Bankroll management in Sit and go poker tournaments

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.

Gamblers, grinders, and mavericks: The use of membership categorisation to manage identity by professional poker players

Historically, gambling has varied considerably regarding its moral and social meanings. Whilst frequent gambling is often constructed as deviant, professional poker playing can be argued to occupy the conflicting position of both deviant and legitimate. This study explored how professional poker players negotiate this potentially troubled aspect of their identities. Semistructured interviews were conducted with four men from the United Kingdom who played casino poker. The data were analysed using membership categorization analysis. The following membership categorisations were in use within participants' accounts: gambler, grinder, maverick, and nongambler, as well as the central categorisation of professional poker player. Participants constructed themselves as stigmatised because they were frequent gamblers and poker players. Thus professional poker players utilised membership categorisation to distance themselves from other membership categories, particularly gamblers, which was achieved primarily through claims warranted by reference to skill and control.