Learning to play

My girlfriend has been learning to play Holdem the last few years and she started playing the play money games. I found that these games only really teach you the hands and maybe percentages but as far as teaching you when to call and when to fold this does not make sense. When you are playing with play money there really isnt any reason not to call when you really shouldnt as you have nothing too loose. I know that this seems like the wrong way to play but most of the game with real money you are asking yourself "are you getting the right odds" and with play money it doesnt really matter. I say if you are going to learn you should learn with real money.

you can still learn to play with play money, to be honest the sytle of play is similar to freerolls and low buyins.

On several occasions the play is better in play money then in some of the $5 and $10 games I play in. I started with play money then graduated to freerolls to build a bankroll then start real money games

Like everything else in poker, it has it's place. If your girlfriends hasn't had much experience playing poker, then play money can be great for her. The play there is very bad and it will teach here the very basics and a ton of patience. Like katy said, they are pretty good for the very beginner to get their feet wet.

Yeah for sure they are good fopr the very very begginner but to me playing the game is all about taking risks and there is definatly no risk in play money games. I agree that it has its time and place but once you learn the hands and the basics, leave it behind and move on as quick as possible. I also think that if you loose real money you will learn allot quicker.

Like Katymaty, I also started with play money and then won some real money in some free rolls and turned it into enough to play low limit cash games and tournaments. The key to learning with play chips is to play as if they were real money. With play chips she can learn the basics...what hands to play, how to figure outs, and pot odds. Another trick is to avoid tables where people go all-in every hand just because they're play chips. That kind of play isn't poker, it's showdown and will teach her nothing.

I also started with play chips when I first started playing online poker. There are a lot of advantages to play chips. You get use to the poker site interface. If you click on the wrong button, for example all-in instead of fold, it's no big deal. With real money, it is a mistake you don't want to make. It also gives you a good idea of the poker hands, the values of the hands, and how often you get really good hands. Again, better to learn this with play money.

I will still play a bit with play money when I download a poker room with a new interface just to get use to the graphics.

Once I was comfortable playing with people I didn't know, with the play money, I graduated to freerolls, and then to micro/low limit ring games, SnGs, and MTTs. I stayed playing freerolls until I had accumulated a small bankroll. I will stay at one limit until I feel comfortable moving up to a higher limit. I probably go a lot slower then most people because I don't have a lot of confidence in my game. But my confidence is improving as my bankroll goes up and as I make more final tables.

I think she should stay with the play chips until she feels comfortable to move on to the freerolls. But, she should also watch videos, read books, study, etc. even though she is just playing with play chips. She should continue to learn the game.

One more thing I forgot to mention, when I play with play chips, I limit myself to the chips I was originally given. I try never to loose all my chips. In other words, I treat it like it is real money and you can not just click a button to receive 1,000 more chips. I don't think I ever had to get more chips at any of the sites I have played at. Treat it like real money if you want to really learn how to play. If you run out of chips, walk away from the computer. You just ran out of money. Maybe in a day or two you can start again. That way you won't be so quick to put all your chips in the pot.

I also think I started with limit so I couldn't loose all my chips. Then I graduated to no limit.

Good luck to your girlfriend.

I agree with AGILE, about using the play chips to get used to the sites interface and also get used to the way online games are layed out. Good point.

Learn the basic hands with play money but move on to the freerolls in the real money tables. Lots of players, few percentages of winners but the play is more real than the play money. Once you get past the first 5 or 6 hands, the all - in dummies are done and you actually get players playing more like a real money game. Even the 180 player and 360 players SnG on FT play pretty realisitic after the first couple hands.

There are a lot of great points posted above so I will not elaborate on them. Have you considered that she is not yet comfortable with making the switch? She needs to feel comfortable so give her a little space to do it her way. It may not be the way you would do it, and that's okay, we all have our styles. Just be there for her to help her learn and offer guidance, that's the best thing you can do for her right now.