Getting started ~ seriously

Now there are plenty of guide and plenty of threads about this, and I don't want to sound repetitive or anything, but there is something I am actualy wondering.

Now here most people are saying that getting started in cash game can be done many ways, and also theyve stated that there are many tools, for example poker tracker, that can really help your game.

I have a few questions regarding poker tracker and getting started.

Has you probably all know, poker tracker is not a small investment, in fact it is 88,90$ + tax.


I want to play poker, I want to build a bankroll, and I want to do so without investing much into poker. So I am currently wondering, what is the best way to go.

Lets say I want to invest max 100$, and well I want to build my bankroll high, managing it carefuly, it would seem to me that poker tracker, although very useful, is very expensive, should I build a bankroll with my 100$ and then buy poker tracker?

Because if I built my bankroll without it, will I really have any use for it?

How did you guys, figure out when to buy or not pokertracker and why did you do it?

When were you ready to invest into poker? When did you feel confident enough you would not lose your money?

Also, how did you first start to build your bankroll and with wich amount? did you invest 10 dollars? 100 dollars? 1000 dollars? Did you invest nothing starting to play freerolls? How did you manage it, were you loose, high variance? I want to know from the pros, the good ring games or SNG / MTT players.

You can deposit $100 onto Stars, build your roll playing .02/.05, and buy Poker Tracker once you're playing .10/.25 (so, when you have a roll of ~$500).

PT3 is offered free if u sign up a certain sites, look around, Titan used to be one (although I would have been better off using the CC link for the FRs maybe).

I started playing freerolls. You should read Chris Ferguson's thread on full tilt poker about bankroll management. Really helped me grinding to higher stakes. Of course freerolls can be suicidal, if you do want to deposit, 100 is a good way to start. Be sure to always play within your limits, otherwise you'll go broke like every other poker player. Lots of players could make serious money with Bankroll Management but i guess it's number 1 enemy. GL

Well here's my story....

I'm a 19 year old college kid with no source of income what-so-ever. So when your a college kid, some of you may know that you pretty much spend a lot of time on your computer looking at useless stuff on the internet (maybe thats just me). So i guess it just hit me one day and i decided, hey i want to start playing poker again (used to play a bit when i was 15-16). I figured that i had a little time on my hands and consider myself to be smarter than most so i figured i could profit somewhat. I knew that my traditional styles of play were garbage so the very fist thing i did was buy a poker book, a very general beginners one. This helped me to understand the starting hand ranges and so on. So i was pretty much playing play money games b/c i guess my credit card has gambling restrictions on it? So shortly after i ordered Moshmans SnG book and sudenly found $5 on my account that Pokerstars had credited to me...(i guess to promote playing with real money?) So i read Moshmans book and i found myself hooked on SnGs. This is a great book and will most definitely make you a winning SnG player. I also read the HoH series but im not much of a big tourney player but there are still some really good concepts. So after banging out some SnG's i was pretty quick to get up to $100. This is pretty much where the story is now and am currently trying to grasp cash games and am waiting on Professional No Limit in the mail.

Also, i pretty much went from 130-160 on $5 heads up matches. These games are ridiculously easy on pokerstars and am currently reading Moshmans heads up book. One more thing, i have been using the forums probably for the past 2-3 weeks and they are amazing! Great place for beginner levels all the way to experienced players. Great place to ask questions that you cant find immediately in a book.

Hope this helps, not many concepts or tips but thats how i made my way to where i am now.

If you play tight aggressive ABC poker on the micro-ring tables, it's not difficult to win more than you lose. So after a while, you can pay for Pokertracker from your winnings.

$100 is plenty to start with. If that's all you're ever willing to put up, then you'll want to be somewhat conservative in managing it; i.e. don't put yourself in situations where you might lose more than say 5% at once. But if you're willing to put in more, possible over time like $10 per week, then you should factor that in.

you are an electric jesus. i will have sex with u

no thanks douche

oh and i forgot to mention, i bought poker office pretty much right off the bat figuring i would buy it later anywyas

I think as your game progresses you'll fine tune it to your style, when to make a move and when not too. I think the programs for tracing your steps can force a new player into a style that doesn't suit them simple because of stats...don't play the way other's tell you, play the way you feel