As I mentioned in my Vegas vacation thread, I’ve got an itch for gambling (or just entertainment, really). I’m probably going to pass on a return trip to Vegas until 2017 when I get settled down financially, but in the meantime, I could probably start work on taking advantage of laws in the state I reside, New Jersey.
New Jersey law states that I can play real cash in online poker games, which makes it possible for me to play poker without the hassles of flying to Vegas (or taking a couple of trains (3 to be exact) to Atlantic City) for real money right at the comforts of where I currently live at. (Now if only Illinois could get on board…)
So as the title says, what do you guys recommend when it comes to gambling with online poker? I’ve got $200 to spend on poker, what do you guys recommend for me to make a killing? Part of me wants to start out on the “micro-bet” tables where the stakes are between 5¢/10¢, some going as low as 1¢/2¢ for practice, is that a good way to start out?
Ultimate11, you may want to ask a Mod to move this thread to The Game Room. Alternately, you might want to do a thread search for online poker. The subject’s been covered in the past—I’d look for posts authored by SenorBeef, Gadarene (sp?), and Turble—and the gist is that it’s much more difficult to make money online now a days than it was circa 2004. You’ll need to know your stats and you’ll need some tracking software. Poker Tracker and Hold’Em Manager used to be the thing; no idea what it is now.
Further, I had no idea that New Jersey had a carve out from the UIGEA. Congrats if so.
What I meant from my little joke (I really could care less about Illinois laws now that I’m currently not living in that state (yet, I’ll be back)), is that Illinois should get on board with online poker- what’s the risk? People will still come to casinos…but I digress. (That location listed on my user account is outdated, but left there because I’ll be back living there- I’m currently in NJ just learning IT stuff- the poker stuff is just for fun- especially when money is involved.)
I was a professional poker player in Las Vegas when online poker came about. I quickly switched from live to online play because it was so lucrative. As the years went by the games became harder to beat, but with good play and the use of software like PokerTracker I still made a good living up til the time of the big ban. Since that Black Friday of online poker I have not played online at all.
I have no idea of the current state of online poker, except to say that cheating is rampant and will probably always be so.
Your statement about having “$200 to spend on poker” tells me you are almost certainly not skilled enough to be a winning player in the long-run in a public poker setting. You might have a winning session now and then, but after a couple hundred hours you will almost certainly be losing unless you actively and seriously study the game.
Online poker is worse than a zero-sum game. Every dollar somebody wins is matched by a dollar and change lost by another player. For anyone to make any money, they have to take it from other, worse players.
That’s you, by the way.
If you’re just playing for fun, and consider the money you lose the entry fee the same way you would when buying a movie ticket, that’s fine. But if you go into this thinking you’re going to make a profit you’re in for a world of disappointment.
Your $200 will only last you if you play microstakes. I strongly suggest starting at 2c/5c and maybe 5c/10c if you have a pretty good handle on poker. At levels above that you will lose your buy in with amazing speed.
Online poker used to be easier than live poker; it is now brutally hard. There are few loose games above 2c/5c. 10c/25c on Pokerstars is a much tougher game (and way more boring) than $1/$2 in a live card room, because
The poker boom is over and there’s not as many new fish
People who play online use PokerTracker and such programs to confer advantages upon themselves a live human could never have
That said, if you do want to try live poker, online poker is a great idea simply because you can play thousands of hands of poker for very little money with preposterous ease. You can be playing live poker against villainous opponents in one minute from thinking “I’d like to play some poker” and for five bucks you can spend hours, getting in 50-70 hands an hour, learning poker the only way that matters; winning and losing money. If I decided right now I wanted to play live poker, I am at least 40 minutes from a card room, and there may be a waiting list, and I have to spend money on gas, blah blah blah. If I wanna play online poker I could be playing it right now.
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You will not win money**, so just accept that. I mean, sometimes you’ll double your $5 stake. Sometimes you’ll lose it. Overall if you make a $20 profit in two months that would be awesome, and if you lose $20 in a week playing 2c/5c don’t be shocked. At microstakes it’s hard to beat the rake even if you’re very good, and at higher stakes you’ll be eaten alive. That’s okay. Your $200 will at microstakes last a really long time and will be immensely valuable in teaching you poker. It’ll be money well spent and you’ll have fun.
If you have not yet done some reading on poker, read Getting Started In Hold 'Em by Ed Miller. Whatever the book costs it’s worth twenty times that in what it will save you. Note that it’s mostly about limit hold 'em (which isn’t nearly as popular as no limit on Pokerstars) but many of the ideas are the same and it does have a no limit section.
Apply its lessons to your microstakes games and when you play some $1/$2 in a real casino you’ll be surprised how well prepared you’ll be.