Playing Poker Online for (Not Much) Money?

blobert

Hi there,

I've been playing a lot of Texas Hold Em on PartyPoker in the last few months, only for play money.

Now I've got fairly good at it, to the point where I nearly always win, so I'm thinking of trying out playing for actual money, allbeit very small ammounts.

I have a few questions:

(1) Will the standard be hugely higher when playing for even small sums of money (I'd assume it would be). I know a lot of pro poker make their day to day money playing online but I'm assuming they aren't interest in beating the guys playing for pots of $2?

(2) Is PartyPoker a good place to play for low stakes poker or are there better places? I'm quite familiar with the site but if I have to convert into US$ it mightn't be such a great deal.

(3) Can you recommend any good basic poker books to read, is reading up on poker likely to help my game a lot, there certainly seem to be enough books out there.

I'd appreciate any help/advice.

Thanks,
Robert

Rb

blobert wrote:

(1) Will the standard be hugely higher when playing for even small sums of money (I'd assume it would be). I know a lot of pro poker make their day to day money playing online but I'm assuming they aren't interest in beating the guys playing for pots of $2?

Not at lower levels. You can deposit on Stars and play as low as $0.01/$0.02 and $0.10STTs, Tribeca also has cash games as low as $0.02/$0.04. The standard is generally very poor with players riding on luck and outdrawing you a fair bit, but its beatable and sure beats playing play money.

blobert wrote:

(2) Is PartyPoker a good place to play for low stakes poker or are there better places? I'm quite familiar with the site but if I have to convert into US$ it mightn't be such a great deal.

Well, it depends what level you want to start at.

blobert wrote:

(3) Can you recommend any good basic poker books to read, is reading up on poker likely to help my game a lot, there certainly seem to be enough books out there.

Harrington on Holdem volumes 1,2 and 3. Mainly focus on tourny play. Unsure of any really good cash game books (if anyone knows of any do recommend as I'd most certainly buy it).

gerry87

Sklansky's "Small Stakes Hold'em: Winning Big with Expert Play" does what it says on the tin. It mainly talks about limit, but covers some important stuff. I started playing limit after reading it.

blobert

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll have a look at those books.

I went ahead and put $50 in to my PartyPoker account, I'm a whopping $5 up already.

I also got an email from Pay-Pro who seemingly control Party Pokers payments saying I have to ring them to verify my details or my account will be closed.

Just wanted to check this is normal?

Thanks,
Robert

Ste05

blobert wrote:

I also got an email from Pay-Pro who seemingly control Party Pokers payments saying I have to ring them to verify my details or my account will be closed.

Just wanted to check this is normal?

Thanks,
Robert

Usually just when you cashout, but it's fine, give them a ring...

Rb

blobert wrote:

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll have a look at those books.

I went ahead and put $50 in to my PartyPoker account, I'm a whopping $5 up already.

I also got an email from Pay-Pro who seemingly control Party Pokers payments saying I have to ring them to verify my details or my account will be closed.

Just wanted to check this is normal?

Thanks,
Robert

Have a look at Ste05's signature...

When I deposited to Party Poker, twenty minutes later I got a call verifying my account and that was sorted, never had to make any calls myself.

Oh and now that you're playing for real money, have a look around on Google for articles about Bankroll Management. It makes a difference.

luckylucky

rb_ie wrote:

Oh and now that you're playing for real money, have a look around on Google for articles about Bankroll Management. It makes a difference.

Bankroll Management makes a huge difference - not that I'd worry about that too much playing for micro stakes unless you really really are hard up cash wise.

Anyway Bankroll management is all fine in theory , putting it into practice though is another matter - poker is evil like that - the temptation to start playing in bigger games than your bankroll dictates can be a hard one to resist - and I'll hold my hands up 2 being guilty of that.

Gl blobert - c u in the $1000 No Limit Games next year

Running Bing

gerry87 wrote:

Sklansky's "Small Stakes Hold'em: Winning Big with Expert Play" does what it says on the tin. It mainly talks about limit, but covers some important stuff. I started playing limit after reading it.

Without doubt the best limit hold'em book out there but I wouldnt advise it for a first read. Read something like lee jones low limit hold' first. Its quite small and a good read. Its a bit limited but it'll give you everything you need to know to win at micro limit games. Id say then try theory of poker by sklansky. I thinks its the best poker book out there and an absolute essential read. It doesnt deal with a specific game or how to play hands but it shows the correct way to appraoch the game and how to think about it. After those two and a bit of practice you could then try ssh. But you'll probably have to read it at least twice as it probably wont make much sense the first time.

Sangre

Post some advice on another thread previously about micro-limit cash games, if you want to search for it ( yes, I'm lazy.) Tactics worked for me well enough, started on 1c/2c like yourself.

Note - the standard will be absolutely terrible. From people not knowing the basic concepts of poker, to play dropping down levels to just play micro, they are treating as play money themselves.