Where to start limit hold'em, I have $2400???

[Talk2BigSteve]

I have saved up $2,400 for playing poker.

I have played here and there in B&Ms and have done well but not all of that has been from poker. This $2,400 is strictly for poker!!!

At the Indian B&M 30 minutes from here the lowest game is 3/6 Texas Hold'em and when I have played before it has been full of fish just wanting to do something while their wives played slots.

I have read that you should have a bankroll of 300BB. I purposely saved 400BB just to prove to myself that I had the discipline to do it, and because I wasn't finished reading SSHE.

According to the State Gaming Commission internet gambling is Illegal in Mississippi so I will be at a B&M for my hours of single tables.

Anything I should do before I start on my Poker Journey. Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Living, Learning, and Laughing.
Big Steve /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[MicroBob]

It is still debateable whether internet-gambling is illegal ANYWHERE in the U.S.
Regardless, it is unlikely there will be any legislation passed in the near future that will be of concern to internet-gamblers.

There are thousands and thousands of internet-gambliers all over this country, including in Mississippi, including some who do it solely for income and report their winnings on their tax-returns.

In short, for the time-being anyway (meaning the next couple of years....unless something really weird happens) you have nothing to worry about.
It's not like your friendly Mississippi State Trooper is going to come knocking on your door shouting "Hey....did you just raise the pot to $6 in there?? We're breakin' the door down!!"

Hell, I just saw another TV ad for an online-poker site.


Anyway, I would recommend taking your $2400 and doing some bonus-chasing at the various sites. Afterall, free money is free money.



Other than that.....if you are insisting that you have to do this poker-journey via B&M because that's just how you want to do it....then I really don't know what you are asking regarding 'anything you need to do to start'.

You need to read and re-read SSHE....post hands in the small-stakes or micro strategy forums and get feed-back.
I would also recommend playing on the micro-limit or play-money tables online if you don't have any ethical issues with that.

I guess keeping a daily-log/journal of your wins and losses would be something you would want to do but I assume you have already thought of that.
Play tight, play aggressive, raise a lot pre-flop when you are the first to enter, hardly ever cold-call, have fun, think about your game, win win win. etc etc.

good luck.

[Andy B]

Since it sounds like you're a neophite, you should read SSH several times. TOP too. $3/6 is a good place to play when you're just starting out. There is a lot to get used to playing in casinos, even if you've played a whole bunch on-line or in home games. This said, the rake is atrocious in low-limit casino games, so if you're a winning player, you should move up sooner rather than later, and I wouldn't wait until I had $6000 saved up before taking a crack at $10/20. That 300 BB figure is if you're playing for a living, which you clearly are not. If you have the discipline to save up $2400 (I don't), you should be able to come up with another $100-200 almost at will to play $3/6. Having a separate poker bankroll is a good idea, especially if you have a non-gambling spouse, but having $2400 dedicated to playing $3/6 is ridiculous in my opinion.

Bear in mind here that I've been broke a few times.

[usmfan]

Steve, I am also in Meridian and have not yet ventured to the Silver Star or Golden Moon. I would love a report once you have a chance to play there. I know that they have a Mon. NLHE tourney for $30 buy-in with $20 re-buy. A buddy and I have been talking about getting up there to play that one. I can't wait to here about your experience up there.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

Well, your theoretical bankroll IS 300 BB, if you play pretty well. However, I have had bad runs in the past that have depleted that much and more. It's possible, tho not very likely. 400 is obviously better. With 2400, if the games are really good (as they probably are), and not too aggressive, and the rake is fairly reasonable, then play 4-8. If the games are aggressive, the rake high, or their are an inordinate number of sharks compared to fish (unlikely), then play 3-6. Perhaps the best answer is to play a mix of the two based on how good the games are at the time. I strongly suggest you don't get tempted to play higher than 4-8. Many of us, including myself, have done so in the past (overplayed our bankrolls) and usually wind up regretting it.

al

[Fairless]

I played at the SilverStar for over a year from one to four times a week and found that overall the games are soft and profitable. The 10-20 was always a great game and the 10-20-30 omaha is beautiful if you can stand the swings.