What Level Should You Play At?

You've just made a real money deposit into your online poker account. Great! But, what level should you play at? In other words should you shit down to a $.10/$.25 Limit game or that exciting looking $100/$200 No-Limit game? The answer of course depends on skill level and experience as well as the size of your bankroll (the amount of money you have available to play with). The first two questions you need to answer are; what do you hope to accomplish with your bank-roll and can you afford to lose it all? You might be saying to yourself, "To win money, you idiot!Why else would I playing poker?" That might be part of the answer but ask yourself if your playing primarily to: Have fun and maybe kill a little time Learn and improve your skills Earn a little extra spending money Make a living What you do with your bankroll and the risks you are willing to take are completely different when you are playing for fun rather than trying to make a living and your ability to pay your rent depended on the outcome of the game. Once you know your outcome you can answer the second question. If you are playing for fun or learning, you better be able to afford to lose your bank-roll. If you can't you shouldn't be playing. If you can afford to lose it and replenish it then pick what ever game you can afford to by into that interests you. If you are serious then you need to think about your bankroll like a farmer thinks about his seed. You must make certain you always have a reserve of seeds (chips) to plant for the next season (playing session) or you will starve (go broke). In Limit Texas Hold'em I suggest you have at least 200 times the big blind in your bank-roll and that you sit down with about 40 times the big blind. For example if you have just deposited $500 then you should be playing at the $1/$2 limit tables and sit down with $80. If you lack experience and are still learning the basics I suggest dropping a level $.50/$1 for example. If you are more skilled you might be able to get away with taking it up a notch. If you have a bad run of cards don't hesitate to drop down to the appropriate level. It's far better to play at lower limits than to go broke. No-Limit and Pot-limit Texas Hold'em are almost completely different animals and are a subject for a future article. For now lets just say that you should be at least 5 times more conservative when choosing what level to play at. Until Next Time....MG Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker