First time Experiences

[*TT*]

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What risk? The risk that he won't be able to go to the movies with his friends next weekend? The risk that he won't have the funds to pay his older brother to buy beer for him?

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When topics like this come up someone always has to say "get in there, gamble, who cares!" The guys who give that advice are rarly known to be good players on 2+2, they usually are newer to the forum and rarely visit the strategy forums - I think there must be some correlation because its usually (not always) bad advice.

OP said "With me being a poor high school student with only a part time job, there's only so many buyins I can afford before it will take me a while to rebuild enough from my job that I can play again"

Key words:
<ul type="square">[*]Poor[*]only a part time job[*]afford[*]before I can rebuild to play again[/list]
The OP can't play poker if he goes busto (he plays online normally), therefore he should not play live. Period. Its not worth the risk, I'd hate to lose the ability to play if I were in his shoes!

[Armadillo King]

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My opinion:

From everything you described your not ready to gamble. You don't have a bankroll, and your underage (sorry but 18 is still underage in my eyes). I see nothing but bad coming from this situation. Go approach your parents and ask them to stake with a starting roll of 30 buyins, if they say yes then I am probably wrong.

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I hate to be nitpicky, but I think 'gamble' is the wrong word. 'Play poker with any expectation to win' is more like it, since anyone with $20 and a dream can go 'gamble' it all on red.

Although I do agree about the 'nothing but bad' part.

(Oh, and if I had $400, and then asked for a bankroll from my parents, they'd laugh at me on the basis that I had more money than they did (and they would probably be correct), so that's not always an option. Just saying.)

[*TT*]

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(Oh, and if I had $400, and then asked for a bankroll from my parents, they'd laugh at me on the basis that I had more money than they did (and they would probably be correct), so that's not always an option. Just saying.)

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Poker is a game for people who can afford to lose.

[Cactus Jack]

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if misunderstanding and/or ignoring bankroll considerations makes you "mentally underage," I'd say the average age of 2+2 posters is about 14.

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And your point is...?

[Armadillo King]

I know, I know. For some reason I felt like being confrontational. I don't know what came over me. There's a reason I usually just lurk and don't post. Sorry.

[jjshabado]

TT you missed one:

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I know I can beat that level (started out before sngs grinding there), but with me only having 2 buyins I am worried about going broke

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[*TT*]

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TT you missed one:

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I know I can beat that level (started out before sngs grinding there), but with me only having 2 buyins I am worried about going broke

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I was trying not to be too rude [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Hopefully the OP will take my advice, its best to wait until he is a bit older and can afford to take the risk of gambling. Hopefully by that time he will also understand bankroll theory and spend the downtime brushing up on strategy too (PNL is a fantastic book!)

[slickss]

1/2 NL is very high variance in terms of buy-ins, as you will see a lot of players eager to build pots and go all-in.

I'll try to explain how. Most bets only use $5 chips, so you will often face $10 as the default raise preflop. With 3 callers - which is very common at this level - and 4 players to the flop, the pot is suddenly $40. Then there's a $25 bet and two callers, and the pot is suddenly $115 before the turn. If you started out with $200, you're suddenly down to only a pot-sized bet on this one hand.

Starting out with $400 is fine, but be prepared to lose it all - in the sense that $400 shouldn't be a lot of money for you. The first time I went to a casino, I also walked in with $400 for 1/2 NL. I had more, but that was how much money I was ready to lose that day. I said to myself: "I am paying $400 for the experience of playing at a casino, and if I walk out with more than $0 it's a bonus". I lost a few chips in the beginning, but when I adjusted to the crazy live play, I won it back - and I walked out with about $600.

[Cactus Jack]

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I know, I know. For some reason I felt like being confrontational. I don't know what came over me. There's a reason I usually just lurk and don't post. Sorry.

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No worries. I have more frequent offender miles than you do.

However, I agree with TT, too. OP really doesn't need to play in B&amp;M rooms at 18. There is a reason 18 is not legal. At 18, I remember, I didn't exactly have the maturity to play for anything but nickle/dime/quarter. Losing 2 buyins for me sucks. For an 18 year old, it would feel like a disaster. And the chances he'd lose it are much higher, because of experience, maturity, and emotion control.

I remember, too, wanting to grow up faster than time allowed. I couldn't wait to sit at the grown-ups' table. It led to horrendous decisions that I never was able to outrun. Still.

So, OP, prepare yourself, work and study and wait. It will still be here when you turn 21. I promise. The name of the game is patience, in both poker and life. The advice is free if you take it, and very expensive if you don't.

[*TT*]

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The name of the game is patience, in both poker and life. The advice is free if you take it, and very expensive if you don't.

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fantastic quote!