I am often asked why most players lose at poker. The answer is simple… poor capital management.

Many newbies think that poker is a get-rich-quick scheme, but in fact the opposite is true. You get rich in poker by taking it slowly and playing it to the best of your ability. If you don't have a bankroll, you can't play. Even if you are the most talented player in the world, if you don't have money to your name, you won't be able to play and make money unless you're very lucky.

On the other hand, if you are smart with your money and always maintain a decently large bankroll relative to the games you play, you will maximize your chance of winning money indefinitely while improving your poker skills.

When I started playing poker 18 years ago, he was playing 25¢ - 50¢ Limit Hold'em. Although I only had 100 big bets on my name ($ 50), I managed to increase my bankroll and slowly climbed up. Eventually I learned common knowledge that you need 300 big bets to play limit poker to have only a small chance of bankruptcy, so I followed this guideline until I reached $ 15 - $ 30.

Most people think that it takes a long time to build a bankroll from scratch, but it actually doesn't take that long if you want to spend hours at the table. Let's look at the math.

Assuming you can play four tables at once, which is the minimum I suggest, you'll be able to play around 250 hands per hour. If you win two 100-hand big bets in Limit Hold'em, you will win five big bets per hour. If you have 300 big bets in your current game, that means you have 150 big bets at the next level. So it will only take you about 30 hours to double your bankroll and move up. You can easily do it in a week if you play full time and stay disciplined.

When it comes to no-limit hold'em, which is by far the most popular form of poker, I suggest keeping at least 30 buy-ins to your current game, preferably more. It is assumed that you are buying 100 big blinds. If you buy less than what I recommend only when you realize you have an advantage (which usually means you shouldn't play in the first place), you'll need more buy-ins because you'll get everything - more often with a smaller average advantage .

In no-limit hold'em, a good player can win about 10 big blinds in 100 hands when playing online. So assuming you can play 250 hands per hour, you will win 25 big blinds per hour. You will win a buy-in every four hours, which means it will take you around 100 hours to double your bankroll. If you play full time, you can potentially double your bankroll in less than three weeks.

For multi-table tournaments, you should keep at least 100 buy-ins up to your current level. There is much more variation in multi-table tournaments than in most other forms of poker because you only win a significant amount if you make one percent of the top field, which is difficult. For sit-n-go tournaments, you must also keep at least 50 buy-ins.

Remember, the numbers provided are the minimum amount required! If you lose a few buy-ins playing no-limit hold'em and you no longer have 30 in your bankroll, you need to keep reducing your stakes until you can make another shot.

Ideally, if you plan to play professionally, you should keep about twice the suggested numbers. If you play difficult games where your win rate will be lower, you should also have a bigger bankroll. If you are playing games with very high variance, such as 1,000-player tournaments or a volatile game like Pot Limit Omaha, you will need an even bigger bankroll.

To learn more about bankroll management, check out my free Bankroll Bible at PokerCoaching.com. As long as you play a lot of games where you have an advantage while maintaining a proper bankroll, the money will flow in your direction. If you don't, you are gambling.

Jonathan Little is a double WPT Master with over $7 million in live tournament earnings, bestselling author of 15 Educational Poker Books and 2019 GPI Poker Personality of the Year. If you want to improve your poker skills and learn how to beat the games, visit his training page at PokerCoaching.com/cardplayer.