How much bankroll do you need for $1/$2 live poker?
A solid live winner (8bb/100) needs about $4,800 (24 buy-ins of $200) to play $1/$2 with less than 5% risk of going broke over roughly two years of weekly play. A modest winner (4bb/100) needs about $6,400.
Solid winner (8 bb/100)
24 buy-ins of $200
Modest winner (4 bb/100)
32 buy-ins of $200
For less than 5% risk of ruin over 30,000 hands (about two years of weekly play) at 120 bb/100 standard deviation, with 100 big blind buy-ins. The bankroll figures come from the same risk-of-ruin math as the calculator, and the downswings from its simulation.
$1/$2 is where most live players start. The old "$4,000 to $6,000 for 1/2" advice maps to 20 to 30 buy-ins, and it holds up: our simulations put a solid winner's under-5% threshold at $4,800 and a modest winner's at $6,400. Live games swing harder per hand than online ones, because stacks play deeper and pots go multiway more often, which is why the bigger live win rates do not shrink the requirement as much as you might hope.
The catch is volume. Live poker deals about 25 to 30 hands an hour, so the same downswing that an online player clears in a month can take a live player most of a year of weekly sessions. A modest 1/2 winner's 95th percentile worst stretch is about $7,280, and at live pace that stretch can span more sessions than most players' patience. The roll exists to outlast the calendar, not just the cards.
These numbers assume win rates that are modest by live standards (4 to 8bb/100, which is roughly $2 to $4.50 an hour at 1/2). Plenty of studied players beat soft 1/2 games for more, and every extra big blind per hundred shrinks the bankroll you need. If you win at the rates good live players report, our thresholds are comfortably conservative.
Opens the calculator preloaded for $1/$2 live. Adjust your bankroll and win rate for a personal verdict.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should I buy in for at $1/$2?
A standard buy-in is 100 big blinds, which is $200 at 1/2. Many rooms allow up to $300. Buying in for the table maximum is right for a winning player because it lets your edge work in the biggest pots; buy in shorter only as a deliberate strategy, not to protect a thin bankroll. Every number on this page counts $200 buy-ins. If you sit with $300, count your bankroll in $300 buy-ins and keep the same number of them, because deeper stacks swing harder: about 24 × $300 = $7,200 for a solid winner.
Is $1,000 enough to play 1/2 live?
As a bankroll, no: $1,000 is 5 buy-ins, and our simulations put even a solid winner's safe threshold at $4,800. As a session budget backed by income you can comfortably replace, it is fine. The distinction matters: a bankroll has to survive downswings on its own.
How big do downswings get at 1/2?
Our simulations put the 95th percentile worst stretch at about $7,280 for a modest winner and $6,040 for a solid one, measured peak to trough. At live pace that can cover months of weekly sessions, which is why live downswings feel longer than they look on paper.
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