Playing the Right Limit
There’s really no way to lose money faster in poker than playing at a limit you can’t afford. If you’re bankroll mathematically shows that you should be playing $4-$8 limit poker but you’re seated at a $10-$20 game, chances are you’re going to get toasted. Not to mention that it’s likely that the players at the higher limit games probably play better than you. Watch a few episodes of High Stakes Poker if you want to see some prime examples of how that plays out at the super high-limits of poker. Rich amateurs love to sit down with the pros just to say they did it, and pros love it too because they can walk away with easy five, six and even seven figure victories.
There are a couple different opinions as to just how much you should sit down with at any particular level, but most would agree that if you plan on playing competitively, you should have AT LEAST 50 times the blind big in your starting stack, and that is a absolute minimum. Most players would recommend 100, even 200 times the big blind. Whether or not you’re playing limit or no-limit also plays a factor. At no-limit tables I would definitely recommend at least 100 times the big blind. So if you can afford to play with $200 and want to play no-limit poker, sit down at the $1-$2 no-limit table.
The reason for having such sizable stacks is because you want to have enough chips to survive bad plays, bad beats and the times when you’re just card dead and can’t get a hand. Having these extra reserves allows you to play for the maximum at all times, bet and raise the right amounts, and maximize profits. If you don’t buy-in for enough, you could find yourself going all-in when you don’t want to, and folding a lot of hands that otherwise you might have called if you had more chips. Don’t let the size of your stack dictate the way you play if you don’t have to.
Then of course, your skill level is the other determining factor of which level to play at. If you’re serious about poker and want to win, don’t sit down at the $10-$20 no-limit table just because you can, because you won’t learn anything and you’ll just be making a lot of veteran players their week’s worth of profits in one session. You want to find a limit where you can play comfortably. If money does not play a factor in your comfort level, then pick a limit that will allow you to play poker strategy comfortably. Low-limit games often are full of novice players where you can test the waters, find your rhythm and experiment with your play without getting chewed up.
If small level limit play is too slow paced, try $1-$2 no-limit. Or if you want to play a game where you can accumulate way more chips than you could ever afford in a cash game, play a tournament. Tournaments give players of all skill levels the opportunity to play poker with chips stack far greater than what most of us could buy into in a regular cash game. Yes, cash game and tournament strategy do have stark differences, but throwing in a occasional tournament or two will help liven up your poker experience.
