Bankroll management in Sit and go poker tournaments

Main Article Content

Björn Lantz

Abstract

This study focuses on Sit and go poker tournaments, where a player with an advantage over her opponents needs to manage her bankroll properly. The study applies the Kelly criterion to games that have several outcomes, where the organizer charges a rake. The premise is that an advantage itself is not enough for a poker player to play at any stakes, because risking too large a fraction of the bankroll will result in a negative expected growth rate, even though the game itself is characterized by a positive expected value. Accordingly, this study uses a formula-based approach to address the challenge of identifying games where the player’s current bankroll has the highest expected growth rate, while also considering differences in the rake.

Article Details

Section
Articles
Author Biography

Björn Lantz, Chalmers University of Technology

Björn Lantz, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Economic Analysis at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.

References

Barnett, T. (2011). How Much to Bet on Video Poker. Chance, 24, 10-14.

Bowling, M., Burch, N., Johanson, M. & Tammelin, O. (2015). Heads-up limit holdem poker is solved. Science, 347-6218, 145-149.

Browne, B. R. (1989). Going on Tilt: Frequent Poker Players and Control. Journal of Gambling Behavior, 5, 3-21.

Chen, B., & Ankenman, J. (2006). The Mathematics of Poker. Pittsburgh: ConJelCo.

Croson, R., Fishman, P., & Pope, D. G. (2008). Poker Superstars: Skill or Luck? Chance, 21, 25-28.

Ferguson, C., & Ferguson, T. (2003). On the Borel and von Neumann poker models. Game Theory and Applications, 9, 17-32.

Hopely, A., & Nicki, R. (2010). Predictive factors of excessive online poker playing. Cyberpsychology, Behaviour, and Social Networking, 13, 379-385.

Kelly, J. L. (1956). A New Interpretation of Information Rate. The Bell System Technical Journal, July, 917-926.

Lantz, B. (2015). Bankroll management in large poker tournaments. Journal of Gambling Business and Economics, in press.

Levitt, S. D. & Miles, T. J. (2014). The Role of Skill Versus Luck in Poker: Evidence From the World Series of Poker. Journal of Sports Economics, 15, 31-44.

Palomäki, J., Laakasuo, M., & Salmela, M. (2013). ‘This is just so unfair!’: A qualitative analysis of loss-induced emotions and tilting in on-line poker. International Gambling Studies, 13, 255-270.

Palomäki, J., Laakasuo, M., & Salmela, M. (2014). Losing more by losing it: Poker experience, sensitivity to losses and tilting severity. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30, 187-200.

Sklansky, D. (1999). The Theory of Poker. Las Vegas: Two Plus Two Publishing.

Von Neumann, J., & Morgenstern, O. (1944). Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. Princeton: Princeton University Press.