Hey guys wanted to know what you all thought about using play money to learn to play cash games and get better. Playing with money is costing me too much because right now I am strapped for cash. It seems to be the same as playing micro stakes cash games let me know what you think thanks

IMHO is not the same !!! because in games without money players they have the ability to play with either hand believe that the essence of the game is lost no emotion I would recommend playing in low cost tournaments 0.10 or 0.25 to start while getting good money health...

try playing the CC freerolls and build a bankroll it is doable many players have done it and many times over and over then grind your way from the smallest stake. i dont think play money is a good practice since when there is no money involved there is no pressure into making the right play or not you end up playing vs people goofing around just for fun and it wont help you improve your game.

Originally Posted by NeoBandit

Hey guys wanted to know what you all thought about using play money to learn to play cash games and get better. Playing with money is costing me too much because right now I am strapped for cash. It seems to be the same as playing micro stakes cash games let me know what you think thanks

Yes, I think and I know that this is a good option to learn how to play cash games with play money - because I myself was so trained to play free chips, this is the best - option to learn game chips and not lose my money in the game - until you learn how to play cash well games, and then when you are already good at playing and understanding situations at the table and winning, then start playing first at low limits in order to understand and feel how this will happen in future games and try your game skills, but when you play and win you can go to the limits above!

As someone who spend a fair amount of time on play money tables before getting back to real money poker, I will say no. For sure you do learn SOMETHING, but even a 2NL cash game different.

My motivation back in the day was, that I had family responsibilities and a strained financial situation, so I found it irresponsible to "gamble" with real money. But you can play cash games for 2$, and losing even several buyins in these is hardly going to matter to your overall situation. Its still essentially the price of nothing.

Also 2NL games are very soft, so if you have any kind of talent and take it serious, you can beat them after a while and actually win money or at least play for free. So in my opinion, if you are serious about online poker, make a deposit of for instance 60$, let that be your bankrool and play some 2NL cash games.

If you dont even have 60$ to spare, then dont spend time playing poker. Find a (second) job instead and earn some salary, so you can afford to make the deposit and other things, you like to do in your life as well.

I think the beforementioned answers are correct.

Playmoneyexperience can Never replace or be equivalent to RealMoney Poker Experience.

Though i might tend to say that at really high level of Playmoneybuyins, players tend to play like in Real Tournaments because those Chips weren´t "free" but instead hard earned, and so have some psychological value to them.

So if you have a lot (and with lot i mean lots of lots ...like HUGE amount) of chips there might be some learn factor, that transitions to low stake poker play.

For the practice yes, but i dont like play money

Not good, psychology and way of thinking is very different. Play money is not a pity to lose, so opponents in such games do not think much. The only way to become smarter is to play with a stronger opponent. Therefore, to learn how to play poker you need to play where opponents think. It is best to start playing for real money on microlimits. It will tell you all about the proplayer.

Some people are unable to take the game seriously unless they are playing for real money, even if that is the micro stakes. However if you’re taking the game seriously then play money can be a good tool for learning, in conjunction with all the free learning tools out there for improving (including a lot of great ones right here on CardsChat).

Just keep in mind that, when you work up to playing low stakes, players will on the whole be playing quite a bit differently than they do at play money. On average, they won’t be bluffing or hero calling as much, and will be folding a lot more—especially preflop. Hope this helps and good luck!

no. It's never a good way to improve your game. Poker is a game where money is a huge factor, because money generates folds (fold equity). On play money you don't have any folding equity or really small in some spots because players can't lose anything. That means you can learn only bad habits and it won't improve your game anyway. It's maybe good for your 1st hour of playing poker ever to just understand the rules. But playing it more is just waste of time if you plan ever to play for real money.

Hello.
I think it is a bad idea. In my opinion, it is always better to learn and play for real money.

Not sure about cash or tournaments, but I like to play free chips in heads up. I came up with one assay for myself, as a workout. It is necessary to win 10 times in a row, I think this is a good tool for training.

Originally Posted by NeoBandit

Hey guys wanted to know what you all thought about using play money to learn to play cash games and get better. Playing with money is costing me too much because right now I am strapped for cash. It seems to be the same as playing micro stakes cash games let me know what you think thanks

I would say attempting to learn the game using play money online is impossible. If you were to get a bunch of (committed with integrity to learning) newbs in a room together to learn using play money, maybe.

I believe that the conventional chips are intended only for familiarization with the platform functional. If you want to learn how to play you have to play real money.

Depends.Why are you playing?To win or not to lose?If you are playing poker for second reason then playing money is definitely the right thing for you.

I do not recommend playing with virtual money.

Simply make a deposit of $ 50. It will be enough that would play on NL2

I think playing for fake money hurts your skills as a poker player because there is no consequence or reward for winning or losing because it's not real money. People play a lot different if they have nothing vested or can't win anything, try freerolls.

If you do not want to spend money, I recommend that you play freerolls. This is a great opportunity to gain experience and increase your bankroll. For the money you win in freerolls, you will be able to continue your training in cash games.

For me, the level of play of nl2 (the lowest level in cash game) is higher than the poker games with fictitious money.
In addition the way to play is different, since in games with fictional money you can see very often, players who bet all their stack with 2 cards with no value whatsoever.
I recommend that you study and that you try to practice, when you feel safe, in real money games.
There are many real money tournaments, which have a buy in of few cents, and where the level of play is already higher than the fictitious level.
Greetings.

If the cash game is quite expensive for you. Try to join a freeroll to train you and if you are lucky you will get money.

Right what friends say here, playing with real money people will think seriously.

Originally Posted by NeoBandit

Hey guys wanted to know what you all thought about using play money to learn to play cash games and get better. Playing with money is costing me too much because right now I am strapped for cash. It seems to be the same as playing micro stakes cash games let me know what you think thanks

I advise you to forget about play money, play money and poker are incompatible, it's not serious, and not what good it will not teach you.

Originally Posted by NeoBandit

Hey guys wanted to know what you all thought about using play money to learn to play cash games and get better. Playing with money is costing me too much because right now I am strapped for cash. It seems to be the same as playing micro stakes cash games let me know what you think thanks

i think the play is different in the play money world but then again there are low stakes cash players that play like maniacs.

poker is poker so as long as you play a solid game you should be able to adjust to the climate at the tables wether play money or real cash...

Hi
I have been playing play money from years.
At the moment I have over 4 mil in play money.

You can learn basics with play money, if you play the high stacks(50-100k).

If you play low stacks (below 50k) its a waste of your time.

Best is play free rolls.

If you cash, than you can play micro tourneys and improve your game faster than you would with play money.

For fun and for saving money may be good, but to learn how to win on the real money tables is horrorible.

Of course not... What can you get from playing unreal hands except bad conclusion that players are fishes??