Making the leap

[Ben]

Questions for the veterans.

What level of proficiency do you recommend a player be at before he engages in real play for money, and how can I measure my proficiency?

I find I'm having trouble determining how good I'm getting: most of the non-real money games I play are full of ridiculously bad players and totally bogus betting (no-limit holdem tourneys for fake cash MUST be bad for my play).

So, boiled down neatly:
1) Is there anywhere I can play against decent opponents without putting up money
2) How can a newer player measure his proficiency
3) At what level of this proficiency would it be smart to start playing for actual cash?

Thanks a ton,
Ben

[Dynasty]

Sometimes you just need to step into the unknown. As long as losing isn't a big deal, the time to try is now.

[Ed Miller]

There's no way to play "real" poker without risking money... often lots of it. If you are just starting out I suggest you just suck it up, put $200 on Paradise, and jump into a micro limit game. There is no substitute for experience...

Think of it like an investment. I started playing about seven months ago. My first three months I dropped almost $2000. In the four months since, I've won about $6000. I could have lost less money if I had stuck to microlimits online instead of insisting on playing 4-8 live. Either way, mdlm's quest to learn to play poker without actually playing poker aside, there is simply no substitute for real money experience. If you put in the time, it will pay off for you in the end.

[mauisupaman]

Hey Ben,
I'm no veteran, but putting together a micro limit holdem game with some of your friends is a great way to start. Either that or play micro limit on line. You'll get a whole ton of experience with minimal investment. Actually, come to think of it, playing with your friends is the best way to start playing with real money and playing micro limit on line is the best way to get a lot of experience playing various hands (since you play alot more hands per hour than in a live game). Live play is a whole lot more fun though.
A hui hou,
Adam

[PokerPrince]

Just rip it off like a bandaid and give it a shot. Hope you enjoy yourself.

PokerPrince

[Net Warrior]

Let me ask you a question. Have you been able to build up a substantial play money bankroll? No matter how wild the games are if you consistently make +EV plays you will be ahead in the long run. I built up a $400,000 play money bankroll in those no-foldem-holden games while I was learning the game. Do you play good openers in position? Do you play a drawing hand post flop only when you have the odds to call? Etc. Bottem line is that you'll know when your ready for real money. So don't just "take a shot".

[Schmed]

I'm not a veteran at all but you may get something from my experience.

I started playing "Poker" about a year and a half ago in a regular Monday night game with my friends. We play all kinds of wild games. Probably a bunch of games you never even heard of....BooRay is one of them...(bring back any memories from the big easy MajorKong??)....games with all kinds of wild cards, match pot games that have seen pots in the hundreds but it's rare.

It was at that game that I was introduced to Holdm and Omaha. Clueless about those two games,(and the more I learn the more I learn that I will be clueless for sometime /forums/images/icons/grin.gif ) I picked up on them okay. I was a consistent winner in those Monday night games. I formulated strategys for the games that worked on the whole pretty well. I had known a couple of my friends that play in the game played at the Casino and on my B-day we went there and played Casino poker for the first time. I lost 60 but it was a ton of fun and I could see with the right background I could win at that game.

Before I went back I read a book and bought TTH. Since my bday in early January I have read two Poker books, Theory of Poker (which is excellent) and Holdm for advanced players (which I need to reread to fully understand the concepts better). I bought Turbo texas Holdm and the Omaha high version or my computer. I put in the time.

I keep track of each round and I have made player profiles in Excel. I have played 9 Casino sessions and I am down 145 in a 1-4-8-8 half omaha half holdm game. From my little experience there is nothing like playing at the casino with live players. You can sit in your house all you want and play on the computer but sitting across the table and mixing it up, draggin pots and taking beats, is exponentially more exciting than doing it for no money on the computer.

[lil']

Pokerstars has online poker for poker for 2 and 4 cents a bet, don't they? It doesn't get any cheaper than that.