I've got a 22 year old son who has quite an amazing talent when it comes to poker but he's finding it real tough listening to his old man when it comes to money management. I've seen him turn miniscule amounts of money in to thousands only to get up the next morning and see it gone.

I don't know much about poker but I'm sure the money management aspect is pretty similar to the strategies all you semi and professional punters use on here and I'd be real grateful for any comments, advice etc that I can show him from others rather than his ol' man being in his ear all the time. He just might believe a few people that have been there done that over many years.

The reason I ask right now is because he's very recently come to live at home again for a few months and because he wanted to pay his way whilst he was here (he lost his job and refuses point blank to go on the rock and roll) he threw me 50 bucks and asked me to put it in his 888 Poker account via my bank account which I did.

In less than 24 hours he's turned that in to $73K (I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it for myself) so this time I'd love him to keep it rather than thinking he's 10 foot tall and bullet proof.

I know this is not about horse racing but I'd be very grateful for any money management comments so maybe he will listen to seasoned professionals.

Money Management is important no matter what your doing. This may sound a bit lame but everybody takes into account money management each day (or the vast majority) when your shopping online, buying groceries, changing your superannuation options, its all to do with the optimum money management of minimising your losses and maximising your winners (i.e. finding the cheapest but most effective option).

I'm not super profitable from gambling or make a living from it like some here, but i'm 26 years old and already learnt heaps regarding betting (NBA, horses, poker). Money Management is key, and you'd be surprised how helpful recording your bets or action for the day can help you with your discipline. I mean whats the point in making $73k if you blow it the next day, you've really achieved nothing and your no better then the next guy.

I work as a Paraplanner (writing financial plans for people) and everything we deal in is minimising losses, maximising gains. Ask any profitable share trader and they will tell you that they would prefer to minimise losses with stop losses, breakeven stops, trailing stops as they want to give as little back to the market as possible while maximising what they can take away. Playing poker is no different, if you let your emotions get the best of you and play a silly hand, lose your (for instance) $1,000 table value and instantly top it up trying to chase the losses that shows a real lack of discipline and will throw your bankroll away as quick as you got it.

Clearly the guy knows how to play, so why not make the best of your talents and maximise your returns with some basic money management. It may be hard to get used to in the begining but the lessons learnt and discipline gained will not only help with his poker account, by life lessons as well (saving for a car, house, holiday).

If he really wants to get serious, my suggestion would be to use a % of bankroll each day and if loses it, thats it for the day and wait until the next to begin playing again or at least wait a couple of hours. While hes waiting, update a spreadsheet with what he lost, why he thinks he lost it, and how he could have potentially played it better. He will be amazed at how beneficial it will be to not only record your own thoughts at the time but also to read back over them.

Anyway thats my long winded post, as I said i'm no guru but i've read plenty on various shares and gamling sites and seen enough issues through work (people on $300k net family incomes struggling to make any savings due to poor money management with huge debts etc) that suggests money management is essential to winning long term.

If I were 22 again I'm sure I would be right into online poker.
My advice would be to withdraw half of the profit at the end of each session and consider the remainder as his bank. Ask his dad to put it into the bank for him.
Congrats to him.

Thanks so much Eva and SB, I really appreciate it. I've had a win with him today as he's starting to listen and agreed to start with 2K per day and win, lose or draw he walks away. It's a good start and especially as he broke 75K earlier today and then did his ******** for 8K in 2 hands. We live and learn.

Take $72000 out now and lock it intp a Term Deposit for 3 months. Tell him to keep playing as though he's down to his last $1000. If he increases that greatly do the same again. $73000 in one day, geez, this kid's got some talent.

I agree here. If he is going to have his punting as an income then he must treat it as a job that he gets paid for. The first thing he must do is pay himself out of his profits. Pay himself and put that money away. Invest it, put it somewhere that is a little harder to get at. Then he must allow for contingencies such as blowing his bank.So he must put something away in a different area for this. While he keeps the money in play it is not his. He has it in the "bank" or on the table. It is cashflow and available for whoever claims it. The only way it is his is when he claims it as his own and takes it OFF the table. Remember that money is like honey, it attracts and everybody that touches it, leaves with some sticking to their fingers.
IT IS HARD TO EARN MONEY - IT IS TEN TIMES HARDER TO KEEP IT.
This not only goes for your son but everybody that is punting seriously and everybody that is working for themselves. Beton

Thanks Mark, this kid played Zynga Poker on FB since he was 16 and accumulated over 4.6 billion chips which is a very tall ask if you know it and play it. He just seems to know with pretty good accuracy what everyone else has, he has a huge talent. Darned if I know where he got that from but it sure weren't me.

Thank you so much guys, you can't buy this stuff! Let's hope he listens, what was that saying, you can take a horse to water? We'll see what happens.

I think the saying is You can take a horse to tha tables but I bet it can't win $70,000.

I reckon Black Caviar could.