Play money vs real money question

[willie24]

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I imagine I will be playing somewhat tighter than usual simply because there is a whole ten bucks on the line!

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i wouldn't necessarily tighten up on my starting hands. in fake money tournaments it is usually correct to only play ultra-premium hands preflop, and raise them huge because you will get action from lesser hands almost every time.

in low-buyin real money tournaments you will not get the same kind of preflop action from your premium hands- that is, you can't rely on them to win you the tournament like in fake. however, large raises are less common in real money, and thus more indicative of strength. so, where it would probably be correct to call a huge overbet allin with TPTK in fake money every time, it is often correct to fold the same hand in low-buyin real.

the flip side of this is that in a real money game you WILL get to see draws for less on average, and you WILL win pots with semi-bluffs much more often. thus drawing hands (like low pairs preflop and flush/straight draws postflop) go up in value.

and of course, the fact that you invested $10 should have no effect on your play. you should play so that you maximize your profit, regardless of how much you have invested. if you play perfectly you will still finish out of the money quite often. that's OK because you should easily win enough to cover it. don't play scared.

[microbet]

I played the play money for a while and it seemed like in no time I turned $1k to $5k. I also play once in a while with my 5 year old daughter in the play money now.

There's really no comparison. In the $6's you will get a game that starts out about 1/2 as crazy as the average play money game and once in a while you get 2 or 3 players in an $11 that seem like they should be on play money, but most of the time it is a lot different.

I don't really keep track of the play money, but it seems like I win almost 1/2 the time. I'm winning about 15% of the time in the $11's and I think that is pretty good.

I really don't understand why so many people bother playing if they aren't even going to try.

[microbet]

Adding some more practical advise.

In the play money games you can get money into the pot whenever you want and you can almost never make people fold. There is almost no reason to be aggressive with a hand where you would like people to fold or to hide a hand where you want people to call.

In any real money game, it is very important, at the right times, to be aggressive and steal some blinds. In a play money game the blinds probably don't go beyond 50/100 too often or at least not until the end. In a money game there will still be 5 or 6 people in the game and you will NEED to win some chips one way or the other. Even if you don't NEED them you will find opportunities to take chips.

So certainly don't JUST tighten up.

You know you can watch some games too without playing in them.

[se2schul]

I see a lot of play money games, since my girlfriend plays those while I play the $10+1. She finds the play money as easy as you do, usually winning, but she's too cautious to invest real money.

I started on the 5's until my bankrolls was big enough for the 10's. There isn't much difference between the 5's and the 10's, but there is a HUGE difference between the play money and real money. In play money, my girlfriend can usually play 2 or 3 games in the time it takes me to finish 1. She is often on the bubble with blinds as small as 25/50, so she can get ITM without having to steal. In the 10's, the blinds are usually 50/100 or 100/200 on the bubble, so you need to know at least some basic GAP theory to make it ITM.

If I were you, I'd give the real money a try. It's a small investment, and if you're putting forth the effort to study the game and read these forums, you'll be a winning player at the low limits in no time.

Steve

[1C5]

Funny enough, I played many play money SnG at Party as I was learning to play and had a lot of fun playing them and I think they helped my game. I finally took the plunge into the $11 games, (I skipped the $6 because of the rake) and now having fun at the $11s. Makes the heart beat a little faster than the play money games. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[SuitedSixes]

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Even though it is play money I track my finishes in a spreadsheet. That way I feel accountable for my play and rarely do anything really stupid!

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You're going to do just fine.

[Stretch002]

Hello everyone,
Thank you for your advice and kind words. I took the plunge and played a $10+1 SNG last night. Wow! What a rush! The difference in the two games is much more pronounced than I had ever imagined.

Although the game is the same, the feel of it is totally different. I have never been so excited to see someone get knocked off the table! My heart was pounding each time I moved my chips into play. Wheee!!

The biggest difference between the two games for me was that the blinds were insane! As other posters have mentioned, the blinds usually end up at around 50/100 in the fake money. In my game last night we still had six players at this level. When I eventually went out the blinds were at 250/500.

I ended up finishing fourth after playing for well over an hour! Although I am sad I ended up going out at the bubble, I am very pleased with my solid playing and the fact that two people had to get very lucky to knock me out. Here is how I got in trouble:

We are four-handed
I have around 2800 chips.
Blinds are 150/300
Table folds to me
I am in the small blind holding Ad 9s
I limp in (a mistake?)
Big blind has 800 chips and checks pre-flop
Flop comes 7d 2c Ac (gives me top pair)
I bet minimum
Big blind comes over the top all-in (assumed he would do this)
I immediately call
Big blind is holding a Jc 7h
Turn comes Qc
River comes 4c

Villain wins!! Boo!

Next Orbit
We are still four handed
Blinds are still 150/300
Button limps in (he is left with 600 chips)
Small Blind folds
I check (holding J 8)
UTG folds
Flop comes 2 J 10 rainbow
I bet 600 chips
Button calls (he flips over 9 2)
Turn comes 7
River comes 8
Villain wins again!!

After these hands the blinds went up to 200/400 and I was in trouble. Felt like I had to tighten up and look for a spot to double up before getting blinded out. I eventually tried to make a steal with K9 and got called by an AK and lost.

All in all I am very happy and am really looking forward to playing again! Thanks again for all of your advice and encouraging words…