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Stakes and Table Selection:
Selecting what stakes to play is one of the most important decisions you
will make. If the stake is too low, you won't care about losing and you will
throw your money away without thinking. If the stake is too high, then
you'll be too concerned with losing and you won't be willing to take the
necessary risks to win. If you want to play poker on a more serious level,
you should consider having a "Bankroll." Your bankroll is the total
amount of money you have allotted for all your poker play. Then you will
base your success in poker not only on the loss of a single game or
tournament, but rather on your net gains/losses over time. Usually your
bankroll will be the deciding factor in what stake to select for any given
game. If you play ring games, a solid guideline would be to ensure that
your bankroll is 1000 times the size of the big blind. I would recommend
a bare minimum of 10 times the size of the maximum buy-in for the table
or tournament entry fee. Remember this is a MINIMUM and you should
probably have more! (if you don't want to invest this much money in your
bankroll, then stick to lower stakes games). Always remember that
No-Limit is the craziest form of poker with the largest up/down swings so
you will need a buffer to absorb considerable losses due to bad runs of
luck or cards.
Selecting which table to play at is also extremely important. It is generally
understood that the money at a poker table flows from the bad players to
the good players. With this in mind you should try to sit with players who
are less skilled than you are. Online poker rooms usually show statistics
for tables that will include the average pot size as well as the percentage
of players seeing the Flop. These are very good places to look to first
when making your selection. You will want to choose a table that is
relatively "Loose" with a Flop Percentage over 40% and an average pot
size that seems high when compared to the other listed rooms of the
same stake (tables with Flop Percentages less than 35% are generally
too tight and should be avoided). Most online rooms will have "waiting
lists" so you can line up for a table that is currently full. Take full
advantage of these and always put yourself on the list for the room you
think will be the most profitable. If you decide to wait, it is often a good
idea to just watch the players at the table as if you were actually playing
yourself. In doing so, you can identify who the weak and strong players
are, as well as the betting tendencies and card selections of your
opponents.
Now I will share with you the most common way that inexperienced
players lose their bankroll: BY OVEREXTENDING THEMSELVES ! Once
a player masters a certain level of play, the stakes no longer feel
exciting. So, to increase the "rush" experienced during a game, they
move to higer limits. Another reason people increase the stakes is
because they are winning consistently and the logic is: "If I double the
stakes I'll win twice as much!" Just remeber to be extra careful when
moving to a higher limit. Keep in mind that the skill level of players will
also increase. Also, you will need to make sure that your bankroll is
ready to handle it.
