What games should you start out playing as a beginner?

I am a newbie NLHE tourney player and I play a lot of 45 man tourneys...right now at the 3 dollar level...I started at 1 dollar...Im making cash...but feel stuck...Im starting to dabble at the 6 dollar game and so far im doing ok...

Do you suggest any other games I should try to get better as a player?

I am not sure if the 6 max..9 max or the 18 or plyr tables would be better as I am stuck on 45...

Any suggestions based on your own experiences??...thanx...

You need to be careful, if you can consistantly win at the 3 dollar level and have the bankroll for it, then do those....the problem with us newbies (me included) is that we win a couple 45 man tourneys at 3 dollars and then we hit a spell where we only come in 6th, and after we win 42 dollars to go down to winning 6 is a real downer......personally I play 9 man tourneys. I win a few of those get up 10 or 12 dollars and say ahhhh screw my bankroll...I'm going to try a 5 dollar game....I come in 3rd...oh cool, I'm going to play another I might win....then i play 4 and bubble out on 2 of them, totally blow one and go out in 8th, and get lousy cards in one and get 7th. Now what, I'm down to where I was when I was winning the one dollar games, but dammit, I want to be back up to 50, I don't like only having 25, so I play another 5 dollar game...anyhow, see how this moving up thing can work??

I find the 9 player SNGs to be the most profitable long term for me. The $2+.25 at FullTilt are within my bankroll so I play those and any freerolls I can, just to get experience. The $1 SNG's are really more in the range of my BR but I find the percentage paid to the house is double that of the $2 games, so that helps to justify it for me.

Just don't try to move up until you have enough money to afford to lose.

As a beginner start playing on the smaller tables and work your way up to the bigger tables eventually that is what i do..i guess you could try it..might work or it might not..anyway good luck

First know that PLO (pot limit Omaha) is a tougher game due to variables. However, when you get used to slow playing top hands, with pots that can be more or less controlled, you'll find this is where all the money can be made. P.S. don't make the mistake of playing Omaha 8/b, it's a death trap!!! Later & GL!!!

What the hell are you talking about? This thread is about bankroll management.

Just because you win one or two tourneys, doesn't mean you or your bankroll are ready for bigger stakes. I found myself consistently coming in 1st or 2nd every time in really low stakes SnG's, and I moved up before my bankroll could handle any potential losses so I had to go back down low stakes again. If you find a profitable low stakes SnG, just keep beating that game around the clock until your bankroll can handle higher stakes swings.

Generally speaking you should never have more than 10% of your bankroll in play at 1 time. Stick to low limit tables/SNGs/tourneys until you have a larger bankroll.

if i were that much of a newbie i would start out even lower sngs can be killers of bankrolls, start out with some low forum buyins, usually better play & you won't get the sitters like you do in sngs

Ok thanks for the opinions...I will stay at the 3 dollar level for now. Also I am going to try playing some 9 table games for the experience.

I kind of like the 45 man game because I can just be really patient the first 15 to 20 hands till the blinds increase and then make a move or two...tighten up again till the final table and then try to make top 3...

For some reason I feel at a 9 plyr table I might have to play faster but It's worth a try....Lets see

thanx again!!

You can be very tight in a 9 plyr table too, actually beeing very tight gets you in top 3 in those tables
=)
good luck

I used to play the 45-man games exclusively, and they can be great. But, because it's harder to place in them, you can go on pretty long stretches without a cash. Much moreso than 9-player games.

There's nothing wrong with sticking with 45-man games as long as you have the BR to absorb the bad runs, and don't move up too quickly.

You've got to remember that even if you cash in a few of those tournaments, that you should not move up in stakes until your bankroll permits. Either following guidelines from someone like Chris Ferguson, or making your own. So even if you hit a dry spell you'll still be able to rebound from it.

Ty...thats the thing...if I play my game...I will beat the bad runs and cash....so I guess that's where the dont move up too quickly comes in...

That said I will keep beating this game and then move up eventually and then play my A game until I get comfortable...

My problem is that I can cash so much now at this level that I start to play less than my a game and start trying new things out...which usually does not lead to good results...

I am learning though to keep playing my a game and then move on with my a game until I reach a spot where my a game is not good enough...

TY...

Ty as well...sounds like sound advice....My bankroll can def recover from $3 dollar losses....but I should def be careful as I do not have much experience and I am still trying to figure out what my play/game/strategy really is....thats why I am here...lol...

but practice will def help and it's no need to step above my limits to learn the hard way......

Thanks again all....I enjoy this forum and look forward to contributing the best I can......Especially with a lot of questions...lol

i use the 5% rule with tourneys, i dont always stick to it but i will never enter a game that is more than 10%. otherwise it just takes a few bad beats to destroy your bankroll

I agree with the posters preaching bankroll management. I'll plagarize what Chris Ferguson has said:

1. Never buy into a cash game or SnG with more than 5% of your bankroll.

2. Never buy into a MTT with more than 2% of your bankroll.

3. If at any time in a no-limit or pot-limit game the money on the table represents more than 10% of your bankroll, leave the game when the blinds come to you.

Exceptions have to be made if you are starting with a really small bankroll, and I would stay out of MTT's and stick SnG's or micro limit cash games. The first two are fairly easy to follow, it's the third that can be tough. It's hard to get up when you are playing well and winning.

~H

SnG's and Ring games are totaly different srtategy play, while a SnG has a limited amount of chips in play Rings go on as long as people sit down at the table with cash or till you leave the table.

I prefer 6 max ring now. Used to love SnG's as they made me money but after joining CC and learning a lot more about the game from the guys here I've found that 6 max rng's is far more profitable for time spent playing.

There are a lot of great articles on bankroll managment, check under the strategy article section or do a quick search at the home page here at CC for threads about brm. Without solid brm practice one will always struggle to keep in the black ink.

This might not help the OP but perhaps someone with a smaller roll reading this...

I like the ring game idea above.

IF (and that is a big if) you have some cash game skill and you have a small bankroll, I think pokerstars 2nl games are a nice safe place to ramp it up a bit. In fact that's how I started my BR with just $10. I played 2nl as tight as a lugnut till I had about $50 at which point I could broaden my style and play a more comfortable game with a little more risk.

That said, I am a ring player first. I'm less good at tourney style poker... Or at least I win less.

If you are new to ring games then you might want a cushy roll before wading in. But if you can hang I think it can be a good way to fund your tourneys and also fill in the gaps when you are at the big start of a long deep MTT.

A small word about ring vs tournry if you decide to try them. Ring games are about long slow patience. I see a lot of tourney players come in swinging like they are the shortstack and the big blind is coming. Good ring players (and even fair ones like me) eat these guys for lunch. So turn down the gamble... turn up the patience and make a few pennies to pay for that next tourney.

cAPS

Nice post caps, thanks! To be honest I have never even considered playing ring games as of yet. I am still getting my feet wet as a plyr and am currently comfortable with the tourneys.

I have been thinking about the micro stakes ring games for experience but not yet as I am still trying to stabilize my bankroll as well as my overall playing confidence. I eventually would like to expand my game though.

One thing for sure is that if and when I do enter a ring game I will use the patient approach consider BRM and take it from there.

We must be careful not to lose your bankroll

I think the best way to increase the revenue is

playing tournaments for lower values of 1 uss, 3 uss,

Uss 5, depending on your bankroll. I believe that no entry

more than 5% of bankroll

Thanks again guys...Ive been sticking to the 3 dollar games so far and have been building up my bankroll at a nice rate and getting a bit better...Even got my bonus on PS...Cheers!

I will be comming after you all soon enough...just kidding!!

This was a great post for me to read. I lost 50$ before, but I'm ready to come back with 50$ and try to build a decent bankroll on the $1 buyin games.

I have been a professional poker player for 30 years. since, from your posts, it seems like you are doing well not only with full tables, but at the ever shrinking number of players in the final tables. Might I suggest you spend some of your winnings on some heads up matches to fine tune your final table play? The strategy required for winning any tournament requires a tremendous heads up ability; this is where so many people fall short and wind up in the category of
"Best player to never win a Bracelet"

Thanks for the imput Roy...Eventually I guess I will have to get around to that as I do not feel that I am a STRONG heads up player as of yet...

When its HU at the end of the tourney....If I have a huge lead I will apply a bit of pressure while waiting for my spot to attack or trap...

When Im down in chips I try to catch a couple of cards to double up and then repeat (depending on the villians style of play of course)....

But to your point when Im relatively even in chips with the villian it does feel like a bit of a crap shoot to me and I get caught in some sticky situations....

Def cant say Ive been dominating my HU matchups at the end of my tourneys...but I do get my wins and they always feel so sweet...I need some more of those!!!

Experiment with as much as you can. Try to read some books or read the forums about 6 max, stts, mtts, etc, and see what you are best at.

You should always have 300 big blind bets in your bankroll before you start playing a higher limit.

For me it was trying everything I could get in to and, trying many FR's. You have to understand in the Fr's that the first hour or so is a slug fest and a number of donk's out there. Some nites me included. I Keep on plugging. I still find I play too tight at the cash tables. May be the real mooney thing and my attitude of like bark to a tree when spending money.