Advice on playing cheap and free.

I have a feeling that I may be skewing my poker learning curve by playing as follows:

I only fund my online poker (primarily Ultimate Bet) about $50 at a time.
That makes me unlikely to play high buy in games or SNG/Tourneys.

I mostly play 0.55 sit and goes, $2.20 tourneys, and 5cent/10cent tables, and as many free rolls as I have time for.

Back to my concern, while I am sure that most folks playing free will be much looser, will limiting my play to the aforementioned games cause me to get a wrong "table sense" or bad habits for games with more at stake?

Any advice or ideas will be appreciated.

PJ

With that much of a bankroll I'd only play heads up SnG's and freerolls. I might play shorthanded tables at the 5/10c levels but not any higher. I'd go with the SnG's and build it up to at least $150 trying to make $2 at a time...but that's just me. Also play some cheap tournaments, like for example at Full Tilt there is a 10c one I'm playing today.

People do play different at lower levels than they do at upper levels
People also play different live vs online.
As long as you can adapt to how people are playing, there's no problem. At your limits there are a significant number of idiots and your play is often based on milking these unskilled players. When you go up in limits, the percentage of fish decreases, so you have to adjust your strategy to profit from a different kind of player.

What "games with more at stake" are you referring to? Assuming you move up gradually as your bankroll increases, you'll adapt to the changes. If you're considering depositing several grand to hit high stakes poker you're going to be in for a shock.

It is possible to build a roll from a $50. I myselfself started this way and have slowly built it to around $100 (got it as high as $125). Im following and STICKING to the Ferguson BRM.

Unless you're willing to take a chance on losing alot more you really don't have a choice. With a $50 bank roll what else would you play?

While playing at this level you will definately encounter more LAG type players, but you will encounter some of them at higher levels also. You will also find TAG players at this level and all kinds of players in between. The only thing that will change as you more up is the ratio of one kind to the other. What you need to concentrate on learning is how to identify how your opponents are playing and to adjust your game accordingly.

I deposited $50, and turned it into $600.
The PokerStars $.01/$.02 games were the toughest to make a profit at. Yes there are complete idiots, but there are a significant number of people who are playing those limits because they don't want to lose. Hence, it's hard to get money out of them.
When I moved to $.05/$.10 I found people more willing to put $ into the pot and it became substantially more profitable.

Ring games:
I suggest grinding it out at $.01/$.02. When you earn $25 there, use that $25 (5 buy-in's) as a stake for the $.02/$.05 tables. If you lose your $25, move down, if you make another $50 move up to $.05/$.10 ($75 total profit this time). Etc. So while you're not traditionally bankrolled for your limit, your movement to lower levels makes up for it.
Personally, I hated the idea of moving down to lower limits, so putting these personal bankroll rules into place kept me from making risky plays that could wind me back up at the smaller tables.

Tournaments:
I suggest the same sort of system. Allow yourself to play the lowest limits, and only move up when you've reached a certain amount of earnings from those games. Then force yourself to move back down to the lower levels if you deplete those earnings.

Speaking from experience, I'd say the folks at low limit are as anxious to keep their money as anyone else. These aren't idiots, just people without a lot of free cash. So I don't think you are hurting your game to play low limits

Yeah--what he said

Its all relative depending on how much money you have...

But the play is different as you move up...from reckless guys not knowing what they are doing while they are making crazy moves....to experienced players making moves that know what they are doing (although sometimes they look the same)

You can definately make money grinding it up from a small amount

Good Luck

Hey guys, Thanks for the great advice.

Penguin: I like your advice a lot, it allows for me to work my way up. BTW, I was playing the .01/.02 games, just forgot the lowest level
What I meant by games with more at stake were just the higher buy in games and tourneys.

Lean: "just people without a lot of free cash." is ME, lol. I am so broke I can't even pay attention anymore.

Bill_nj: I tried to find the thread with the Poker terms but can't find it right now. What are LAG and TAG players, please?

LAG = Loose Aggressive
TAG = Tight Aggressive

build your stack and whip butt at the low tables....i am good at being the bully which i am sure most people r...

You are right to be concerned that playing at freerolls vs micros vs higher buy-ins will affect your level of play. When I first started online with just play money- calling an all in with top pair face kicker on the flop usually got you the chips. Doing that in the middle stages of a freeroll or a micro buy-in will get you cleaned out of chips. But as long as you are aware and adjust, it shouldn't be a problem.