So I cashed in a recent freeroll and hit the tables a few nights ago. I had just 88 cents, barely enough to sit down at the $.02/$.04 tables at Betsson.

For those unaware, read about my challenge here.

When I got myself in this situation before, I was losing my one buy-in and having to start from scratch in the freerolls.

But tonight, I sat down, posted my blind and on the very first hand, I got lucky when I turned two pair and cracked aces doubling my bankroll.

I immediately stood up and went to to the next table, where I posted my blind and flopped trip threes on an unraised pot. With a flush draw on the board, I made pot-sized bets on the flop and on the turn and was called by a player with a small pocket pair. I waited until the big blind was to my right, then I stood up.

Now, a lot of people will look down on this method and there’s no doubt I’ve done what I would consider a pretty rough hit-and-run in two straight hands.

But when you’ve got a tiny bankroll, it’s best to cut your losses, and your gains. As your bankroll grows, there’s nothing more important than getting enough buy-ins to overcome the natural variance in poker. And it only takes one cooler to send you back to the play chips.

As a side note, I’ve been playing more live and online with my full bankroll and I’m doing well, so I’ve been neglecting this challenge. It’s pretty frustrating to do well in high-stakes tournaments and mid-level cash games, then struggle at $.02/$.04.

But it reminds me and it should reiterate to you that bankroll management is one of the most important parts of building a strong poker game.