datzme240 asked: I have been watching texas holdem poker for a while now on ESPN and have been playing it on computer for a while now. I want to get started because i want to see how it really feels like to play and maybe win some money. I am 20 right now so i know i cant go to Las Vegas and play for the big money. I have saved up quite a bit of money for the buy in. I want to join a tournament of a buy in of $500-2000 when i turn 21 and when i am off of school. Someone advised me to start low and play tournaments of $5-50 buy ins to get accustomed to the setting in casinos that allow you to play at 18 years of age or older. Any suggestions? Thanks
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try playing online tournaments.
dude if u have had lots of practice and think ur good enough just go for it but if not start low to get the hang of it. u can practice online.
its nice you’re getting your feet wet, but i highly suggest you master the basics first and get lots of practice (but enjoy it too) at small tourneys and with friends
i’m sure you feel confident, but unless you have alot of money to spare, dont play so big, unless you like to learn your lessons the “hard way”… remember, there can only be one winner, and you’re facing alot of card sharks out there who want that money just as much as you, if not more… some of them are high-rollers, and some just are loose players
read up on various poker resources, such as books and websites like pkr.com/poker-school or google poker tells
i enjoy watching poker on espn, but theres no substitute for real experience, and making decisions under pressure
get comfortable, get confident, and play smart
good luck!
You shouldn’t even think of playing 50 dollar buy in tournaments until you have a lot of practice playing 5 dollar tournaments. Sign up for a site like Cake Poker, get rakeback through and play their low buy in tournments and freerolls until you develop a bigger bankroll. The rakeback will give you some extra cash to play with and the players there are as bad as you’ll play in casinos so it is much easier to cash in the tournaments. The variance in tournament poker is pretty huge so unless you have a very large bankroll you should not be playing 50 dollar tournaments yet!
If you want to play in casinos look around for Indian Casinos that allow 18 year olds in their poker rooms, but there might not be that many around.
1.Gain a thorough knowledge of the game.
2.Find a web resource that will help our game both online
and offline as well. Go to Learn to Win Holdem and there are others too.
3.Find a local tournament in your area. Go to Find Poker Pal at
Try this link, the holdem section has basics and some advanced tips. I studied it and I’m at fulltiltpoker.org Kicking butt in the 50/100 tables. Now that I have some play money I’m looking at the pot limit tables. See the question I am about to ask about moving up.
Like everyone else said, start low (really low) and work your way up. Play the multitable tournaments and Sit-n-gos on Full Tilt to improve your game. Read books (ie Harrington on Holdem, Full Tilt’s Strategy guide, Phil Gordon’s books). Don’t play like you see on TV- especially like the guys on ESPN and the Travel Channel (WPT). Those are either highlight reels (ESPN) or a turbo crap shoot (WPT) where the blinds go up so high that you have to push in with Q8, K9, etc. One of the best ways to learn the game is to watch High Stakes Poker, the live broadcast of the WSOP Main Event (pay per view event), other live tournament coverage, etc. The PPT was also really good when it was on.