play money?

I just started playing poker again after some years...I used to play about 2 years ago, but I don't call myself good at poker yet..still learning..

So my strategies of learning poker are reading some books, play sit n go or tournament on play money...what do you guys think of playing sit n go on play money? is it effective training?

Any books recommendations for tournament or sit n go strategy?

Thanks guys..

Sorry..I started play on limit in the first place, but is the playing concept the same as no limit? is it the best start to play on limit first?

This sounds very much like my foray into online poker. I played play money SnGs on Zynga/Facebook poker for a long time before the thought of depositing real money onto a poker site even occurred to me.

Looking back, I'd say my play money experience did very little to train any actual poker skill. I was "winning" at the "highest" stakes, but only realized later, after I'd moved to real money games, that it was in spite of the fact that I didn't have any clue what I was doing. Neither does anyone else at the play money tables, for that matter. For sure, the quality of play on even the lowest stakes real money SnGs is better than on the highest stakes play money SnGs.

However, there's no harm in dabbling in play money until you feel comfortable enough to risk real money. One thing to which I do credit my (perhaps) overstay at the play money tables (and more generally, my cautious approach to risking money) is that, rather than going busto with it, I was able to run with my first deposit. Some others will more readily play for real money from the get go, but may risk losing several deposits in the process.

The best SnG book out there is almost undoubtedly Collin Moshman's Sit 'n Go Strategy.

Limit and no limit play very differently. As to which one to play, I've always thought you should start playing the game you mean to play long term.

If you like limit and you mean to keep playing it then definitely start by playing limit. If you're only playing limit with the intention of transferring to no limit later though, I think you're largely wasting your time. Just start playing low stakes no limit and spend all your time learning the game you mean to continue with.

Thanks guys..so how do I know whether one is good at poker? by winning consistently or by playing the cards right? I was thinking the later one, but as the laymen think the first...can you really measure the skills in this game?

get away from play money as soon as you can bud, people play completely differently there as opposed to money games. If building a BR is difficult at the moment, keep posting at CC, get your post-count to 65, then join our excellent freeroll club, lots of juicy freerolls to help your BR.
As for knowing whether you're good or not, one of my rules for me is that as long as I get it all-in good(when Im ahead), then thats all I can hope for, let the poker gods decide whether I win or not.
GL

Forever I have been one who has/had no problem with play money poker. PM (Play money) and public freerolls staked me to my first real money games. Actually it was the public freerolls (party poker).

The major difference in play vs real money games is the scared money aspect of poker. You are never worried about blowing your whole wad at a play money table. The one counter to that is if you substitute pride for fear. If you set a goal of accumulating some ungodly amount of play money chips in your play money bankroll, you somewhat approximate the scared money aspect of real money poker .

I still maintain that there is a rough approximation between the play at the highest levels of play money games and real money stakes at the higher micro levels ($5 & $10 sng's/MTT's).

What you can learn at play money is reading players via their betting patterns. Not what they play, but how they play. At some point you start taking notes, and this will be good when you run into those same players later when you are both moving into real money poker.

But do not think you can learn about starting ranges, or position play, or sophisticated moves without some consequences. That is where the scared money aspect forces you to really learn the game.

So, while I support learning as much as you can freely, I also now realize that what you can learn is more limited than what I used to think I could learn via play money poker.

Best idea is to get into our freeroll club, and play the best prize pots around with the fewest players. Many will 2nd and 3rd this notion, and few if any will say it is a wrong move to make.

+1, excellent post dj

So how do I join the freeroll club?

get to 65 quality posts, and then sign-up here:
http://www.cardschat.com/f31/cardsch...thread-143084/ (http://www.cardschat.com/f31/cardschat-freeroll-club-sign-up-thread-143084/)


well worth it

I think you are better off practicing with freerolls if you don't want to deposit or playing low limits if you want to deposit.

You can just look up some Sit'ngo strategy guides online & then after awhile there's that Collin Moshmann book that many say is good. I think playchip games are a big waste of time. You are likely to pick up alot of bad habits from playing in them & will be stuff you will just have to unlearn later on on the real money tables. Make a small deposit and have fun.

And I'm always backing you up, dj.

imo the 20,000 or 50,000 play money SnGs play similar to a $2 real money SnG; still far too limpy/call-happy/no betsizing or positional skills, but at least you avoid the shove-happy players of the > 5,000 play money SnGs.

I would just play freerolls instead of play money. Try to win a little so you can gain experience playing in real money games. If you lose it then its not a big deal since it wasn't your money in the first place and you can get it back playing in another freeroll.

They offer all kinds of freerolls on different sites, you just have to do your homework. But be patient because they can get hard to deal with at times.

Continue to post on here and go read up on the freeroll club on here. They are A LOT better than public freerolls. A cardschat freeroll is what got my roll going.