Am I ready to move from fake to real money poker?

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GeorgeF1234

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I have been studying fairly intensively for the past 2 months from scratch and recently I have been practising on pokerstars fake money sit-n-go's which I've found to be a much higher standard than websites that only provide fake money games and no real money games. There are obviously lots of fish, but there are also a larger than expected number of players that will fight for every chip, which makes it a good environment to learn from I think.

My current rate of investment for these games is 1:1.92, in other words I get approximately double my (fake) money back for every game I enter. The maximum achievable amount is 1:3.39, which would obviously involve coming 1st in every tournament.

My questions are: Is this a reasonable track record to switch over to the smallest real money stakes? By doing so I'd hope to break even over a number of tourneys or at least not loose money.

If no, then what rate of return ratio should I wait until I can obtain? Is 2 months not enough time to expect to at least get my investment back?

We all know the fake and real stakes are different, I'm just not sure how different and whether I'm prepared for it. Is it true that the jump from fake to real is the biggest jump?

Thanks
 
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3ccasd

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Game for play chips and play for money are two different things, to start when you start playing for real money it is important to comply with the rules and tips that you read in training in books and on the forums.
 
SBEP

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Donno buddy, some where i read that 33% ROI is good, but then its different, its different for SNG`s, MTT`s and cash game, so i would suggest to keep track, get piece of paper and a pen, and write down how much your won/lost and ull find out what your ROI for that type of game was, and how much it need to be, coz it depends on a lot, not just the games, but also your BR, the buy ins, and so on and so on.
 
PapaC

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Back when I started playing poker online, I played free chips at party poker. And it was not to hard to build a BR of a million and more. But when I figured out that I could deposit and play for real money, I had to try it. I think my deposit was $100, and I jumped in there at $.25/$.50nl, which was way out of my league, which I soon found out the hard way by making deposits over and over. Real money is way different than play money. I see nothing wrong with trying real money, but you need to do a lot studying along with getting some experience at the tables. You need to ask for a lot advice right here and use that advice to better you game. All of this takes a lot of time. There is no reason to get in a hurry, because it just don't work. It's really good you are starting here with questions. I probably asked a million when I joined here. They never got tired of answering them. We will be the same with you. So the first thing you should ask is what is BRM. If you don't know this and use it, you won't have a BR for long. I'm not going to tell you so you will have to ask others and get used to asking questions. And if you think a question you want to ask seems dumb, I can be first to tell you there is no such thing here. One more thing. Working you way to the freeroll club is real important. I built 2 BRs from these freerolls, but don't think they are easy to win. They are not. GL to you
 
Aceplayer55

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Pokerstars play cash games are very weak till about 1000 chip BB.
I would guess that you need to play at least 25k tourneys to encounter reasonable players.
 
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GeorgeF1234

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Back when I started playing poker online, I played free chips at Party Poker. And it was not to hard to build a BR of a million and more. But when I figured out that I could deposit and play for real money, I had to try it. I think my deposit was $100, and I jumped in there at $.25/$.50nl, which was way out of my league, which I soon found out the hard way by making deposits over and over. Real money is way different than play money. I see nothing wrong with trying real money, but you need to do a lot studying along with getting some experience at the tables. You need to ask for a lot advice right here and use that advice to better you game. All of this takes a lot of time. There is no reason to get in a hurry, because it just don't work. It's really good you are starting here with questions. I probably asked a million when I joined here. They never got tired of answering them. We will be the same with you. So the first thing you should ask is what is BRM. If you don't know this and use it, you won't have a BR for long. I'm not going to tell you so you will have to ask others and get used to asking questions. And if you think a question you want to ask seems dumb, I can be first to tell you there is no such thing here. One more thing. Working you way to the freeroll club is real important. I built 2 BRs from these freerolls, but don't think they are easy to win. They are not. GL to you

Thanks for the great reply. I've been reading a lot of books too, the Harrington's, Easy game, Phil Gordon's little green book.

Just out of interest, do you still play the freerolls now that you've got a few years of real money play under your belt? There looks to be 1000's on the PokerStars freerolls which look a bit daunting.

I'll start at BRM for sure, thanks!
 
DaveE

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Thanks for the great reply. I've been reading a lot of books too, the Harrington's, Easy game, Phil Gordon's little green book.

Just out of interest, do you still play the freerolls now that you've got a few years of real money play under your belt? There looks to be 1000's on the PokerStars freerolls which look a bit daunting.

I'll start at BRM for sure, thanks!

A lot of good micro limit players play them. If you have the time, it's good practice.

Btw the freerolls here are great practice once you qualify for them.
 
dundo84

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Well how would you learn to play for real money if u don't try?My advice for you is to join some site which offers free money for beginners.Pm me for info, i would post those sites here, but don't know if it's against the rules.
 
Kenzie 96

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It's about bankroll, if you can afford to deposit, quit wasting your time at the play tables.
 
PapaC

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GeorgeF1234 I'm glad to hear you are going to start with BRM. No I don't play the freerolls here any more. There are two reasons why I don't. First, the ones I can play starts at 8pm and I take meds about that time for sleep, and by the time they are over I'm falling out of my chair. There is two times I had to post/fold and looked the next morning and I had got ITM. For another reason, I feel like I'm just in the way of others making the money when I have good BRs that I can play with during the day. But don't get me wrong, those freerolls are worth playing for anyone. The experience you get from them is very important. Hope to see you here asking questions that will get you ready for them. I have said before that the 30 days and post you have to do to get there, is because CC wants you to learn and be ready for the freerolls in a positive way. That's not a fact, but it's how I looked at it when I was trying to get there, which made me dig for all the advice I could get. IT WORKED GL to you
 
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Mauno

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You should try real money... If you are thinking about it then soon You will do it anyway. Just observe tables before you join and decide maximum limit of loss :)
 
milka1605

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I've been playing the counterfeit money. Almost a year. It helped me a lot later for real money. Of course the game is different to the fake from the real. But the theory is the same. Good luck to you.
 
Poker Orifice

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What part of the game do you enjoy? If it has anything to do with the 'thinking', 'strategizing', 'theory', competition, etc. etc. then playing for 'real' money will be (should be) far more enjoyable for you! Play money poker isn't even real poker imo (players will play so much differently when they really don't have anything at stake aside from perhaps fun & ego), ie. when you say that some of the players go after every chip I think more often in playmoney, players won't fold & you get a ton of players calling down everything (or so I'd imagine). Can be a tad difficult to handread your opponents when they themselves don't even know if they have a good hand.

I can't even talk about playmoney... attempting to describe it and the differences when compared with real money gives me a headache.

Take the plunge! You've got everything to gain and nothing to lose! (well.. maybe a small'ish' deposit but that may be the cost of entertainment for you). Who knows, perhaps you can start out as a breakeven player or marginal loser... or maybe even a winner!
Some of the books you've read are decent for someone starting out (ie. Harrington on Holdem if you're playing tournaments, & Phil Gordon's Little Green Book for some solid basic knowledge). A book like 'Easy Game' might be a bit advanced at this stage.

I'm sure there are threads here on CC with suggestions for starting out.

Tip: Stick to one game

Find out what format of game you prefer (ie. MTT, SNG, cashgame) & then stick to that one format (you will have a much better chance at becoming a winning player if you don't jump around between formats/games). Bounce around a bit to discover what you prefer playing but then try to stay disciplined and stick to one.
 
Poker Orifice

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I've been playing the counterfeit money. Almost a year. It helped me a lot later for real money. Of course the game is different to the fake from the real. But the theory is the same. Good luck to you.

I disagree. The mechanics of the game are the same but not so sure about the theory.
 
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Broon1234

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I'd say play some freerolls and see how you do. If you can build a roll from that then you'll know. :)
 
quick

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Play money is only good for learning the basic mechanics, basic rules of the game, and basic hand strength. IMO it's a waste of time if you already know poker rules and hand strength ranking because it plays nothing like real poker. When there's no money at stake poker theory goes out the window.
 
Poker Orifice

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Play money is only good for learning the basic mechanics, basic rules of the game, and basic hand strength. IMO it's a waste of time if you already know poker rules and hand strength ranking because it plays nothing like real poker. When there's no money at stake poker theory goes out the window.

Yah! This ^ is exactly what I wanted to say.
 
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Edson

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I agree, freerolls are good to start. I made the same way. First play money, than freerolls, now freerols and microstakes
 
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ph_il

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Honestly, if you know the basics, deposit and start playing for real money. You can start at the bottom with the micro stakes, as most people do.

And don't worry about losing money. It's inevitable that there will be up and down swings, but that shouldn't be your main concern. Instead focus on playing and improving and your profits will come in time.

If money, or losing any is a concern, then maybe don't deposit and move onto playing freerolls. If you can, though, deposit and save yourself the torture of having to play freerolls. Also, get your post count up and start playing the CC freerolls when you can.
 
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tcdukesdood

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try a game with your friends, maybe learn a few tricks playing live too. Some people play better live and can get reads on others.
 
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Bury

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If you have to ask such questions on forum, then you are not ready...
 
andyt5303

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I think the play money game is much different to the real money game. Players play much more loosely as there's nothing at stake! I'd definately recommend playing some freerolls before jumping into real money, although freerolls do contain a lot of loose players it will still give you a better idea compaired to play money.
 
edc1

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back in 06 when i started playing on stars you could sell those play chips you speak of,i sold mine off a few times-on top of that when i was a member of the now defunct poker forum railbirds we played more than a few games on stars home games-there was some great play by ppl who put a value on everychip won or lost-in each series they played just about every game on stars that they offered-it was the place to play to learn games like razz-omaha hi/low-2-7 triple draw.i think there is alot to be gained from playing with play chips first befor moving on to real cash games-if nothing else at least it got you playing whatever varient your playing more comfortable playing it
 
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Go for freerolls for a bit and see if you can build up a bankroll. Play money games are different than real money, but freerolls are about half way in between. Play some sites that have decent freerolls (like America's Cardroom) and see how you do. Once you've got a bit of cash, play some small sngs ($1.10s) or micros and see if you can still get a decent ROI. Keep studying and you should do well. GL!
 
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