A lot of aspiring poker players (like myself) always wonder "how the hell did Tom Dwan build such a huge roll in such a short space of time?" Well the truth is that he played a tonne of poker, learnt all that he could from every resource possible and kept putting in the hours whilst working on his game.
So could anyone achieve what Dwan has? Honestly? I doubt it. Tom Dwan started off with a $50 deposit and started playing in single table tournaments (sit n go's) before turning his attention to cash games.
How to turn $50 into $10,000
However, I do think that with work and a game plan, anyone of average intelligence could roll a small, initial deposit of between $50-$100 up to $10,000 without too much trouble, but you must have a plan and stick to it!
Reasons that most people don't
Before we go any further I think we should look a a few of the main reasons that most players make a deposit and go busto rather than robusto.
Bankroll management
The amount of players that deposit $100 and then sit down in a 50c/$1 cash game is simply unreal. A lot of new players just don't understand about bankroll management and that variance is a real part of the game that has to be factored into their long term poker career.
So for example if you are going to start out with say $50 and you wanted to follow in Tom Dwans footsteps playing SNG's, a conservative bankroll management strategy would be 50 buy ins before you move up meaning that you'd start with the $1 games. Or if you really fancy yourself and are less concerned about going broke, you can play with 10% in a game, so you'd start in the $5 games.
Both of these options are extreme ends of the bankroll management but 10% is the max you should risk if you seriously want to have a chance at building a real roll. The main thing is the ability to move back down in stakes if (and when) you hit the wrong side of variance and run bad.
Learning how to playBack when Tom Dwan started playing there were a lot less options open to him in the way of poker education than there are now. Sites like Cardrunners and Stox Poker (poker training sites) simply didn't exist.
Tom Dwan had to rely on reading every good poker book out there (and he got through a lot of them) and talking poker strategy with his fellow poker playing friends. This coupled with lots of hours at the tables and a constant re-evaluation of his game forged the legend that we have in front of us today.
But the truth is that there are so many good quality training sites out there that you have no real excuse not to learn how to play properly. Some people don't want to spend the money on membership fees but there are plenty of good quality, free poker training sites out there for you too.
Sites like Tagpoker offer free poker lessons via a selection of poker articles and free poker training videos, made by winning online poker players which will give you a kick start to a solid, winning playing style.
Tilting
Tilt is more real than most people ever realise. Going on tilt after a few bad beats or just being out played is normally where I see most low stake players set their bankrolls on fire. Now most of you can relate to what I am saying here, we've all fallen victim to the all consuming beast.
The best advice I can give you is to simply stop playing when you start to tilt. It's not the easiest thing to do, but if you really want to build a five figure bankroll, you just have to stop and come back to the tables when your head is clear.
SNG or Cash?
Firstly I'd recommend playing in the SNG's to build your roll. SNG's are much easier to master than cash games, have much softer players (especially at the lower stakes) and are a great place to get your feet wet.
This is a great SNG Strategy article which will give you a winning formula. This coupled with good bankroll management should see your cash steadily grow.
Free Poker Deposit
If you are not sure about getting started with your own money, don't fear. We have found a great deal through a site called Yourpokercash.com. These guys are willing to give out small initial deposits at some of the largest poker rooms online in order to get you started.
The three sites that you'll get free poker money on to play sit and go games on are:
These are three of the biggest poker rooms on the Internet and offer very soft games in the low stakes sit and goes.
All of these offers have been tested by me personally and I have received a bankroll on every site that I've requested one on. I had to prove who I was for fraud prevention reasons and as soon as I did, I was good to go.
After you get your free poker bankroll, feel free to leave a thank you comment at the bottom of this post, it makes it all worth while.
Good luck at the tables. Now go and get your free poker bankroll!
Dominic
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I thought this offer was too good to be true but have just received $50 from Titan, thanks so much for the heads up!! (no pun intended)
I requested the Titan Poker offer too but I only got $50 and it says $150 in your post.
I'm not complaining or anything but is this right?
Hey.
I'm glad you got your money.
Titan Poker releases the $150 in $50 increments. So if you keep playing there, you'll get the full $150.
Remember to stick to good bankroll management and only play $1 or $2 SNG's to gradually build your roll.
Good luck.
Dominic
Playing for casinos games is absolutely fun. Things are great with casino online games.
LOL
I invite people to make comments, really I do but at least try not to make it look spammy.
Dominic
Dominic,
Great article. I ran a search on How Tom Dwan Built... Your article came up and for good reason, perfect. Good advice, the variance playing strategy is really lost on most players and is a key reason why 50 bucks is lost so quickly. Awesome.
Yeah. This bankroll thing is what I have trouble with. I'm a good player, however luck seems to go against me at times. Last night, I lost 5 times in a row, having a full house, while they had quads. :)
Anonymous,
5 hands in a row loosing to quads? Sounds like vintage Pokerstars!
Thank you for this wonderful articke. I received 50$ from titan poker and with you strategy I'm already at 140$.
Thanks Dominic
thanks for the tip. seems to be legit
Your Bankroll advice for SNG's is considerably off unfortunately. 50 buy-in's is the MINIMUM someone should play with, and the number of buy-in's will go up as the entry fee increases do to increase variance that is associated with a lower ROI. ROI's in SNG consistently drop as the buy-in increases.
I agree with what you're saying to a degree but to say it's considerably off is just wrong!
I think your skill level matters a lot here, the format your play in (like you'd need more for super turbos as opposed to deep stack games etc)how risk adverse you are is another factor as is having a move down plan. P
ersonally I think I'm fine playing in the right format with only 15 buyins but then I consider myself better than most in the mid stakes.
For most people I think the exact buyin amount is not too important as long as you have a solid move down plan and stick to it but anywhere above 25 buyins is ok as long as you move down when you say drop to 20. Of course if you dont like moving up and down stakes that much then by all means build a bigger roll in the first place, it really is personal preference.
That's more impotant than the amount of buyins you have (being able and happy to drop down a level when you fall below the minimum that you have set yourself for that game).