My first instinct was to play the minimum amount. If I am learning, I don't want to lose any money during a session that I need to, right? Plus, if I'm lucky I can double up and I'll have plenty of money to work with after that ...
Before I go any further, I would like to say that Full-Tilt Poker Academy is probably one of the best resources out there for a player who is new to the game. It is mostly free to the new player at the full-tilt tables and provides a wealth of interactive models, as well as videos detailing specific concepts in the game that will help anyone who wishes to improve their own game. I plan to write a review on this in a later blog, but I digress.
Somewhere in the Full-Tilt poker academy site, along with several books I have read suggest that you bring as much money as you feel comfortable with (i.e. table maximum) when you sit down to play a ring game. There are several reasons for this which I 100% agree with.
If you bring a large stack to the table, you have more freedom to play in the pots you normally wouldn't if you were more short stacked. I don't care what anyone says, a suited connector or a suited one gapper (suited cards such as 10/8 or 9/7 which have one card in between them) doesn't seem like a playable hand when you only have 30 big blinds behind you. You may want to wait for a more premium hand. However, if you had 75 or 80 big blinds you may be more inclined to see the flop and either hit your straight right off the bat.
With a larger starting stack you have more room to maneuver. With a smaller stack, bluffing doesn't seem like the best strategy. Another thing I have found is that I find myself going all-in way more often than I should when I have a smaller stack, and more often than not my opponent has me covered. This is not the way you want to play at the tables.
Last reason to bring more money to the table rather than the minimum is pretty simple. If you bring $3.50 to a $5.00 max table and you immediately double up you make $7 less the rake... if you buy in for the max at the table and you immediately double up you make $10. Thats $3 difference. If you are playing higher stakes that is alot more. If you are good at math thats 43% more!
So there is no real argument for buying in for the table minumum. As far as I'm concerned that is one of the biggest mistakes I made as a "noob".
Blaze as i read your blog my feelings are very different to what to bring to the table online as to what to bring to a live game.
ReplyDeletePersonally i have seen more than my fair share of rediculious bad beats online that it makes it hard for me to want to put my money in with the best of it just to be sucked out on the river (online players have more of a gamble feel) live players tend to play a little more stiff seeing they have real money in front of them instead of just pushing a button.
live games i always bring the maximum because exactly what you posted if i buy in to 2/5 NL at max of 500 and i end up with AA, KK one of the monsters if i play it right there is a better chance of tripling up then just doubling up, if i have a short stack i might just push right away hoping for one caller where the bigger stack you can re-raise or limp in.
i enjoy your blog and go for the million