Fake vs. Real Money
This is the common wisdom on play money vs. real money. I believe it.
People play poorly with play money because it isn't real. Thus, you may do well at play money and realize that you are terrible when it comes to real money.
However, and this is where I am looking for feedback, I believe that unless you are completely dominating play money games you don't need to move up to real money. If the game is challenging to you than you should enjoy it until you progress to the point where it's not challenging.
For example, I've been playing Hold'em for about 2 weeks now. I've been tracking my play money on PokerGiantFlamingBallsOfGas.net and while playing primarily NL SNGs with $330 (play money) buy-ins I'm a 'winning player.' That is, I finish in the money roughly 2/3 of the time with any loosing streak tempered by a 1st or 2nd place finish.
My current goal is to make a big enough fake bankroll to play in a higher buy-in SNG on the site. I feel no pressure to start playing for cash (other than the knowledge that no poker player will take me seriously until I do) because I'm still having to play my best game to finish 2nd or 1st. When I really get bored there's higher levels which will provide more of a challenge. I don't play other games for money, so I know I don't need money for the enjoyment of it. The only reason I'll switch to money games is to play better opponents.
People play poorly with play money because it isn't real. Thus, you may do well at play money and realize that you are terrible when it comes to real money.
However, and this is where I am looking for feedback, I believe that unless you are completely dominating play money games you don't need to move up to real money. If the game is challenging to you than you should enjoy it until you progress to the point where it's not challenging.
For example, I've been playing Hold'em for about 2 weeks now. I've been tracking my play money on PokerGiantFlamingBallsOfGas.net and while playing primarily NL SNGs with $330 (play money) buy-ins I'm a 'winning player.' That is, I finish in the money roughly 2/3 of the time with any loosing streak tempered by a 1st or 2nd place finish.
My current goal is to make a big enough fake bankroll to play in a higher buy-in SNG on the site. I feel no pressure to start playing for cash (other than the knowledge that no poker player will take me seriously until I do) because I'm still having to play my best game to finish 2nd or 1st. When I really get bored there's higher levels which will provide more of a challenge. I don't play other games for money, so I know I don't need money for the enjoyment of it. The only reason I'll switch to money games is to play better opponents.
Comments
FYP.
Fake money tournaments are the same.
First of all, read a good book. Lee Jones, his low limit book and Dave has a book dedicated to beginners as well.
If you feel the need to play real poker, put in $20 to 40 in a real site and play 0.05 to 0.10 limit. This will give you a feel for what is happening.
You can't compare fake versus real.
Rob.
Poker is NOT a game of cards played with money. It is a game of money played with cards.
/g2
Not at all...two totally different things.
Would you say that you have been "playing" hockey when all you have done is read some books about it, watched HNIC, played NHL 2005 on your PS2 and slapped a few shots at a homemade net in your garage?? NO. You need to lace up your skates and go out on the ice and play.
I believe that "fake money poker" is a great asset to learn the rules of the game, the flow of action, the betting, etc. But I do not think it is reasonable to think you will have similar results in a real poker game if you are successful at "fake money poker". Now, the game of poker is also about making the best decision in every situation, but it is the aspect of risk and reward/loss that makes poker unique.
I'm planted squarely in the middle of this debate. Â I started playing with play money, and I totally agree with Lucky Paul. Â It's very good practice to get you used to how to play and it allows you to see lots of hands. Â However, the jump to real money is a big change.
Playing Monopoly is not the same as being a real estate broker, and stock market games are not the same as being a day trader. Â You can enjoy sports without betting, but enjoying hockey doesn't specify whether you like watching rec shinny, minors, NHL, etc. Â There are subtle differences that make them different games. Â Even real money tournament poker is a different game than real money ring game poker.
With something at stake, people play differently. Â This is not just about you taking it seriously, but your opponents as well. Â There are also additional pressures when something is actually on the line that can change not only your decisions, but your ability to make the correct decision.
If you have fun playing with play money, keep doing it, but realize that "Play Money Poker" is a different game than "Real Money Poker", and comparing the 2 can only be done at the most basic levels.
If you are challenged at the 330 level, then keep playing it until you no longer find it a challenge. Then move up to the 1000 level, same as a real player moves up in limits. Eventually you will find even the 25000 and 50000 levels to be no longer challenging, and if at that point you want to play for real money, give it a shot for $20 or $40.
In my opinion, there is no rush to switch to real money, just to feel like you are playing real poker. There are enough players at the 25000 and 50000 levels of play money who take it seriously that the games are challenging. Myself for one (damon224 on Stars).
/g2
Play money, some take it serious but most do not. I do know people who play it seriously and they group together and do SNGs and they have accumulated millions of play dollars. Outside of that, it is a good tool for learning how the software works and odds, etc but when you are playing against a number of all-in morons, it is a total joke.
You may find the same thing in real money games but hopefully not as much. You will find people who still want to gamble it up and play just like on TV at all levels. For these guys, a few dollars means nothing compared to the joy of laying a bad beat on someone. For sure you'll see this more at the micro levels but for a multi millionaire, I'm sure you could see the same thing. Just picture me laying a bad beat on Devo with my J3o...
However, don't assume for a moment that playing with real money is anything similiar to fake money. It isn't. I started on play money, as I'm sure many have, and I thought I was 'good enough' to start playing for real. I wasn't, and it took awhile, and alot of reading, to get comfortable at playing even the lowest low limits out there for real money. It IS a totally different game. Now, I can't play with play money at all, it just isn't the same game, and I don't have any fun whatsoever. Maybe it's the risk associated with it now, or maybe it's the fact that when you win BIG in playmoney, you still don't win anything. Even a small pot with real money is a more rewarding experience for me, because I know I won it and it's real. Going back to playmoney just doesn't do it for me anymore. I've even transferred whatever I had in my playmoney to my brothers account as he hasn't made the move, and I doubt he will. He's thrilled with it, he enjoys it quite abit, but it's not the same for me anymore.
No. But I certainly don't get how World Cup fans can get all excited over a 0-0 tie.
...after I made my 4 million in play money I turned pro...sadly the fame hasn't been what I expected...
I did it after my astounding 130,000 playdollar win in a 300 + 20 MTT :P
well, quite a bit later. but that got me started with the idea of making a deposit.
I think new players would be much better served by playing with real money from the start. Not very much, mind you. Amounts that they can easily afford to lose. When I started playing, I think I was losing about $70/month for almost a year. That was completely acceptable... I can easily spend $70 on one night at a bar. But, it meant enough to me at the time that I cared about protecting it, and I tried my best to do so.
Ahhh the good old days. Now $70 is less than one big bet in one hand. LOL. Haha.
Sincerely,
Devin Armstrong,
a real money snob.
Maybe one day I'll be playing at that level, but I just can stop thinking... "Man, if I steal the blinds, I get a hooker for an hour.. woohoo!!"
To go back to the OP... start playing with real money, but do only what you can afford. It is a different game.
LOL Rob... nice one. Thoughts like these ones do occasionally cross my mind...
It doesn't appear that at the lower levels of money everyone plays as All_Aces describes. So it's not 100% money that makes real poker real, it's people caring about playing their best. Money makes people more likely to want to play their best, the more of it, the more likely they will play their best.
When I play my best I'm profitable at the lowest level of play money. I generally don't have a showdown if I don't want to (getting people to fold in order to protect my hand) and win the majority of showdowns when I do get to them (I play NL SNGs, I don't do as well at low limit because people will call with worse hands)
My biggest problem right now (other than watching TV while playing and thus not paying attention to anything) is I don't know what to do when I've started the hand aggressive, but as people keep calling and the board keeps making my hand look worse and worse I don't know if I should back off, showing my weakness and maybe bluffing me off the pot (like when a 4th heart hits the board and I don't have any hearts)
That's where I lose money, although I think my plan for the future is to back off in those situations. It's a 1:3 shot that someone has me beat. I'm not sure how to calculate odds on that, but it seems like a safe fold if they don't check. I've only been playing for a couple of weeks and only really started thinking about odds today (brought a deck to work and have been dealing flops and imagining what hands could be made from the flop)
Wow, I think I just hijacked my own thread.