The massive fields and the top-heavy payout structures mean you will go for long stretches without winning a big one, and you will need a huge bankroll to withstand the losses. You will notice that we recommend having the most buyins as an online MTT player, and this is because the variance in these is notorious. Here are some numbers that the poker community has generally accepted as standard bankroll recommendations, assuming you are good enough to beat the games: Yet, even if you are the biggest winner in your game, you will still need to maintain a healthy bankroll and face the variance when it comes your way. Over millions of hands, these swings add up to the eventual wins and losses, and what this means is that the better you are at poker, the fewer buyins you will need. In the long run, a breakeven player is much more likely to run into a big downswing than a huge winner, and a big loser will naturally run into one. Big winners suffer less variance than breakeven players or ones with a small edge simply because they put themselves in more profitable situations. However, it is very important to remember that variance is also related to your skill level. Over the years, poker players have tried to define bankroll management and find the exact number of buyins necessary to prevent ruin in each game type. Pokercode Founder Fedor Holz is a master of bankroll management The Big Question: How Many Buyins Do I Need?
