Learn Texas Holdem

Question:I have set myself a goal - like you suggested in one of your articles- and the first step towards it is to play my 500 up to 2k in two months. To be honest I have a bunch of questions but I don't want to consume to much of your time so I'll just ask two. 1) Is my goal to play 500 up to 2k in two months realistic, given the fact that I am a beginning (not very good yet but not very bad either) player at the moment but very open to and fast in learning?

2) What game can I play best to succeed, in other words, what does my bankroll support? I like no limit more than limit, and like tourney's as well, but I found that the latter doesnt earn me much (yet). Can I play 50 buy in no limit's for instance? Is a 100 buy in too much? I know that much depends on what kind of play you like, but I hope you can give me some insight on what to play considering my bankroll.

I hope you can answer my questions, but if not thats again for the good articles.

Jelle Peters, Netherlands

Answer:

1. 1500 in two months is realistic. That is 750/month or ~190/week. That is very reasonable if you are a experienced enough to have your win rate up. Obviously I can't tell you exactly if you will be able to make that since I don't know how good you are but if you are a fast learner, play well and put in sometime, that shouldn't be out of the question. One word of advice when playing towards monthly monetary goals is to make sure you don't try to compensate for losing sessions by playing more hands.

Poker money can sometimes come in small consistent wins, or more often it is feast or famine. It is easy to let yourself get discouraged when you haven't won in a while but if you keep plugging away it it, it will come back around again. I just had a buddy who was on a 2 or 3 month slump where every session he was getting brutalized but he didn't give up because he had confidence in his game and he knew that it would come back. And sure enough, in the last two weeks he won it all back and more. This is how it always is. What eventually defines you as a player isn't when you win but when you lose. Some people get rattled and lose faith in how to play well and eventually go bust and quit.

Other people stick to it and don't get emotionally tied to the game and they last. Just play your best and let the cards fall where they will. In the end you'll make the money. Lastly, don't base your expectations on your best days. If you win a ton one day it is very likely the next few sessions you won't. Keeping realistic goals and expectations frees you from a lot of unnecessary stress.

2. I wouldn't play tournaments if your goal is to make money every month. Tournaments don't give you enough control over your wins like cash games do. One unlucky hand can mean you don't make a dime. They are fun and people do make a living at them but I would focus on cash games if I were you. If you like no limit holdem more than limit, stick with that. As for the size of the game to play in, I wouldn't play $100 buy-in with a $500 bankroll.

You probably want to stick to $25 and $50 for a bit until you build the bankroll up more. For those no limit holdem set buy-in games it isn't hard to be in for 2 or 3 buy-ins for a regular session which would mean you would have more than half your total bankroll in play. Also, you have to take into account the skill level of player you are up against. If you have a limited bankroll, the worst thing to do is sit down with people who are as good or better than you are just to play in a large game in hopes you'll make the money more quickly.

Expect some variance. If that variance brings you so low your cash runs out, you won't have a chance to get it back -- that's why having a sufficient bankroll is probably the most important thing for a serious poker player. It is also really difficult to play well if the money is an issue. You'll play scared poker, then too aggressively when you get anxious and it just goes downhill from there. Play within your means. I think having 10x the buy-in for those games is fine as long as you are actually competitively skilled.