$50NL at Full Tilt - Good place to start?

[NoSetNoBet]

Perhaps I should have asked this question BEFORE I made my deposit the other day...

I have been playing poker pretty consistently for several years now, but mostly in my local brick n mortar casinos. I played $3-6 limit for a couple years, then switched to NL a couple years ago when it became popular and they started spreading it in my area (San Fran Bay Area). My online play up until this point has been limited to nano-micro limits on Stars, mostly sit n go's. I've finally decided to take the plunge and play more seriously online for a few reasons:

1. I want to start playing in games appropriate for my bankroll, and build from there. With a roll of a little over $1000 right now, I really can't play in the weird 100NL games they spread here (weird because they do fixed $100 buy-in, three $2 blinds, and $4 minimum to open). The action can be pretty amazing though. Bu I have to play online to find the stakes I need to start out.

2. I want to use poker tracker and actually track my own stats and bankroll, mostly to find out if I'm really as good as I think I am (probably not), and start improving holes in my game.

3. The obvious benefits of online play: convenience, availability, etc.

So there is my "brief" and exciting background, here are my main questions:

1. Given my bankroll, I understand that I should be playing at around $50NL. Is this correct?

2. After doing hardly any research, I deposited $400 at Full Tilt and started playing there, mostly because of the 100% deposit bonus. Is this a "good" site for my level? Are any others much better?

3. If I'm looking for loose/juicy tables, what should I look for? Is it simply the higher players-to-flop percentage the better?

Any help would be appreciated. I apologize if these questions are too general and have been answered elsewhere. I like to think I'm pretty unique and important, but I'm often reminded that this is not the case...

Thanks!

[Vince.]

$400 for 50NL can be a little short, but this is fine if you don't mind losing most or all of that initial deposit if you start out running bad. If you want to be safe with your roll, play 25NL with that $400 until you have 20 buyins for 50NL ($1000). 20 buyins for each level is usually the standard for NL games, however you should keep more buyins than 20 as you move up in stakes, because the variance is higher.

[Noodles.]

Yes, yes - no, yes.

[NoSetNoBet]

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$400 for 50NL can be a little short, but this is fine if you don't mind losing most or all of that initial deposit if you start out running bad. If you want to be safe with your roll, play 25NL with that $400 until you have 20 buyins for 50NL ($1000). 20 buyins for each level is usually the standard for NL games, however you should keep more buyins than 20 as you move up in stakes, because the variance is higher.

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I am playing off of a $1000 bankroll, I just deposited $400 in Full Tilt to get started, didn't want to deposit everything into one site right away. I would deposit more bankroll if needed. Thank you!

[NoSetNoBet]

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Yes, yes - no, yes.

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Just for clarification: "yes - no" = yes, Full Tilt is a good site, and no, other sites are not much better?

Thank you.

[KurtSF]

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1. Given my bankroll, I understand that I should be playing at around $50NL. Is this correct?

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Yes, that's correct.

However, I would suggest that you start off one level lower until you get confortable in the games. If you start at 25NL there is less of a chance you will have to reload your $400 deposit (even though your roll is $1k). Also, the online games, even at these levels, are tougher than the live games you're used to. SO I would recommend getting your "sea legs" at 25NL, and once you're comfortable move up as your roll allows.

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2. After doing hardly any research, I deposited $400 at Full Tilt and started playing there, mostly because of the 100% deposit bonus. Is this a "good" site for my level? Are any others much better?

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FullTilt and PokerStars are the main sites for US players, and either is fine. You probably should have deposited the full $600 to claim the full bonus. Did you sign up with an affiliate at FTP to get rakeback? If not, the ship has sailed on that one, but for any new player its very important to sign up with rakeback, as even if you aren't interested in it now, you may want it later and this is the only time you can get it. There's no rakeback at Stars, but they have a more robust bonus system in its place.

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3. If I'm looking for loose/juicy tables, what should I look for? Is it simply the higher players-to-flop percentage the better?

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Are you playing 6-max or full-ring? Yeah, look at % to the flop and average pot size. Get a HUD (gametime for free, or the more versatile PokerAce for a small price) to go with pokertracker, and it will help you identify players and their tendancies.

Best of luck.

[NoSetNoBet]

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Also, the online games, even at these levels, are tougher than the live games you're used to.

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Yes, I have noticed this so far. I'm used to these live game players that are just looking to give their money away, and all you need to do is be patient and wait for them to pay you off. I haven't played much online over the last few years, but I seem to remember it being much looser/crazier than it is now. From what I've been reading on these forums, I had expected the micro stakes to be pretty loose, but that doesn't seem to be the case any more. Is that true, or is it just the site/tables I'm playing at?

[ajmargarine]

You should really play NL25 til you get acclimated to online play. Learn how to multitable. Go hang out in the Micro NL forum and read up. Small stakes NL forum too.

It sounds like you've already made at least two mistakes. Not getting rakeback and not taking full advantage of the 100% deposit bonus (should have deposited $600). You've got a lot to learn little grasshopper.

[NoSetNoBet]

[ QUOTE ]
You should really play NL25 til you get acclimated to online play. Learn how to multitable. Go hang out in the Micro NL forum and read up. Small stakes NL forum too.

It sounds like you've already made at least two mistakes. Not getting rakeback and not taking full advantage of the 100% deposit bonus (should have deposited $600). You've got a lot to learn little grasshopper.

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Yeah, NL25 is starting to sound like a good idea to get started. I know I blew it on the rakeback. I didn't even know about rakeback when I signed up at FullTilt, then I read all about it on these forums literally the next day. Retarded. And I'm not sure why I didn't just deposit a full $600. I think I had a reason at the time, but it makes no sense now.

There are actually banner ads on this page flashing at me about 27% rakeback and 100% deposit bonus at Full Tilt right now as I write this. It feels like I'm being [censored] by a train.

[DMoogle]

Since you missed out on rakeback, you might want to consider playing on PokerStars or one of many other sites.