Play Money
 

i know some of you don't like or understand play money on pokerstars, but I was wondering how many of you actually play for play money, and if you have any tips for me. It seems like a fun way to try to build a very small bankroll and have fun

i had to play with that for a long time so im not gonna bash you about the question. all i can say if u play a big tourny dont call big raises till later in the tourny cause u will get beat by bullshit all the time. so with that in mind if u really want to win wait to make strong moves till later in the tourny when its mostly people who care about it left and the donkeys are gone. same thing with the really small buy ins too,

Really it comes down again to something that has been said repeatedly in here: You need a BETTER hand to call a big raise than to make one. Don't risk your chips until you're confident you're the favorite, and you'll be all right.

just play your cards tight. dont bother trying to bluff haaf the time it wont work

i second wong on that one, unless u are at a final table it is useless to bluff.

The hazards of play money
 

I’ve posted about this before, but I actually believe that play money can harm your real game. As loose/weak as the low-limit Party tables are, they make any given play money table look like a rock garden/TAG fest. Beating play tables can lead to false sense of confidence, reinforce bad habits, and the like. Becoming a good poker player is in part about making the right decisions in the right circumstances, and it is hard to learn that if there is nothing on the line.

That said, they can be good for getting used to a new site’s interface, understanding a new game (I flirt w/ Omaha sometimes, but am not yet ready to put any cash on the line), or as an alternative to donkeying off your role when you are drunk/on tilt/ etc.

said very well, i second

I disagree with this. Although the play is often unrealistic, it is still very helpful. You will need more than just play money experience to become a good player but it would say it is great experience. Until the summer most, almost all of my poker experience came from play money games on pokerstars. In august I sold some play chips for a couple dollars and started playing for real money for the first time. I got up to $1400 within a month and was playing very well. So all the play money playing had really prepared me for real money games, and I found the play money experience very beneficial.

$2 --> $1400 in one month? Someone was playing WAY above their bankroll.

How's that $1400 looking now, if you don't mind me asking?

check the backer section during the past month or so :cool:

I cashed out $800 and then lost the over a period of time lost the rest of it and busted. Now I'm just hovering around $20-$50. I'm not great, but the cashout was pretty good for a high school junior and considering I never actually put any money in.

So I was saying to the original poster that I don't think it's a bad idea, and ite feels to me that only good can come from it, since you're not even risking any money.

I played in the play money tables for about a year and a half. It taught me the basics and the odds of what you can catch are. But, after that, I figured out that the way people bet in real money(whatever the stakes) and how people bet in play money are way different. In play money, I would never let anything like JJ go. But in real money, I squirm in my seat to call double the BB.