[pzhon]

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I just got some money for Christmas and my significant other is pushing me to use the money to buy into the $1/$2 blinds, $200 max buy-in no limit game at one of the local casinos. How do I explain that it would be a better investment to put the money into an online account and play 1 cent/2 cent No Limit.

One of the problems I face in getting her to listen is that she believes in me and my poker playing ability totally.

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One phrase I use is, "That would be gambling." While even playing for pennies is gambling, with hundreds of dollars in your bankroll, you should hardly notice the swings. If you buy in to a live game for most of your bankroll, you will hardly notice your skill advantage.

If someone offers to triple your money 1/2 of the time, then to maximize your expected money, bet everything you have. If you get 10 chances, bet it all, and let it ride. 99.9% of the time you will go broke, but 0.1% of the time, you end up with about 59000 times as much as what you had at the beginning. Bankroll management theory says you may prefer to bet a smaller piece of your bankroll to avoid losing it all rapidly.

That said, you may want to take a shot at playing some live NL, as the play is little different from online microstakes games, and it can be fun. If you aren't bankrolled for that level, you should view it as partly an expense, but it may be worth it.