Poker bankroll calculator

What does this result mean?

A poker bankroll calculator estimates how many buy-ins you need before normal variance has an acceptable chance of wiping out your roll. The answer depends on three inputs: your expected win rate, the standard deviation of your results and the risk of ruin you are prepared to accept. A stronger edge reduces the required bankroll, while larger swings or a lower risk target increase it.

The result is a planning threshold, not a promise that a downswing will stop at that number. Use a conservative win rate and a realistic standard deviation from your own sample, then compare the result with the buy-ins you actually hold. If your bankroll is below the estimate, the practical options are to drop stakes, build the roll or take a tightly ring-fenced shot with a fixed stop point.

Put your bankroll estimate beside real sessions

Your buy-in estimate depends on the win rate, swings and risk you entered. Start logging real sessions in Overshove to keep a record of the results behind your bankroll decisions.

The app opens in a new tab. On the sign-in screen, choose "New here? Create an account". Calculator numbers are not transferred to the app. Enter your real session records there to start your log.

Tracking and calculations do not guarantee a profit or prevent losses.

How to use the answer responsibly

Treat the calculator as a planning tool, not a verdict on one session. A live poker input is usually an estimate: your win rate is noisy, your standard deviation changes by game type, and your future volume rarely matches the clean number you type into a form. The useful habit is to save the assumptions beside the result so you know what would need to change before the decision changes.

If the result pushes against what you wanted to do, do not smooth the inputs until the answer feels nicer. Make the conservative version first, using a lower win rate, a higher swing rate or fewer weekly hours. Then run the optimistic version. The space between those answers is the real decision area: where a shot needs a stop rule, where a move up needs more buy-ins, or where a good-looking hourly still needs a bigger sample.

Overshove calculators become more useful when the inputs come from your own logged sessions. Rake, tips, travel, hours, stake mix and session length all change the number. A generic benchmark can teach the shape of the problem, but a clean personal log gives the number you should actually act on.