emotions at the tables in any level you have tried. If you are a profitable player, you have already then joined the ranks of the very few and those skills learned at low limits can be carried forward to more profitable levels.