As soon as you have some money in your poker account, you are ready to start building a bankroll.
If you are a beginner, you need to keep in mind that bigger stakes have better players. Therefore, even if you can afford to play a bigger game, it doesn’t mean that you should. To be successful at poker you need to always choose games where you have an edge over the other players. This means that when you are just learning the game, you need to play very low stakes to give yourself a fair chance at making money.
While learning the game, we strongly recommend playing low stakes. For Limit Hold ‘em, you should play .50/$1 or less. For No Limit, play .25/.50 cent or less. If you want to play tournaments, stick with those that have a buy-in of $10 or less. If you try playing in bigger games than these recommendations, you will run into many players who have more experience and skill than you. Depending on the size of your first deposit, you may want to choose even lower stakes.
Stay in the small games until you are start to show a profit. Do not expect results overnight. There is a lot to learn in poker and it is quite normal not to win money right away. If you followed our advice then you are reading: Getting Started in Hold ‘em
You should be at least breaking even by the time you are done reading the book. You will need to continue studying the game while playing low stakes as you slowly build a bankroll. You should also take this time to learn Bankroll Management.
