# Bankroll Rules For Tournaments

> Source: [Bankroll Rules For Tournaments on Smarter.Poker](https://smarter.poker/learn/tournament-bankroll)

## Executive Summary
A Common Guideline For Multi Table Tournaments Is To Keep At Least 100 Buy Ins, And More For Large Fields, Because Most Entries Finish Outside The Money And A Winning Player Can Go Hundreds Of Tournaments Without A Big Score.

- **Category**: Bankroll
- **Curriculum**: [Smarter.Poker Strategy Lessons](https://smarter.poker/learn)

## Why Tournaments Need More

Tournament Payouts Are Top Heavy. Only A Minority Of The Field Is Paid, Commonly Somewhere Around 10 To 15% Of Entries, And Most Of The Prize Pool Goes To The Final Table. A Winning Player Therefore Loses Their Buy In Most Of The Time And Makes Their Profit From Rare Deep Runs. That Makes Results Far More Volatile Than In A Cash Game, Where A Good Session Can Come Any Day.

The Bigger The Field, The Rarer The Deep Run, And The Larger The Bankroll Needed To Survive The Wait Between Them. A Player Who Plays Small Fields Of A Hundred People Needs Less Than A Player Who Plays Fields Of Several Thousand At The Same Buy In.

Smarter.Poker Itself Is Free To Play With Play Credit Only And No Real Money Gambling, So Nothing Here Is About Money On This Platform. These Are The Rules Players Use For Poker Bankrolls Elsewhere. The Bankroll Manager Here Is A Record Of The Sessions You Enter Yourself, Wherever You Played Them, So You Can Practise The Record Keeping These Rules Depend On; It Handles No Money.

## Common Guidelines By Format

The Figures In The Table Are Conventions That Players And Coaches Commonly Suggest, Not Computed Results. They Assume A Winning Player. A Player Who Is Not Yet Sure They Beat The Game Should Keep More, Or Treat The Money As Entertainment Spending Rather Than A Bankroll.

### Commonly Suggested Tournament Bankrolls, Conventions Not Computations

| Format | A Common Guideline |
| --- | --- |
| Small Field Multi Table Tournaments | 100 Buy Ins Or More |
| Large Field Multi Table Tournaments | 200 Buy Ins Or More |
| Bounty And Knockout Tournaments | As For A Multi Table Field Of The Same Size |
| Mixing Buy In Levels | Count Buy Ins At Your Average Buy In |

## Managing A Tournament Bankroll

Measure By Average Buy In Rather Than By The Most Expensive Tournament You Play. If Most Of Your Schedule Is At One Level With An Occasional Bigger Event, The Bigger Event Should Be A Small Share Of Your Total Bankroll.

Expect Long Losing Stretches And Plan For Them. A Player Can Be Playing Well And Still Go Months Without A Significant Cash. Track Your Results Over Hundreds Of Tournaments Before Drawing Conclusions, And Review Your Decisions, Not Your Finishes, In The Meantime.

Consider Satellites And Lower Buy Ins When Your Bankroll Is Thin. Winning A Seat Through A Satellite Lets You Play A Bigger Event For A Fraction Of Its Cost, Which Is One Of The Most Bankroll Friendly Ways To Take A Shot.

## Key Poker Terms In This Lesson

- [variance](https://smarter.poker/glossary/variance) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/variance.md))
- [icm](https://smarter.poker/glossary/icm) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/icm.md))
- [expected-value](https://smarter.poker/glossary/expected-value) ([Markdown](https://smarter.poker/glossary/expected-value.md))

## Practice & Interactive Tools On Smarter.Poker

- **Training Drill**: [Play Bankroll Mind](https://smarter.poker/hub/training/play/psy-014)
- **Interactive Calculator**: [Open Bankroll Manager](https://smarter.poker/hub/bankroll-manager)
- **AI Coach**: [Jarvis Training Insights](https://smarter.poker/hub/training/jarvis)