An Introduction to Bankroll Management: The Industry Standard

Posted February 23, 2026 by TitanPokerBonusCodes in News.

One of the most commonly asked questions by burgeoning poker players has to do with than bankroll management. Bankroll management is one of the first non-strategic concepts most players are introduced to, and despite the seeming simplicity of the whole thing, when you get right down to it bankroll management is one of the most difficult to adhere to.

For the most part bankroll management seems like a fairly simple thing; with set guidelines to help keep you from going broke, but like with most things in poker, the deeper you dig the more complex you will find it.

In this series I will try to walk you through bankroll management from the basics on up. The first stop on the bankroll management journey is the basics, the industry standard bankroll requirements that have been parsed, debated, and virtually unanimously agreed upon by players over the years.

The standard school of thought for No Limit and Pot Limit games:

• At-Risk Bankroll = Less than 20 FULL buy-ins
• Safe Bankroll = Between 20 – 50 FULL buy-ins
• Professional Bankroll = Over 50 FULL buy-ins

The standard school of thought for Limit games:

• At-Risk Bankroll = Less than 300 Big Bets

• Safe Bankroll = Between 300-500 Big Bets
• Professional Bankroll = Over 500 Big Bets

The standard school of thought for Sit & Go tournaments:

• At-Risk Bankroll = Less than 40 Buy-Ins (+fees) for the AVERAGE stakes you will play
• Safe Bankroll = Between 40-100 Buy-Ins (+fees) for the AVERAGE stakes you will play
• Professional Bankroll = Over 100 Buy-Ins (+fees) for the AVERAGE stakes you will play

The standard school of thought for multi-table tournaments:

• At-Risk Bankroll = Less than 100 Buy-Ins (+fees) for the AVERAGE stakes you will play
• Safe Bankroll = Between 100-200 Buy-Ins (+fees) for the AVERAGE stakes you will play
• Professional Bankroll = Over 200 Buy-Ins (+fees) for the AVERAGE stakes you will play

What the recommendations mean, is that for the average player (obviously you have to be a winning player, otherwise an unlimited bankroll is needed) and an At-Risk Bankroll means that due to the variance in the game of poker there is a decent chance you could go broke playing. Of course it's possible to hit a heater right out of the gate and never look back, but it's also just as likely that your poker career starts on a cold streak.

A safe bankroll gives you the leeway to suffer through any downswings, but it also allows you to take chances at higher limits without risking 50% or more of your entire bankroll in doing so.

A professional bankroll is the ultimate for poker players, but it's only needed by a very small percentage of players. A professional bankroll allows players to run bad and still pay their bills, AND keep grinding away at the stakes they need to in order to make a living.

In Part 2 of this series I will move away from set-in-stone, standard, guidelines, and discuss all of the different factors that will go into YOUR bankroll requirements, as well as how to play under-rolled (which is of significant importance to new players).