To understand how variance can affect yourself as a poker player is probably one of that most important but also hardest thing to do in poker.

So my question is, how could I use my stats (std dev per session or std dev per hour) from my live poker app (i use the iOS app RunGood) to get the right info on this very popular site: http://pokerdope.com/poker-variance-calculator/

Below or some of my key data logged from the RunGood app.

• Total sessions logged: 466
• Total Hours: 2959
• Hourly profit: €59
• Profit per hour in BB: 16.1
• Std dev hour: €942
• Std dev session: €2473
• Worst accumulative (max draw down): €20520

What kind of bankroll should I have when looking at the above stats. Other helpful input is also greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

I get the same answer as Pokerdope. To have a risk of ruin no greater than 5%, you need a bankroll of 22,500 euros.

How do you mean you got the same answer as Pokerdope? I haven't got an answer and wouldn't know how to get one with the figures I got.

If 22,500 euros is all I need than wouldn't my draw down of 20,500 mean that ran extremely bad, since I was so close to become a former poker player? : )

Well a 5% risk of ruin means that 1 in 20 people with that variance go broke from variance.

Yes I'll understand that. Thanks! Maybe that isn't so very extreme then as I guess what you are trying to say.

5% RoR is a pretty bad metric then. I'll guess 1% or 0,5% would be better for someone who tries to have poker as a profession.

It *really* depends. Do you need to play poker to supplement your income, or to be your entire income? If so, then going broke is a calamity. But also, if so, you need to include paying yourself into your bankroll calculations.

If not, then the question becomes, "how easily could I replace my bankroll if I go broke?" and if the answer is "easily" then you don't need some tiny RoR to be happy. In fact many people, myself included, confined themselves to stakes much smaller than is required, out of "bankroll management" fears.

Another factor is, if you are saving money for a bankroll, and can add money every week, then you needn't wait until 100% of the bankroll is there. I did some simulations many years ago about this, basically demonstrating that as long as you can regularly add money to your BR in the future, you are better off starting to play before you have assembled the entire amount (this applies a lot more to live poker. Online you can almost always find *some* stakes that you have the bankroll for)

If you go to Pokerdope and put in your data, it gives the bankroll needed for risk of ruin. It's right there at the bottom of the results.