When do I switch from play money and freerolls to cash games

When I first started playing internet holdem, I set some rules and guidelines BEFORE i invested my hard earned cash to play online.
The first rule was.... I'm not ready until.....
I have won real money by plaing freerolls and winning.
I have won over 1 million play dollars on sit n goes, tourneys and straight texas hold em tables.
I have played on at least 3 different poker sites.
I have read, studied and learned from 3 separate WRITTEN sources
i.e. railbirds, cardchats and poker books.
I have learned how to enjoy playing, even when i lose.
I have learned to play without STEAMING or REVENGE hunting.
I WILL NEVER exceed my weekly cash limit in depositing and playing, no matter how fast I go thru it.
I will always keep a poker journal to track my sucess/failure & responses to each on a weekly schedule.

So, then i can whip out the old wallet and let some cash into my game?
Yes, BUT NOT UNTIL! Did it work? I'm not finished yet, but I'm not playing with my money yet EITHER! lol

You have a lot more patience than I do lol.

So, have you won anything from the freerolls yet?

I like the play money economy at Stars, but I started with freeroll winnings at another site. Lost the first mini bankroll, lost the second, but the third I finally managed to build it and not lose it.

In the meantime I had decided to start playing with my own real money and made my first deposit.

It is different than play money, but the so is every site different. I disagree with those that say not to start with play money, but only if it's one like Stars that has a lot of players and has a lot of different levels.

But as to when to start cash games, I can't help you there.

Well you have a better plan than most in the poker world. I would make a small deposit and practice proper bankroll management. If you go broke quickly then you are probably not ready yet. If it lasts a while then go for it. Good luck

you should switch whenever you deposit or cash in a freeroll. it's as simple as that.

personally id learn the system software then invest some funds

playing for fun is like watching paint dry, if you play properly you wont play many hands in a night

its all in banzi time, no real strategy or betting just betting to catch anything, real poker even $1 games can be like that but its finding a level where your comfy and the money doesnt take over your strategy

i prefer $20 + games not always succesful but people actually lay hands down $1 $2 turbo's is chuck it in and see what happens


be a rock 1st before you experiment

i started off the sme way you did through freerolls and play money and only moved up once i felt i was bored with play money. i got 20 mil play money at pokerstars but in doing so i got into so many bad habits it was unbelievable when i moved up it took me 1 yr to correct them to a point where i can honestly say i am a winning player. my record stands tht my roi in 3 buck sngs is - 20% but my roi in 10 buck games is + 20% so even playing micro stakes is still teaching you the wrong things. dont stay for too long at play money as it takes a long time to get outta bad habits. move up make a deposit and if you do proper br managment you should make it last for quite a while

gl

Good point; don't stay too long in the play money as it has it's limits in terms of teaching value.

I still go back and play there when I'm really starting to tilt. Makes me feel better, even if I'm not playing any better.

You do have a detailed plan but it seems a little "scared" to me. Here's what I did after learning to play hold 'em from an xbox live download 4 months ago( which i never would have done if that wasn't free).
I downloaded bodog and deposited the minimum of $20. I played some Limit Ring, No-limit ring, and NL Sit n Gos. When I hit these sit n go's was when my BR grew at a faster rate. Don't get me wrong, I still have a small BR of $110 and already cashed $40 =$150(was gonna deposit that into another poker account then that became a hassle after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act, or whatever it's called, which by the way we can all thank my state senator for that.).
Anyways, i would say give it a shot with a minimum deposit. I'm know that's not proper BR management but don't consider it your BR... consider it $20 to get familiar with loose live play at micro-limits.

one tip i learned from Raymor, put some funds in your neteller account or wherever you bank for poker and thats the limit your going to lose when its gone its time to retire from poker online

if you can learn that then i reckon yur safe to start playing real money

if you gamble gamble gamble then its not gonna be fun you dont have to make a large profit but any profit is good

the bigger my bank role the better my game gets, just dont bet money you dont have

enjoy other than that

I have never had to make a deposit...if you can get through the freeroll, that's the first step, then you do small sit n gos, honestly, you NEVER have to deposit, just play smart, and within your provided Bankroll and you never will have to deposit either

The free money chips isn't real, while you can learn some basics you’re missing the reality of being really hurt when making bad decisions. Learn the basics and get out of play money ASAP.

Once you have the basics what do you want to play? Cash/ring games? Or tournaments? If you've just mortgaged the house and have lots of money to burn then you can play cash games. While learning cash games it's a matter of how much your going to be comfortable in losing because lose you will. Sure there will be a few winning streaks but the negative swings are going to kill your bankroll until you learn how to play well.

For those with limited bankrolls I recommend buying in for 50 to 100 bucks and concentrating on 1.00 and 2.00 MTT's, and the occasional 5.00 SnG. The best bang/value for the buck though is the MTT's. For 1 dollar if you make the money you get it back or more, 1st place can pay as much as 300 bucks.

I highly recommend learning the game with real money, there’s nothing like the hangman’s noose to focus the mind. A 100 dollar investment gets you almost 100 shots at winning a pretty good bankroll. When your bankroll hits 200 add a few 5.00 tourneys. By this time you should have a feel for when to try rebuys and 10, 20 or 30 dollar tourneys. Or try a satellite to the 100k or Sunday Million at PokerStars..

It's all about comfort, confidence and fun. Making money comes with patience and intelligence nurture both and you should do ok.

Exactly...there's a good chance you'll lose money when you first move up so you dont want the cash for your electric bill on the line when it does. Play around, find what suits you the best and then start winning like mad

Play money games are not very useful IMHO. I played them for six months. In the STTs, I was always ITM because I just let all the (macho)idiots eliminate themselves. You'll know when you're ready to move on because one day, you just won't want to use play money again.

My advice use one of the offers from Cardschat and/or get someone to introduce you to a site so you get bonus $'s. Then play the micro limits and gradually move up. There is so much more to say but it's best to pick it up yourself.

That is bull sh1t. I don't care how smart you play. No amount of intelligence will save you from getting donked.

No its not if u use prober BRM the bad beats whount hurt your BR

That is definitely the way to do it - wish I'd stuck to that maxim!

I played freerolls and play money games for a looong time before taking the plunge and making a deposit.

I also read four poker books, a couple of them twice. As far as freeroll cashing goes, I cashed on PokerStars, FullTilt, and PokerTime.

There is a difference in play money games vs real money games, but the same principles apply. Self control, tight play, proper chip management. If you can work your way to $1,000,000 play money chips without going on a spew-fest, then you can make money in the micro limit games.

The big difference is going to be aggression. In free games, there's no financial penalty for losing so you can't bluff as much. You pretty much play tight solid poker then overbet when you have a hand and get paid off on the showdown.
In real money games people are willing to fold a lot more often, so you'll win a much greater percentage of pots without a showdown. So aggression is a bigger factor. I'm not saying bluff, as people still have a habit of calling you down. But making continuation bets and playing position are *much* bigger factors.
Also, players are a bit smarter, so sitting back and over-betting when you have big hands won't be profitable. You can make a little money by just waiting for the big hands and betting, but not much.

If I was to do it all over again, I'd make $1,000,000 in play money on PokerStars. I'd also make sure I cashed in a few freerolls.
Then I'd sell my play money chips and play with the $10 to get a feel for the money games. If I thought I was ready to play for money at that point (win or lose) I'd make a deposit.

Play money screwed up my poker game big time.. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone.

On bodog they have 5 table $1.20 tournaments, that's the best way to go if you're really low on cash.. 2nd would probably be the $2.20 SNG's.

my suggestion which seems to have worked for me and others is not until you have had and been a part of at least one of every type of winning hand such as royal flush, straight flush, etc. Once you have your experience should be enough to know how to play all situations.

what now ur seriously advocating that u wait till uve ticked all poss winning hands that could take a while royals r few n far between

For those new to the game, and online play in particular, who are cautious and prepared to follow a plan, the original post, which is now over a year old, is not a bad plan to break.

I never made it to 1 mil play chips. Got close, and I coulda/woulda made it, but I turned some freeroll money into a br, and then deposited a little and it started growing.

So my path was slightly modified from the OP plan.

What not to do, is to deposit weekly! You're education will end up costing you more than a 4 year college!

What play money games can do is get you comfortable with the way the game is currently played, and played at different sites.

If however, you are filthy rich, and don't have a clue, then please put your poker names here and lets play! Otherwise get the clue for cheap.

^^^ what DJ said is exactly right.

I'm another who hasn't deposited and play cash games via money won through freerolls and/or sign up bonuses through CC. CC freerolls helped a lot to get a small br going at 4 sites where I am patiently working it into more. The best help of all has been being an active member of CC, reading up what ever good advice I can from the guys I am certain who know what they're talking about.

As for those that said play chips are useless there have been threads here on how to sell them for cash at the site you were playing at. I haven't done it but have seen plenty who have.