Picking The Right Game Online
Just because you can afford to play at a certain level doesn’t mean you should. One of the reasons pro poker players can thrive is because there is no shortage of rich amateurs that are willing to put a huge bankroll at risk simply because they can. If you’re playing poker for the right reasons then you should be looking for games you can beat and as the rule of thumb typically goes, the cheaper the buy-in, the easier the opponents.
The first question you should ask yourself when you join a new online site is what type of poker do you like. Cash game? Tournament? Heads-up? No matter what your preference is there will be dozens of tables for you to choose from. Lets say you like No-Limit Texas Hold’em and don’t sweat much at the thought of depositing $200 into your online account. Where should you start? If you pick a $1-$2 buy-in no-limit table, you’re going to want to buy-in for at least $75 - $100 in order to give yourself some chips to play with, though many players would suggest that you give yourself 100 times the big blind to work with, which in this case would be your full $200.
Putting your entire bankroll into play is a disaster waiting to happen. You can lose your whole stack on a bad beat or just through poor play, and you’ll always play differently when you know that you’re literally wagering everything you have. The general recommendation is that you try not to put more than 10% of your bankroll at risk at any given time. Using that theory, you can buy into a $0.10-$0.25 game for $20, giving yourself 100 big blinds to play with and only putting 10% of your stack at risk. If you start to dominate this level right at the start, use it to build your bankroll up to around $500 and then move up to the next level, which should be $0.25-$0.50 on most sites.
If you like tournament poker, realize that you may have to be willing to put aside a few hours in order to play even a medium-sized online event. Don’t want to spend all day in a chair? Try a Sit & Go tournament instead, which are (generally) one-table events where all you’re doing is competing against the players seated at that individual table. You can get into a Sit & Go for as cheap as $1 on many sites, and the same rule as with the cash games apply; if you find yourself dominating these cheap buy-in matches, use the opportunity to build up your bankroll a little and then move up the ladder to the next level.
When first starting to play online you should begin at the bottom of the totem pole so that you can get a good handle on how you stack up against the average opponent. From there you can pick the right game that matches your bankroll, instead of putting it all at risk right from the start.
