Play money acceptable poker training?

[Mr Beer]

Hi,

I want to learn how to play poker, specifically online poker. I started an account with PokerStars and figured it would be a good idea to play using play money before using real money. My reasoning is that if I can't win against beginners playing carelessly, I shouldn't bet actual money. Do you think this is a reasonable approach?

[thejudge]

No sorry ...it's a waste of time.....You have to play for real money....even small amounts...Play tables will teach u nothing about poker...People bet with any old crap because they don't care if they loseat play tables....


gl

[Mr Beer]

Thanks for the info, appreciate it.

I have noticed it's very difficult to chase other people off a pot, for example I try playing tight and then aggressive with a decent pair such as QQ only to find I can't beat people off the pot, then they end up drawing a better hand than me.

Any other opinions? Everyone basically agree?

[Assistanc3]

I don't agree

Play money is a great learning tool for new players.

It teaches you showdown value
....and really there isn't much difference at the micro cash/tournaments.

[Dan Abnormal]

I would take what I say with a grain of salt because I aint in the position to be giving real good advice.


But I spent 3 months playing Zynga poker and thought I was bad ass and I was ready to DO IT FOR REAL

I sorta skipped over play money because with my Zynga knowledge I was set. Put some money on UB (and while I havent lost much) I was losing everything I would touch.

Read some books, and it all seemed to make sense, play position, betting properly (something I still am learning the hard way) , and the right cards to play, it all seemed so cut and dry

Keep playing, Keep losing


WHY AM I ALWAYS LOSING IM PLAYING AWESOME. So somewhere I find this site (and I dont know how) and I decide to post a few of my hands and BAM, the first thing I learned was, everything I played was out of position (totally opposite of what every book taught me). Next was my betting skills (because playing so many free rolls and such I learned to be a survivor player and bet the least all the time unless my cards where HOT) and learned through the site my betting was horrible (and Im still learning to get this right) and Lets not even talk ODDS right now because my mind dont process it as quick as it should.

I have been a member here for maybe 3 months my game has gone from completely horrible to almost passible. (SEE PEOPLE LOVE IT WHEN I POST, ITS AN ALL DAY READ)


I still play low stakes and low buy ins, but Im slowly getting the guts to pay a little more to play. But I would tell ya put $10- $25 on a site and play the micro levels, which as the person above said might the same as play money, but GUESS WHAT ITS NOT PLAY MONEY. If I play ring games I get excitied if I can play a few hours and come up a few cents ahead or not have to rebuy to many times. If I play MTT's with $1-$5 buy in's I get exciting a hell of a lot more when Im in the hunt, which Im often not but regardless if its the .01/.02 NL ring games or the .50 SNG or the $1 MTT buy in's. The play might not be a tough as the bigger stakes, but it will make you focus a lot more on what and what not to play a lot more than play money will.

Stay on the forum, post some hands, some folks will give you great advice nicely,, some folks will give you great advice in other ways and you shouldnt take it personally (DID YOU READ THAT ROB, Im rob BTW) but I will tell you this forum has some players that will blow your mind as far a great play goes and really I put many people at this site as a measuring stick as If I can keep up with them then I know Im doing something right, I cant right now, in a few more months I WANT THIS FORUM TO FEAR ME, but that aint gonna happen cause these people here play some hard poker and will will shape up your game or as in my case exploit it LOL!!!

The main Dude here is BOB and he has said something about would you rather play freerolls and make $60 in 6 month or Spend $60 and try to turn that into $6k in 6 months, Well I wont be turning that $60 into 6K but my play is slowly improving and Im starting to see where I am making the mistakes (something I could not say 3 months ago) sometimes when I throw a bet in, I say FUK I just made a mistake here and lately I have been right so either I have to fold and donate or see if I can work my way out of the error.

ALSO GET IN THE FORUM GAMES, and ANY OF THEM, (and not only here BUT DEFINITLY HERE) because its a smaller field, and there are players in them who live breathe and I think multi board in their sleep and still win.

LOOK through the the thread on Freerolls are they worth playing, which is the next step above play money. If you aint got the cash, Id say play free rolls instead of play money games cause at least everyone is playing for something but put just $10 on a site and see what you can do with it, If you know your stuff, you'll might make some more if not at least your playing real money even if you stay with $10 in account. If you lose it real quick like, post the hands here and people will let you know what you did wrong.

But like i said, take what I say with a grain of salt because it will be a while before I can hang with these folks but get off the play money stuff trust me even .01/.02 nL games can produce pots upward in the .50 to 1.00 range sometimes and losing money is the greatest teacher

[jeffsbabe]

Playing for play chips is fine to begin. You get to know the software and how things work. Don't play that way long because you really won't learn the game. I would suggest you make a small deposit and go from there. You are probably going to lose for a while, so I would suggest low buy in tournaments. The forum games here would be an excellent start. The field is pretty low and you will be playing with some very good players. You can learn a lot by watching others play. I would stay away from ring games. Your money will not last long there.

Best of luck to you!

[Mr Beer]

OK, thanks for the advice everyone.

[ND1991]

So I read this thread, and thought about it.

Why do you want to play for play money?
1) You enjoy the game, but do not want to risk real cash?
2) You are worried about depositing money online?
3) You are trying to learn to see board possibilities and showdowns playing out?

You opened with "I want to learn to play poker".

My advice would be:

Play as many hands as you can, and worry about learning.
Read books and forums.
Play more hands. Read more books.

I had a friend who asked me about online poker, and I will tell you what I told him about online poker and getting started. (NOTE: I do not work for any poker site, and have played on a good number)

1) Join three sites. Why three? As you will see below, I use them differently. Could you do all three on a single poker site? Absolutely, but I recommended this approach to him after I had played for several years as what I would do if I was starting over.
2) What sites? One Merge, Doyles Room, and any other of your choice (possibly a more popular one like Poker Stars or Full Tilt)
3) Why Merge: Lots of freerolls. Able to use play money to earn real money. Best site for building a bankroll from scratch. They have a 3-step freeroll. Step 1 is full table SNG, finish top 3 move to Step 2. Step 2 is full table SNG, finish top 2 move to Step 3, finish 3rd stay at Step 2. Step 3 is full table SNG, finish 1st win $1. finish 2nd stay at Step 3, and finish 3rd go to Step 2. Also larger freerolls every 4 hours with cash prizes for top finishers (usually final table, sometimes final two tables).
4) Why Doyles Room? For a $55 deposit you can play a nice MTT three Wednesdays. So great experience for low buy-in. Why this one in particular? First, $25 + $2.50 buy-in that is refunded the first time you play. Second, three pros in tournament and if you knock one out you get $1000 (this gives nice potential kicker, but also teaches patience since cashing in tournament should be primary goal. Finally, if a pro wins the tournament, you get a free entry the next week. Field size is usually around 300 people.
5) Why popular site? Easiest to find games, broadest range of types of players. Also, a good place to follow a rigorous bankroll management practice. I firmly believe you will get an itch to take a shot, or try a higher level than your bankroll dictates you should. This is why I recommend one site where you stay absolutely 100% religious on your bankroll management. If you are constantly going broke there following disciplined BR that will tell you something. If you are maintaining or slowly growing there, but busting out elsewhere, that will also tell you something. There is a lot written on BRM, I use simple never have more than 5% in play on a single table game, and never more than 2% in an MTT. 4kingpoker has great discussions on BRM.
6) If you can afford it, invest in a hand tracker. I happen to use PokerTracker 3, but I know there are others people like. Why? So many reasons. A) be diligent in entering tournament results to keep very good records on investment and ROI. B) hand history and data about how you play is all over the place in these tools, learn to find it. C) depending on what you are playing, you will start seeing the same players and knowing their hand histories definitely has it perks. BTW, it is not a coincidence that I recommended three sites that all can be used with PokerTracker 3.

Finally, you can learn from play money, but you cannot learn ONLY from play money tables. I have played very lively games in Vegas that felt like play money tables. Also, the Step 1-3 is interesting sicne you will see play change drastically at each level going for something simple as a $1. Step 1, almost always and all-in first hand (80%+ I would guess). Step 2, it drops of dramatically. And Step 3 almost never.

Good luck with your game.

[Dan Abnormal]

HEY ND

Please explain #4 again, I put $30 on the site so I could get me 27.50 refund trying the bounty + they gave me a ticket for a sunday grand . What are the other 2 MTTs they give you for Weds for Dep $55. I hope I didnt screw up by not giving Doyle enough money. I did shoot for the stars though, told I would not deposit unless I got the autogrpahed hard cover books, the answered by nicely telling me about the deposit match bonus I can get (WHICH I WILL NEVER CLEAR) and I could buy the books in their store. DAMN I WANT THOSE BOOKS. THe descrip sounds like the MTT is the same bounty but are you saying for $55 they give you 3 Weds of Bounties. I have been scared to use my tickets yet until I get my game tighter I WANNA KNOCK OUT PAM AND TODD BRUNSON LOL



TO THE THREAD STARTED

Unless you play bigger stakes or non stop microlevels, dont be swayed by deposit bonus because they hard as hell to get (FOR ME, EVERYONE, IM JUST SAYING FOR ME) I have yet to even get UB to release the first $5 increment becuase I play micros and low buy in MTTs and I deposited in Janurary

Beside that all the stuff above is right on target

[ND1991]

Dan,

I am not a representative of Doyle's but I do play the Wednesday bounty with some regularity.

I said $55 because that would allow you two buy-ins. $27.50 x 2.

However, there is a way to request a refund of $27.50 for the first time you play that tournament. I believe that is a standing offer, but you also need to request it. The easiest thing to do is observe a table with a pro bounty and talk to the invisible host there (lately it has been Julius). He will be able to tell you how to get the $27.50 refund.

The ticket you got may have been an additional bonus of some type. But the refund available for the first time you buy into bounty is $27.50 back into your account with nothing to clear.

Hope that helps.