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  #11  
Old 11-29-2007, 07:31 PM
MMagicM MMagicM is offline
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Default Re: What level should I play?

Start at NL2. It's way more fun to work your way up than to have to move down when you are losing. It builds confidence and pads your bankroll.

You need to keep in mind that the maximum buy-in for NL2 on Stars is $5, i.e. I would suggest to deposit at least $100 to give you 10 full buy-ins.

However, I felt more comfortable in the beginning (i.e. first 1000 hands or so) to buy-in in for only $2 to get a feel for the game without risking too much of my roll. Even if there are some players at your table with bigger stacks, a lot of people at NL2 buy-in for only a buck or 2.
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  #12  
Old 11-29-2007, 07:45 PM
Doc T River Doc T River is offline
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Default Re: What level should I play?

Thanks for all the replies.

I do have quite a bit of experience in no limit, but it has been mainly in bar tournaments or other "live" settings. I also play a lot of freerolls onlines, but I don't play that much play money ring games.

As I would consider myself a newbie (and probably most people would agree) in terms of online play, I am going to start with the .01/.02 level.
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  #13  
Old 11-29-2007, 09:01 PM
pzhon pzhon is offline
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Default Re: What level should I play?

[ QUOTE ]

You need to keep in mind that the maximum buy-in for NL2 on Stars is $5, i.e. I would suggest to deposit at least $100 to give you 10 full buy-ins.

[/ QUOTE ]
That would be 20 250 big blind buy-ins.

People keep repeating 20 buy-ins out of context. This is an example. It is much, much harder to lose 250 BB on an hand than to lose 100 BB. You do not have to buy in for 250 BB--despite the common misconception, buying in for less than the maximum does not put you at a disadvantage at all. NL with a $0.02 big blind does not require anywhere near as many buy-ins as a game where people play try to keep tehir money.

It is very hard to lose $10 at this level. If you are a winning player, and are so absurdly conservative that you feel you need to have $100 playing with a big blind of $0.02, then you should a few hundred buy-ins at NL $25, and perhaps a thousand buy-ins in a tough game. If those seem excessive, then so is having $100 to play NL with a $0.02 big blind.

Of course, if you aren't confident that you are a winning player, then having a budget (not a bankroll) of $100 may give you room to learn to win. If you are learning, it is a bad idea to buy in for 250 big blinds at a time. Buying in for 50 big blinds is more reasonable. If you hope to play for higher stakes, note that the maximum buy-in is usually 100 big blinds, so you may want to practice that.

If someone asks how to play top pair, you'd say it depends. You would not say push all-in, or check-fold. If someone asks how many buy-ins you need, you should say it depends. You should not say 20 buy-ins, even though that is occasionally correct, at levels that are not close to NL with a $0.02 big blind.
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  #14  
Old 11-29-2007, 09:08 PM
Doc T River Doc T River is offline
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Default Re: What level should I play?

That is something that Mark Blade stresses in his book. He says it is wrong to give a pat answer of you need X number of buy-ins.
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  #15  
Old 11-30-2007, 04:21 PM
Quicksilvre Quicksilvre is offline
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Default Re: What level should I play?

I would recommend just playing the .01/.02 games for at least your first few thousand hands, since it sounds like you don't really know how good you are in the real money games.

It you deposit at least $50, and you feel comfortable after your first few thousand hands, you might want to consider going up to .02/.05. However, you have to make sure you're not kidding yourself, and be willing to step back down if things don't go your way. That said, up to NL10 the players on PokerStars are pretty bad, so if you can beat .01/.02, you should be able to beat .02/.05.

That's all for no limit. If you're interested in limit, I would suggest starting at .05/.10 (the second-lowest level), since even with just $25 you have a decent roll for it (250 big bets in this case).
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