Category: Gambling and Casinos

Any player must at first ask himself the question: “How much should I invest in this?” Any player that wants to start playing for real, because if you are just playing for fun you can have any bankroll, anything you can afford and if you win it’s for the best, but if you lose, you don’t have to worry about it. So, if you want to become a serious poker player you’ll have to take inconsideration many things. The first thinks you have to reflect upon are related to your gaming style, what games they like playing, where are they playing these games and their budget and reason for playing poker.

Experts calculated some possible bankrolls and you might often find information that says a good bankroll to start with should be about 300 times higher that the value of one bet. So, if you want to play a $2-$4 game, then your bankroll must be something like $1,200, 300 times higher than the big bet. This can work, but it is too general. You must really look into your playing style. If you are a solid player, that thinks every hand and folds often when needed, then you probably don’t need that much. If, on the other hand you are rather loose and play almost all the hands, then you will be involved in many pots and you might need more.

The type of games played is also an important factor. If you play draw poker then you need less money than in triple draw. It’s just some calculus and the solution is obvious. Also so me games have more betting rounds that other games and these games require an extended bankroll.

Also, when you play no limit holdem this limit is way too little. If the big blind of the game is $3, the bankroll of $900 is way too little for this type of game. Here you can find your self in the situation where you have to bet $50 at a time, and just dividing you can clearly see that if raised and re-raised the bet can be pretty high and you can end up loosing all the bankroll in just a few sessions. The key for an appropriate bankroll is to make it fit into the statistic. The more games we can play the more chances to increase our bankroll we have. So if you only have $1,200 to spend for this, then do not choose a no limit game. It is for the best if you consider your financial possibilities also, because you don’t want to end up playing just to win, being afraid at all times that you are going too lose your bankroll and be broke. Playing scared will only make you lose, so don’t do it.

Your bankroll is the amount of money you have set aside to play poker with. Some players can easily add to their bankroll from outside sources while others have no way to add if they lose theirs. If you fall into the latter category, it is very important to not play at limits that exceed your bankroll. One very important point you should know is that until you become a consistent winner it doesn’t matter how big your bankroll is. The only thing that will matter is how much you have to lose. For this reason, the information below is written for you assuming you are a winning player overall.

The first rule is to not confuse bankroll and buy-in. A buy-in is the amount you sit down in a game with or the entry fee in a tournament, not the entire amount you have available to play poker with over a period of time. For example, you may have a bankroll of $10,000 to play 15/30-limit holdem. If this were the case you would probably buy-in for between $500 and $1,000.

I have seen bankroll size suggestions ranging from 200 times the big bet at the level you are playing at ($800 at 2/4) to 300 times the big bet ($1200 at 2/4). My recommendation, particularly for holdem, is to start with 300 times the big bet. I play much better when I have this cushion. I have played at levels that I had much less than 300 times the big bet in bankroll and it sometimes hurts my play. This is a psychological hurdle but when reduced to facts it makes sense. 50 times the big bet is a common downswing, even for professional players, and nothing to become too concerned about if you are still playing well. However, if you start with only 100 times the big bet, if you are down 50 big bets you have lost 50% of your bankroll. If you had started with 300 big bets and are down 50, you have only lost roughly 17% of your bankroll.

If you are a very sound Omaha/8 player, you can play with a 200 big bet bankroll. This is because Omaha/8 is a much more mathematically direct game than holdem, or in other words there is less short-term variance or luck. Because of the short-term variance in holdem, even professional players may see a 200 big bet downswing at times. For this reason, that extra 100 big bets may keep you from being forced to drop down a level before the cards turn in your favor.

I really have sympathy for you if you’ve decided to play poker for the first time and you’ve decided that you’re brave enough to try playing against live players. I wish you all the luck and offer our condolences in advance…

I am kidding!

Of course, we’re not here to grieve for your losses in poker in advance. If you’re a first time player and you want to play against live players, then good for you. And we’re here to help by providing you with useful tips that just may be the keys you need to survive round after round of poker.

Now, first time players are what most poker veterans refer to as “calling stations”. If you’re wondering about the logic behind the term, it’s basically because most first time poker players have the tendency to call almost all bets without even sparing a moment’s thought on their decisions.

Obviously, if you don’t want to be viewed as a “calling station” (egad!), gain the respect of your fellow poker players and maybe a share of their chips also, think before you act. Poker is not just any card game. It’s a mental game, a strategic competition between several players.

If you feel that your nerves are getting the better of you, here are some tips to get rid of cold feet.

Don’t pressure yourself by comparing your skills to other players’. That’s a futile exercise. Naturally, you can’t compare. You’re playing for the first time and they’re, what, celebrating their one millionth game? If you accept that, there’s nothing to lose yet there’s no harm in trying, you’ll feel much better later on and be able to concentrate more on the game.

Don’t turn your fellow players into gods. Okay, so you’ve heard about your opponents’ reputations. Say, one is called The Crocodile because of his ability to snatch you out of the game in seconds and the other one’s called The Rampaging Elephant because he’s always aggressive when it comes to bets. Remind yourself that before they got their monickers, they were also, once in their lives, christened as “calling stations”…just like you. If it helps, mentally replace their faces with funny looking ones to lessen your feelings of inferiority.

And lastly…relax. I know, it’s easier said than done, but you truly have to relax. Block out everything except for the cards you’re holding and mentally hum a happy song to yourself. If you let external factors get the better of you, you’re dead meat. But if you succeed in relaxing and focusing completely on your game, you may just have gotten rid of your nerves for the final time.

When I say pocket jacks, I’m referring to two Jacks, pre-flop, in Texas Hold’em. This is the fifth best hand in Texas Hold’em and in general, I would say you should never fold this hand (especially in limit hold’em). But it is definitely one of those hands to be careful with.

Pocket Jacks is especially tricky for one main reason. The most important thing to realize about this hand is that if you raise too big with this hand, normally the only people who will call you are people who can beat you. Therefore, I would suggest a small raise or possibly a reraise preflop with this hand.

Before the flop, successful Texas Hold’em strategy is pretty straightforward using your top ten hand strategy. In general, you should raise every time you have a top ten hand and you should fold the rest of your hands to any raise. It is because of this basic strategy of Texas Hold’em, that this raise with pocket jacks is especially important.

Raise too big and get a caller, then you are starting out way behind. Don’t raise big enough and someone with a lesser hand will catch up with you on the flop and then you will have no choice but to fold.

Consider this scenario. You raise a small amount on the button with pocket jacks and you get two callers. The flop comes and brings an Ace (and no jacks), the person in the first position bets half the pot. How can you consider calling a bet of this size with only an under-pair? The fact is, you can’t.

A larger bet would have scared away someone with say, Ace-Six as their pocket cards.

Probably the best way to avoid misplaying this hand is to have a good read on your opponents. This read will enable you to place an appropriate bet, ensuring successful play of pocket jacks.