Bankroll CalculatorBETA

How it works

Most bankroll rules give every player the same number of buy-ins. The right number depends on how much you win and how much you swing. It also depends on your ability to move down when you lose, which most rules ignore.

The calculator picks your stake with the Kelly criterion, a betting rule that finds the stake that grows your bankroll fastest. A bigger stake earns more, but its swings hurt more when your bankroll is small. Where the two balance, you move up. Drop back below that point and you move down.

The Kelly rule assumes you can bet any amount at any time. Poker stakes come in steps, so treat the ladder as a strong guide. The risk setting controls how hard it pushes. High follows the Kelly rule exactly and grows fastest, but in theory it gives you a 1 in 2 chance of halving your bankroll at some point. Medium needs twice the bankroll for each stake and Low needs four times, which makes deep drops much rarer.

The 12-month numbers test the ladder. They come from 2,000 simulated years at your volume, playing the ladder and taking out your withdrawals each month. You go bust when your bankroll drops too low for the lowest stake, and a year that goes bust stops there.

Rakeback adds to your winnings without adding to your swings, so it lowers your move-up points and your chance of going bust. The calculator turns your rakeback percentage into bb/100 using your site's published rake, assuming one recreational player at the table. Rake takes fewer big blinds at higher stakes, so the same percentage is worth less as you move up. Enter your win rate before rakeback so you don't count it twice.

The calculator treats your win rate as your true win rate and keeps it the same in bb/100 at every stake. If your sample is small, enter a lower win rate to be safe. Open Stakes in the settings to change the win rate at any stake.

Take your standard deviation from your actual results, not all-in adjusted ones. It matters more than it looks: 20% more swings needs about 44% more bankroll at every stake.