Tankroll bankroll management: from €150 to €1,000
The Tankroll-BRM is an aggressive bankroll management system that's geared towards players returning from a break from poker or players who want to leave behind the micro stakes quickly. You should only consider using the Tank-BRM when the following points apply to you:
You're not a beginner anymore
The Tankroll-BRM requires a good winrate at the micro stakes. Most beginners can’t produce that at the start of their career.
You're willing to work on your game
When following the Tankroll-BRM you could be playing at NL50 and even NL100 after a few thousand hands. The opponents at those limits are not unbeatable, but still you should be working on your game and make sure that you're playing with a positive EV against them.
Moving up and down doesn't have a negative influence on your mental game
It is important that you’re seeing the Tankroll-BRM as a game. You will begin with €150 and you will stop with €1,000. The constant ups and downs in between should be considered a part of the game.
If it came to the worst, you could spare the initial €150
The Tankroll-BRM bets on quick success. This is accompanied by a lower protection of investment. With the classic bankroll management system you will reach €1,000 as a winning player in 99% of the cases. The Tankroll-BRM’s rate of success is only 76%. Consequently, you will lose the initial €150 in 24% of the cases.
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The Tankroll-BRM is an aggressive bankroll management system. It is not suited for beginners and requires strong nerves and the willingness to work on your game. |
Tankroll-BRM: Aggressive Shots and Defence Line
On average, you're turning €150 into €1,000 within less than 100,000 hands when following the Tank-BRM. With a classic bankroll management you would need roughly 260,000 hands. Two concepts are fundamentals of the Tank-BRM:
A strong, last defence line
In order to protect your investment you have to avoid losing all of it. Therefore, you should play NL5 with a 20-stack-BRM. If you chose an aggressive 5-stack-BRM, the probability of reaching €1,000 would only be 16%. With the defence line of 20 stacks at NL5 it's 76%!
Aggressive bankroll management from NL10 onwards
With more than €100 in your account, you risk getting to higher limits swiftly, thereby increasing your chance to reach €1,000 more quickly.
Always make sure that you're not falling below the minimum bankroll for a limit by more than one stack. The BRM tab suggests exactly one limit that you should play on for any possible bankroll balance. However, a bit of pragmatism is necessary as well. Therefore, stick to the following rules:
- You've fallen below the minimum bankroll of your limit by less than 30BB:
In this case, you should simply continue playing at your current limit. - Your bankroll is 30 to 50BB below the minimum bankroll:
You should continue playing until you would have to pay the next Big Blind, leaving the table before that and moving down a limit. - You've fallen below the minimum bankroll of your limit by more than 50BB:
You should move down a limit immediately without waiting for the next Big Blind. - You've exceeded the maximum bankroll for your limit:
There's no hurry. Wait for the next big blind, and then move up a limit. If your current table is particularly profitable, stay at it until it is not anymore.
Examples:
• Your bankroll is at €630, so you're playing at NL100. After your Aces didn’t hold up against AK on the river, you’ve lost €106, though, meaning with now €524 you are more than 50BB below the minimum bankroll for NL100. Therefore, you switch to sit-out right away and move down to NL50.
• Your bankroll is at €540 and you’re playing at NL50. After winning another €70 your bankroll has increased to €610. You’re waiting for the next big blind in order to move up to NL100.
Four tips when putting the Tankroll-BRM into practice
Tip 1: Get a first deposit bonus
Rake shouldn't be underestimated. With a first deposit bonus you're usually profiting from roughly 30% rakeback right from the start. Our recommendations:
If you already have an account at these three rooms, here's a list of more available poker rooms:
Tip 2: Play Zoom or Speed Poker at two tables max
Since you will often have to move up and down the limits, playing Zoom and Speed Poker is recommendable. However, from NL50 onwards you should switch to normal tables and table selection. Besides ensuring that there are enough weak players at your table, you should also make sure that you are playing against Nits instead of LAGs when selecting a table.
Tip 3 (optional): Use rakeback conservatively
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When you feel mentally stable enough after regular progress, you can start using rakeback and bonuses conservatively. This means that you should not add rakeback and bonuses to your bankroll; instead you should deduct them from your Take Profit.
For instance, let's assume you're bankroll is at €850, composed in this way:
• €150 starting bankroll
• €385 ($500) bonus
• €200 rakeback
• €115 in winnings at the current table
In this particular case, you should consider your bankroll to be at €265. Consequently, you should be playing NL25 with it. If you win another €150, you will have reached €1,000 and the challenge will be complete.
However, you can also simply include any rakeback and bonuses in your bankroll and play on NL100 with your €850. From a mathematical point of view, that's even better.
Tip 4 (optional): Run a blog in our forum
When running a blog, you will profit from the following advantages:
• By documenting your progress and career you will increase both your motivation and endurance.
• You will work on your game automatically by discussing tricky spots with other members.
• During a downswing you will profit from psychological support and encouragement.
• With time passing by you will get to know a lot of cool people and even build some friendships.