How to win at Play Money Poker?

First off, I know people don't see play money poker as "real poker". But currently I'm not interested in playing for real money and I'd just like to improve my play in play money poker.

I've been playing extra tight (something like 66+, AT+, KJs+) and I try to never bluff since they tend to call you even with very weak hands. I also open large (5xBB+) and bet very large when I have a good hand (potsize, over potsize) since they tend to call a lot. It works okay so far, but I was wondering if I could get some additional advice or see if I'm doing something wrong.

I guess for "real money" players, my question would be.. what would you do differently in a play money game other than ABC poker?

Edit: I play 9-max cash.

Are you kidding me?

I dont play that

I got to a million dollars of play money poker, so I quit playing play money poker. There is so much free bonus money in both play money and real money poker, that something is wrong if you are not coming out +ev.

The idea being you dont throw away all the bonus money you are given. You eventually cash out. With cash you cash out real money. With play money, like what is there to cash out, but to quit playing and move to another site after you hit another mil.

Up to win

There is no secret poker formula. The game is clear and obvious, the decisions are what matter most. Playing safe is a good game, though a heads up display may make a big difference in your decision making.

people do not play seriously in fictitious money games. they tend to play every hand just because it's free. you must play on frerrolls to improve your game and train yourself by watching strategic videos.

in playmoney I get funchips in nl omaha8 and stud8

Play Money play is very different than real money play because that fear of loss isn't really there. I would assume most of the same rules of thumb would apply for real and play, but play you could probably be a little looser/take more risks/more aggressive?

When people play a game they generally want to win whether money is on the line or not. Just learn what micro stakes players are learning so first and foremost start with your ranges which can be found in this thread.
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/learning-poker-57/please-help-range-issue-426275/
You will find with play money the the higher up you get the better people try and play. The very bottom play money stakes people just try and double and tripple up but you can find good games to play. Personally i would suggest learning 6 max though i just find it a better game but that's only a my opinion.

Try different things, knowing they won't apply elsewhere, big thing to remember is play money has no redeeming social value, so relax & enjoy.

Don't think you will learn anything about the game of poker by playing for "play money". You will only observe bad play and therefore form bad habits. When there is nothing to risk there is nothing to keep players from making horrible bets and calls and raises, so what is to be learned there other than how to make horrible bets, calls, and raises. Just sayin'.

I've played a lot of Play Money MTTs that play like freerolls. You gain experience playing with players that don't care. There are always players like this in every MTT. The only difference is the percentage of the field that will play this way. You also gain experience playing against (a small percentage of) good players who are playing against a lot of bad players - this is less useful when applied to real money games.

Like Kenzie says, use the opportunity to learn new games (the rules and the flow if not the actual game play against serious opponents) and try anything you may want to implement in your "real" game.

Exploitative poker not ABC

OnePunchhhhhhhh said:

First off, I know people don't see play money poker as "real poker". But currently I'm not interested in playing for real money and I'd just like to improve my play in play money poker.

I've been playing extra tight (something like 66+, AT+, KJs+) and I try to never bluff since they tend to call you even with very weak hands. I also open large (5xBB+) and bet very large when I have a good hand (potsize, over potsize) since they tend to call a lot. It works okay so far, but I was wondering if I could get some additional advice or see if I'm doing something wrong.

I guess for "real money" players, my question would be.. what would you do differently in a play money game other than ABC poker?

Edit: I play 9-max cash.

Click to expand...

Thank you for posting

If all you want to do is win play money then stop being so tight preflop. Post flop play is where you will take more play chips. Variance will be higher so you will have huge swings but you will win more chips.

Examples:
1 Preflop One player raises two callers you have AA go all in every time.

2 Preflop 1 raise 2 calls you over call any AX suited. Why, not for the ace for the flush.
You hit an ace you call one time Then fold to aggression and no improvement.

3 Preflp 1 raise 2 calls you call 45 56 67 78 89 etc. we are looking to make straights and trips and then get it all in when we do. When multiple players make it to the river it plays more like omaha, the nut hand is likely. So no calling with a pair. No chasing two pairs for big bets.

QQ-22 set mining.
KK pot size raises pre check down Ace high boards. Board reading necessary villain reads also as villains will go with top pair top kicker hands ie A10 on 1072 as well as 77 22

If we play suited connectors we only bet flushes big vs weak action. Villains never fold one flush card so if it four flushes check and fold. Learn to get max value on the river. We are always trying to go all in and get called.

Any time you make a nut hand get all in on any street. Player reads are necessary.
Never slow play.

Hope this helps.

ReoRekop said:

it is impossible to improve your game in free game, no one plays seriously

Click to expand...

I agree. Don’t waste your time with decisions (yours and players) that are not understand serious pressure of a real situation. Play freerolls, that’s a little bit better than just playing with play money. At least there’s real money when you place. People knowing that will play with a serious strategy.

OnePunchhhhhhhh said:

First off, I know people don't see play money poker as "real poker". But currently I'm not interested in playing for real money and I'd just like to improve my play in play money poker.

I've been playing extra tight (something like 66+, AT+, KJs+) and I try to never bluff since they tend to call you even with very weak hands. I also open large (5xBB+) and bet very large when I have a good hand (potsize, over potsize) since they tend to call a lot. It works okay so far, but I was wondering if I could get some additional advice or see if I'm doing something wrong.

I guess for "real money" players, my question would be.. what would you do differently in a play money game other than ABC poker?

Edit: I play 9-max cash.

Click to expand...

Dude you will only get real notion when you start playing real money hand, the various types of gamblers in the game in real money also that do not drop hands the same in fictitious money.
Studying is always important, but the more you play the more skilled you will become.

Play ABC poker, if you like. I think in the long run it will bring results.

OnePunchhhhhhhh said:

First off, I know people don't see play money poker as "real poker". But currently I'm not interested in playing for real money and I'd just like to improve my play in play money poker.

I've been playing extra tight (something like 66+, AT+, KJs+) and I try to never bluff since they tend to call you even with very weak hands. I also open large (5xBB+) and bet very large when I have a good hand (potsize, over potsize) since they tend to call a lot. It works okay so far, but I was wondering if I could get some additional advice or see if I'm doing something wrong.

I guess for "real money" players, my question would be.. what would you do differently in a play money game other than ABC poker?

Edit: I play 9-max cash.

Click to expand...

If you seriously want to improve your poker using play money, then you should consider joining the Cardschat League.

There are four leagues (summer, fall, winter and spring) per year. Each league runs for eleven weeks and members are divided into teams of five. Team members are allocated one day to play, per week. At signup time, members specify which day(s) they are available to play.
Monday - 6:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday - 3:00 p.m. ET
Wednesday - 2:00 p.m. ET
Thursday - 4:00 p.m. ET
Friday - 9:00 p.m. ET

The leagues are run, using play money, from the homes games on Pokerstars. That means, players from countries that are banned from playing real money games on Pokerstars, can play. Members from the top four teams, win very good cash prizes, paid by Cardschat.

To qualify, you must have at least thirty five quality posts and reasonable forum activity in the thirty days, before signing up.

See this thread for more information. All About CardsChat League / FAQ

The Cardschat leagues are friendly but very competitive. You will be on first name terms with most, if not all, of your team members and usually some will be railing as well. It’s a lot of fun.

Believe me when I say, "If you can dominate the players in this league, you are well and truly ready for real money tournaments".

Good luck with your poker experience.

To everyone sayin the usual "lol play real poker. play money sux" I already said I am not interested. I used to play for real money but it is now illegal in my country and I'm not looking for workarounds like VPN either.
Im just interested in what people believe a "winning strategy in play money poker" is. Other than that I appreciate all the responses and I'll check out that league when/if I reach 35 posts. Cheers.

Alight i used to play with play chips for fun and grinded up to 30 mill then moved to real money.. you can refresh your balance every so often and get another 1000 chips if you have nothing, at this stage everyone plays all in or fold... You need to get away from the small games and move up stakes when you have 30k or so. The higher you move up the better everyone plays and the easier it is to progress. That would be my advice.. just keep moving up and play against players who care about the stack.

Just pure patient and Abc poker

Move to freerolls

Wait for the QQ and then go all-in or go all-in with any two cards cause you cannot lose play money,you got 15000 every three hours.

I think a recommendation I would make to you, before you decide to play with real money, is to start studying the different types of players you find at a table. You must start to mold your game, according to how your rivals are at the table.
You can have a basic game plan, but you must learn to adapt to the changes that may arise in the hand.
If you say that you bet strong when you have a good hand, it is not the same as you face pre-flop a super aggressive opponent who plays almost all hands, than another who only pays big raises with premium hands. (of the style A-A K-K A-K)
Keep in mind that in cash and in tournaments (in games with real money) the players study each other, and as the levels are higher, the study is higher.
The sizes of bets that you make vary according to your stack of chips, in relation to the stack of your rivals, according to the type of game that the opponent has, the probability that you estimate of winning the hand, according to your position at the table, etc.
Therefore, a first step to start, is to know the styles of games of the rivals that you face and act taking into account that information that you can collect over time.
I hope I have guided you a little, greetings!

Play like you would normally play. There may be more loose players in play money.

Yes there is no fear of losing money. But I think that is the mind set of all great players in money games anyway. Make the right plays in the right situation, which can be different against different players.