Calculate the required bankroll in buy-ins based on your win rate, standard deviation, and risk-of-ruin tolerance.
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Enter your win rate in bb/100 (big blinds per 100 hands) — a reasonable estimate for a solid winning player in low-stakes games is 3–8 bb/100. Standard deviation is typically 80–120 bb/100 for No-Limit Hold'em. Select your risk-of-ruin tolerance and your game's buy-in size. Click Calculate to see how many buy-ins you need.
Bankroll management (BRM) is the discipline of playing at stakes appropriate to your bankroll size. Even a winning player can go broke if they play stakes too high relative to their bankroll — variance in poker is enormous, and downswings of 20–30 buy-ins are not uncommon even for strong winning players.
The standard recommendation for cash games is 20–30 buy-ins with a reasonable win rate and 5% risk-of-ruin tolerance. Tournament players typically need 50–100+ buy-ins due to higher variance. This calculator uses the Kelly-derived risk-of-ruin formula to give you a mathematically grounded recommendation. Never play with money you cannot afford to lose.
