O
over_big
Rock Star
Silver Level
Both correct. You have to get out of the micros before there is any real poker going on. Right now there are a bunch of nits down there folding to each other until they get AA vs. KK.
Exactly. People think, they can deposit 50$ and run it up to tousinds in a few weeks, like its an arcade game. But this is just not possible, unless you gamble and get lucky, and then you might as well go in the casino section. My own mostly for fun "challenge" is a good example. Even though I have a previous track record on PokerStars in the exact same games and know, I am profitable in them, I am still down around 10% after the first 170 events. Not exactly what I hoped for, but such is variance.
And here is my main point. If you actually make it to that 10.000$ bankroll, then nobody other than yourself will care, if you started with 50$ or 500$. So there is no need to be so overly afraid of putting at least some of your own money on the line. You are going to invest a whole lot of time in the project, and that time could also have been converted to money by finding a second job for instance.
So why does it even matter, if at some point you are down 100$ or 300$? To many people keep hanging around in freerolls or the low end of the micros for no really good reason. If you are serious about online poker, then move to either 10NL cash games or 2-5$ MTTs, as soon as you have a bit of practice, and you at least seem to be winning. Dont wait another 6 month or a year "because you have to build up your bankroll" grinding for pennies.