Poker Article

Pick the Right Game for Your Skill Level & Bankroll Online Poker Games

For players new to online poker, a thorough understanding of the rules of different games and the development of good poker skills are critical to success. However, knowledge of how to pick the right online poker game to play, in terms of skill level and bankroll, is equally important.

Level of Skill
It can be a tricky and expensive, business for a player to determine their poker skill level. The obvious way is to venture onto the virtual felt, but a bad run of hands can prove costly. A better method is to use free tables to practice or utilise one of the Internet sites that offer free tests of poker skills. These sites pose questions relating to poker strategy, including evaluating hands and various betting scenarios, to arrive at a "poker IQ" for a player. The players` level of skill is a fundamental difference between low and high stakes poker. Small stakes players make elementary mistakes, such as playing too many hands, getting too involved with poor hands and failing to recognise an opponent`s strong hand. At high stakes tables, these obvious errors are rare and a player must force opponents into mistakes by presenting difficult decisions. Thought level is another major skill difference. Inexperienced players think at the superficial level of their own hand. The thought processes of better players are based on what their opponents hold, whilst very skilled players also consider an opponent`s perception of what they themselves hold. Over time, every player will get the same poker hands. Profitable players derive the best value from strong hands and minimise losses from weak hands. An experienced player ensures there is a good reason to bet and its size, based on an opponent`s potential hand rather than their own. The skill differential between players should be carefully considered when choosing an online poker game.

Bankroll
Careful choice of the limits in an online poker game is critical, in order to protect a player`s bankroll against a long losing run. There will inevitably be periods when every player loses a number of hands, not necessarily through poor play, but merely a bad run of cards. If the bankroll is inadequate to absorb these losses, it is probable that is will all be lost. Picking the right limits, coupled with effective bankroll management provides the opportunity to realise the maximum amount of profit whilst minimising the risk of going broke.

Appropriate Bankrolls
For pot limit / no limit poker, a player`s bankroll should be at lease 20x the buy-in of the chosen game, e.g. for a $1 / $2 table, with a $100 buy-in, a safe bankroll is $2000. Limit Texas Hold`Em requires a minimum bankroll of 300x the "big blind" bet, so $600 in a $1 / $2 game. For tournament play, a bankroll of 40x the buy-in for the chosen tournament is recommended for safety, requiring $500 for a $20 + 5$ Sit N` Go tournament.

Different variations of online poker have different rules and levels of excitement, so along with the above considerations, a player should choose the game with which they are most comfortable.