Buy-in
A buy-in is the money you bring to a table, usually a fixed maximum for the stake. Bankrolls are measured in buy-ins, not absolute money.
In short: The amount you sit down with.
- Category
- Game
- Best use
- Session review and bankroll decisions
- Related page
- Bankroll calculator
Why Buy-in matters
Record every top-up as well as the initial purchase; the first buy-in alone cannot establish the session result. Game terms matter because they describe the conditions that make a result meaningful. The same £300 win says different things at different stakes, stack depths, formats and table line-ups. Without the game context, the number is detached from the decision.
Worked example
At 2/5 NL a typical buy-in is £500, or 100 big blinds. The useful part is not the label itself; it is the decision it changes. If the example changes your stake, stop-loss, review queue or next study block, write it cleanly in the log.
How to apply it
Record the table facts before the memory softens: stake, format, stack depth, position, relevant reads and any hand context worth reviewing. Then use the term as a label for the spot, not as a story about whether the session felt good. For Buy-in, the practical question is whether the label changes a bankroll, session or study decision. If it does not change a decision, it belongs in a note, not in the headline read.
Use the current session fields for game context and keep detailed hand or opponent reads separately. A player notebook and dedicated hand review are still in development. Use the same spelling every time, then link it back to bankroll calculator so the page, calculator or guide beside the term does useful work.
Common mistakes
- +Logging only the result and leaving out the game texture.
- +Using a term loosely enough that it stops being searchable.
- +Reviewing a hand without the stack, position or opponent context that made the decision real.
Questions players actually ask
How should I use Buy-in in a session log?
Use Buy-in as a decision label, not decoration. Log the raw session first, then attach the term only where it explains a stake, bankroll, variance or study choice you can review later.
What is the common mistake with Buy-in?
The common mistake is reading the term without the sample and context behind it. In live cash, a clean label still needs stake, hours, stack depth, cost and result data before it tells you anything reliable.