risk

Introduction

When you want to start playing poker with real money, the first question you should ask yourself is how much money you want to put at stake. The answer to this question depends on a number of factors. The first and most obvious factor is the amount of money you have. Another factor is the reason why you want to play poker and how much you're willing to risk in connection to that. For example, if you're a beginner and you just want to play for fun, you should play with an amount that will not matter in case you would lose it. Most starting players choose an amount between $50 and $500. In case they play good and with discipline they can slowly yet steadily build their account towards a larger amount. Some players transfer their initial deposit back on their bank account once it has doubled and then continue playing with the profit made.
For the good and experienced players the situation is different. They know in which poker game and limit they are able to earn the most money and they want to continue doing that. In that case a proper directive for a sufficiently large bank account is approximately two hundred times the big blind of the game they want to play. For example, if you earn the most money on $1/$2 limit Holdem tables, you need approximately 200 x $2 = $400 on your poker account to play smoothly. Everything above that you can cash out. The advantage of such a large bankroll (= amount on your poker account) is that a couple of bad sessions will not cost you your complete bankroll. In other words: You will always have enough money to play with.
Furthermore, it is advised to keep track of the performance of your poker sessions. This will make it possible for you to determine which game and limit, are most profitable for you.

Choosing your limits

It is important to start playing on tables with low limits. For one because when playing at low limits the level of players are lowest, making it the best place to practice and make a little money. You should take into account that normally the higher the limit, the better the players. Another reason is that the required bankroll is smaller. As we have explained in the above text, playing on $1/$2 limit Holdem tables already requires a bankroll of $400. Therefore, if you want to start on, for example, the $5/$10 tables you should already take along $2000 (200x$10)! This is for many beginning players way too much money. Besides that, the chance that a beginner loses all his/her money on these limits is very high, because there are better players at these tables.

If you play successfully on a certain limit and you do not cash out the redundant capital, there will come a moment that your bankroll will be large enough to start playing on a higher limit. For example, imagine you started at the $0.50/$1 (in English the comma is the dot and vice versa with numbers) tables and your bankroll has grown slowly towards $500. Your bankroll is then large enough to shift towards the $1/$2 tables. However, this decision does not solely depend on the required bankroll. What matters even more is that you feel at ease to play with these limits. If you're afraid to lose money we guarantee you that it will actually happen! Playing when frightened = losing money with poker! The reason for this is that when you're afraid you will let go too many opportunities to win. In case you start playing on a higher limit and you lose a big part of your bankroll it is wise to go back to playing on a lower limit. Many players do not do this because they want to win their money back. Those are players that will ultimately lose all their money. On the other hand it is also important to not play on a limit which is too low. When you play with amounts so small that you don't care in case you would lose them, you will start playing too many hands or recklessly and lose your money as well! You need to be motivated to win at any time!

Take a break when things go wrong

No matter how good you are, there will always be days when you lose money. This is not the end of the world. It even happens to the best poker players in the world. You have to remember that it's all about your earnings in the long run. You will sometimes have periods when the cards are constantly against you. In case you have one of those days it is important to know when to stop. In general you should stop the session once you've lost fifty big blinds or more. This is a lot, especially for limit tables. Many players want to earn back their lost money on the same day no matter what. a very likely result is that they will start playing recklessly and in this manner lose their complete bankroll. So just stop playing! Remember that if you're a winning player in the long run, a session in which you lose does not matter!

Tilt

Thinking that your opponents are constantly bluffing, wanting to win back your money lost on the same day no matter what, or wanting to play a hand again as soon as possible are signs that you are most likely on a tilt. To recognize this by yourself and consequently be able to end the session immediately is an essential quality needed in order to become and stay a winning player. An example of how things can go wrong is befriended player rocket_boy: He started with $50 and within a month slowly but steady grew towards $500 on his bankroll by playing good and with discipline. Then in one particular session he was very unlucky because he lost constantly on the river. His reaction was a tilt and, in an effort to win back his money, he almost lost his complete bankroll by playing too recklessly on limits which were way too high. When he eventually stopped, he was back at where he started a month earlier. The earnings of a whole month of good play gone in thirty minutes!

Also never play poker if you are tired or in case you cannot keep your attention. And above all: don't ever play poker when drunk! Might be a funny idea but it's going to cost you! Professional players know that you play the best when you are fit, concentrated and motivated and thus they act accordingly. Don't give them an advantage and do the same!
Winning in the long run

In a short period of time luck is very important to be profitable when playing poker. However, in the long run luck is averaged out, separating the good players (they will win) from the bad ones (they will lose). This is something you should always remember when playing poker. Sometimes it's even stated that one bad player at a table is enough to win money, even when all the others are good players. To determine if you're a winning or a losing player it is important to keep up with data concerning your sessions. Once you played a hundred hours at a certain level, you should have a good idea of your average profit (or loss) per hour. The better you play in proportion to the other players, the sooner your hourly return is positive (perhaps you've even never had a negative return per hour at all. If you haven't made any profit after a hundred hours of playing poker then there's most likely something you're doing wrong. In that case we advice you to study the poker tips on this site once again.

No matter how much money you earn in the long run, there will always be sessions in which you lose money. This is a given fact because of the impact of luck within a short period of time. Don't let this be of any influence to you.

Limit & No-limit

The advantage of playing Limit is that, on the contrary to No-limit, the betting is always relatively low in proportion to the size of the pot. As a result, the fluctuations between plus and minus on your bankroll are in general significantly lower when playing Limit compared to No-limit. When playing No-limit it is not uncommon to lose or double all your money with just one hand, which is practically impossible when playing Limit. This is all especially the case when playing longhand (more than six people at a table). Therefore, we strongly recommend beginning players to start at the longhand Limit Holdem tables. It's more relaxed with regard to your bankroll and moreover, the risk of a tilt is smaller!
To become a successful No-limit player it is important to first gain experience at the Limit tables. Furthermore, if you want to play No-limit, you have to be prepared to bet all your money on one hand, because you think that you have a more than 50% chance to win the pot. You also have to take into account that you sometimes will go all-in on an AA hand before the flop and then a player with an inferior hand will call and eventually win the pot. Because of this you have to arrange a bigger bankroll, enabling you to cover those kinds of losses in case they happen!

Remember to keep in mind that winning or loosing in one particular session does not say anything about how good you are in playing poker. It's all about the long term!