My First Month as a Real Money Player

#1 5th October 2009, 4:22 PM

I deposited $100 in Full Tilt via a Visa All Access credit card I got at the local grocery store. (The only deposit method that would work for me.)

So began my life as a "real money" player. But first, a little background on me.

I was raised a poor white child in Texas.... Well, maybe not that much background.

Actually I began playing poker in April 2009. Besides some draw poker as a kid, I never played one live hand of poker. I didn't even know what "check" and "call" meant, nor much else. But I friend send me 100 free chips on Facebook and I began to play Zynga poker there. Soon I was hooked and like most things I get hooked on, I got a little obsessed.

As a financial trader I had a bit of an advantage because trading teaches many of the skills you need in poker, like playing odds, patience, money mgt, discipline. However, poker presents some challenges that trading can't teach you. Like how to play, for instance.

I read a few books, and got a little better. And, of course, won millions of "dollars" on Zynga. But play money gets pointless after a while, and the people get annoying real fast. So I talked my wife into letting me open a real money account and switched to Full Tilt on Sept 1, 09.

Here's what I've learned so far:

Real money play is harder. It probably equates to moving from playing high school football to college ball. You find out pretty quickly that most of the chips you won in play money was from morons who were just goofing around.
I can't play with play chips anymore. After real money, those games seem like playing with a bunch of drunks in a house of mirrors.
The principles of poker become vivid very quickly. Things like position mean little in play money. In real money you see why they are important.
I wasn't good enough to win. But after a month of study and diligence I've gotten better.
At first I lost at cash games and won SnGs. Now I'm winning and breaking even at cash games and not doing as well at SnGs. Tournaments require more luck and blatant aggression than cash games. I probably was pretty lucky early on. But the winning encouraged me. If I had lost at both I would have been very discouraged.

As I said, I lost at cash games at first. A turning point was reading (Dan)Harrington on Cash Games, easily the best poker book I've read so far. Lately I've been doing better and have been holding my own and adding to my bankroll. Thanks to bonuses and promotions and getting a little better I'm ahead of the game.

After some stumbles and lessons, I've made some basic rules for myself:

I will play only the lowest micro-limits (2NL & 1+.20) until I add 50% to my bankroll by winning. No exceptions. (Moving up in limits to "make back" what you've lost is like cutting an artery.)
I will play in no cash game with a buy-in bigger than 5% of my bankroll. I will play in no tournament with a entry fee bigger than 2% of my bankroll.
I will not play in a tournament until I've won the entry fee in a cash game since my last tournament. That is, whether I won, lost, or drew my last tournament, I will not play in another until I've won the entry fee for it in a cash game. (Losing 3 or 4 SnGs in a row is hard on the bankroll.)
I will never post the BB early in a cash game. This seems like a small thing, but I feel that if I don't have the discipline to wait for the BB to come around I have no business playing. It's just a way to start the game with discipline.
I will deposit no more money in my account. This is it. Either I make this $100 work or I find another pursuit.

I've learned that poker requires above all discipline, otherwise everybody would be winning at it. The problem is there is not enough money to go around. So you need to do what the losers are not doing, and that starts with being disciplined.

Hope this helps anyone who's like me is just starting out. Good luck and have fun!

#2 5th October 2009, 4:37 PM

I like the way you are thinking. Your strategy is pretty good to help new people not lose a lot of money. Be sure to let us know how everything goes.

#3 5th October 2009, 4:54 PM

The hints you have given will certainly help me! I'm in my 13th week of ever playing poker...I had absolutely no interest in the game until then, so the rules have come to me as I advanced! I recently deposited a small amount at Pokerstars & Fulltilt so I can play CC games there. I will only play Freerolls with an occasional tourney for $2 or so until I become MUCH more proficient in playing!
I will apply a lot of your ideas listed above. They are very sound & would apply to me as well. For now, Poker is considered 'entertainment' for me...it is terribly exciting & equally disappointing at times! I try NOT to play when I'm 'on tilt' and I try to maintain a positive attitude...if you go into anything with an attitude that is negative, you will lose!
I was introduced to Poker via the 'sink or swim method'...jump right in & learn the rules quickly! I began with play money, but that no longer appeals to me. The challenges of the CC games have spurred me on to learn as much as I could & to aspire to be the best!
Best luck with your games!

#4 5th October 2009, 5:32 PM

what i try to do is keep a separate BR for cash games and SNGs. i'm not a big fan of using cash games to support SNGs or SNGs to fund cash games. when i started playing for real money i would win in MTT and lose it all back in SNGs. i didn't play ring games then. you might try just sticking to cash games for a while until your sure you can win at them consistently. and just using a 2% policy across the board isn't a bad idea also. i find 5% a little high because i multi table and if i hit a downswing 5% at each table can take a toll. it's good to see you making good decisions with the wife permission of coarse.

#5 5th October 2009, 6:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardplayer52

and just using a 2% policy across the board isn't a bad idea also. i find 5% a little high because i multi table and if i hit a downswing 5% at each table can take a toll.

Good point.

Thanks for the replies and encouragement, all.

#6 5th October 2009, 6:36 PM

Judging from your post i say your gonna be winning and crushing the micros real soon imo.
You seem to have the exact right mind set for poker.

Post some hands in the HA(hand analyses) section if u want some feedback on your play, its a good way to plug some leaks.

Good post and good luck!

#7 5th October 2009, 6:41 PM

Honestly surprised you got anything out of HoC. I'd recommend No Limit Holdem Theory and Practice for cash game players. The type of strategy described by Harrington in his cash game books will have you losing a ton of value at micro/small stakes. There is no need to do all the things he describes to disguise your hands. You're playing monkeys who like to call, you're job is to make them pay when you have it and get out cheap when you don't.

Gl to you in your quest to "make it". It can certainly be done.

#8 5th October 2009, 6:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sindri_93

Judging from your post i say your gonna be winning and crushing the micros real soon imo.
You seem to have the exact right mind set for poker.

Post some hands in the HA(hand analyses) section if u want some feedback on your play, its a good way to plug some leaks.

Good post and good luck!

I concur.

Also, do yourself a favor and look into some tracking software, such as poker tracker or hold'em manager. You can download trial versions to test them out. I won't go into detail on how they work but if you'd like, you can PM me and I can provide you with some information about them. These tracking tools are invaluable to the online player and will in no time pay for themselves.

Keep us posted on your progress and like sindri said, post some of your trouble hands in the HA section. There are a lot of members here that are always willing to help.

Gook luck!

#9 5th October 2009, 6:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WVHillbilly

Honestly surprised you got anything out of HoC. I'd recommend No Limit Holdem Theory and Practice for cash game players. The type of strategy described by Harrington in his cash game books will have you losing a ton of value at micro/small stakes. There is no need to do all the things he describes to disguise your hands. You're playing monkeys who like to call, you're job is to make them pay when you have it and get out cheap when you don't.

Gl to you in your quest to "make it". It can certainly be done.

There's a small section in HoC Vol II that discusses play in bad games. Otherwise, yeah those books will not aid in play at micros. Very nice for tougher games with thinking opponents though.

#10 5th October 2009, 6:59 PM

very nice plan you have outlined for yourself.

best of luck to you!

#11 5th October 2009, 7:13 PM

[ You're playing monkeys who like to call, you're job is to make them pay when you have it and get out cheap when you don't.

Aint that the truth, the micro stakes are filled with morons and donks and whatever other bad thing you can call lousy poker players.
the level of play there is not good at all.
you will usually see 1-2 good players in a micro table milking the other 7 players. try to be the minority, i know i do

#12 6th October 2009, 5:25 AM

Rakeback would certainly help try requesting for it if you dont have it and always stick up to ur BR plan.

#13 11th October 2009, 4:58 PM

GL man, I started out with $10 last november and I'm currently sitting on a roll of ~$1500 now, so it can definitely be done by just grinding up patiently. (I took a 3 month hiatus from poker this summer too, so $10-$1500 in like 7 months.) Just be patient, dont like the short term swongs get you down, and value bet the $#($ outta your hands.

#14 11th October 2009, 7:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GCB

I deposited $100 in Full Tilt via a Visa All Access credit card I got at the local grocery store. (The only deposit method that would work for me.)

So began my life as a "real money" player. But first, a little background on me.

I was raised a poor white child in Texas.... Well, maybe not that much background.

Actually I began playing poker in April 2009. Besides some draw poker as a kid, I never played one live hand of poker. I didn't even know what "check" and "call" meant, nor much else. But I friend send me 100 free chips on Facebook and I began to play Zynga poker there. Soon I was hooked and like most things I get hooked on, I got a little obsessed.

As a financial trader I had a bit of an advantage because trading teaches many of the skills you need in poker, like playing odds, patience, money mgt, discipline. However, poker presents some challenges that trading can't teach you. Like how to play, for instance.

I read a few books, and got a little better. And, of course, won millions of "dollars" on Zynga. But play money gets pointless after a while, and the people get annoying real fast. So I talked my wife into letting me open a real money account and switched to Full Tilt on Sept 1, 09.

Here's what I've learned so far:

Real money play is harder. It probably equates to moving from playing high school football to college ball. You find out pretty quickly that most of the chips you won in play money was from morons who were just goofing around.
I can't play with play chips anymore. After real money, those games seem like playing with a bunch of drunks in a house of mirrors.
The principles of poker become vivid very quickly. Things like position mean little in play money. In real money you see why they are important.
I wasn't good enough to win. But after a month of study and diligence I've gotten better.
At first I lost at cash games and won SnGs. Now I'm winning and breaking even at cash games and not doing as well at SnGs. Tournaments require more luck and blatant aggression than cash games. I probably was pretty lucky early on. But the winning encouraged me. If I had lost at both I would have been very discouraged.

As I said, I lost at cash games at first. A turning point was reading (Dan)Harrington on Cash Games, easily the best poker book I've read so far. Lately I've been doing better and have been holding my own and adding to my bankroll. Thanks to bonuses and promotions and getting a little better I'm ahead of the game.

After some stumbles and lessons, I've made some basic rules for myself:

I will play only the lowest micro-limits (2NL & 1+.20) until I add 50% to my bankroll by winning. No exceptions. (Moving up in limits to "make back" what you've lost is like cutting an artery.)
I will play in no cash game with a buy-in bigger than 5% of my bankroll. I will play in no tournament with a entry fee bigger than 2% of my bankroll.
I will not play in a tournament until I've won the entry fee in a cash game since my last tournament. That is, whether I won, lost, or drew my last tournament, I will not play in another until I've won the entry fee for it in a cash game. (Losing 3 or 4 SnGs in a row is hard on the bankroll.)
I will never post the BB early in a cash game. This seems like a small thing, but I feel that if I don't have the discipline to wait for the BB to come around I have no business playing. It's just a way to start the game with discipline.
I will deposit no more money in my account. This is it. Either I make this $100 work or I find another pursuit.

I've learned that poker requires above all discipline, otherwise everybody would be winning at it. The problem is there is not enough money to go around. So you need to do what the losers are not doing, and that starts with being disciplined.

Hope this helps anyone who's like me is just starting out. Good luck and have fun!

Nice post, keep it up.

I seem to remember that in one of your first posts I made it very very clear that play money will not teach you how to play poker. Of course this statement was met with some resistance, but its not said because of some kind of poker elitism, its simply a statement of fact.

I like all of the points except the final, I shall never deposit again.

Poker is a hobby. Hobbies cost money. You are learning a new skill, and may well fail for the first few months. I certainly wouldn't advocate depositing lots and lots of cash, but poker really does take years to learn and the 'one shot' mentality dosent really fit with a persuit such as poker. A long downswing could easily destroy your BR, when playing microstakes its difficult to truely follow BRM because the smallest cash game is $1NL which requires a $20 BR, where do you go from there?

Also you are still learning the game, and in a years time, you will still be learning the game, 'one shot' might be a defeatest attitude.

#15 11th October 2009, 7:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardplayer52

i find 5% a little high because i multi table and if i hit a downswing 5% at each table can take a toll.

I agree that the buyin amount when multitabling should be some figure less than 5%.

However thats nit due to downswings. If downswings were the only issue then 5% would still be perfectly acceptable.

BRM does little to protect you from bad play or tilt.

If you are playing badly with 5% then you are losing money more rapidly than with say 2% but that is nothing to do with a downswing.

When on a downswing, money isnt the issue, the issue is volume. If you can play consistantly well, then multitabling allows for a much higher volume and thus results should return to their LR expected valuse more quickly by multitabling.

So the point I'm making is that the reduction in buyin amount is not to protect from downswings when multitabling, because multitable pllay doesnt differ from single table play.

The reduction is there because it may be that you play badly in a given session and thus multitabling means you play a higher volume of hands badly.

If you could 100% rule out bad play then there would be no logical reason to reduce the buyin amount when multitabling.

As we are human, there is reason, but I just want to point out that its not because of downswings.

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