Getting Serious
Recreational players and serious poker players. Of course there are differences, but what if you’re the recreational player who wants to make the switch. How do you get serious. There are several options depending on your skill level, but first you need to think in terms of bankroll management.
Let’s say you want to make the switch to playing on a daily basis for serious money. How do you buy in? Well, if you have a job that can replenish your bankroll, you’d be best set to buy in with the max you can afford. So if you want to jump into the .50/1 blind games, it’s advisable that you have at least 25-30 buyins. That’s about 2500 to 3000 dollars at the 100 max tables.
But let’s say you don’t want to buy in for that much, what level should you be playing at? Well, I’d suggest you don’t play at any lower than 10max. So about 200 dollars should be enough to get you started. Anything lower than that and you’ll be dealing with almost all recreational online poker players, and you won’t be able to improve your game. Believe me, I’ve been down to the stakes that are known as .01/.02 cents. These are considered the beginner stakes, and are great for learning the game, but are horrible if you’re looking to grind out some extra income. While you only need about 50 dollars to be competitive at 2max buyin, you’ll be wasting it farily quickly, and unless you have the patience to grind out a few dollars an hour playing multiple tables, it’s recommended that you jump into serious play at the 10 or 25 max level.
I personally advocate the 25 max as the play gets much better at this level and you can actually grind out a few stacks if you’re a decent poker online player, and who couldn’t use an extra 200-300 dollars a week?
