Poker On A Shoestring Budget or £0-£150 In 4mths.

[Valiant23]

Main Aim Of This Thread

Is to prove to people that they do not need a massive bankroll (or any investment at all) to play poker and come away with a profit.

I've felt for about a month that a guide for beginners who are nervous about taking the plunge is necessary, and as I have made steady progress in a few months I feel I am in a good position to still retain a 'newbie' perspective. My hope is that people use my method as a way of testing the water, so as to avoid unnecessary (in my opinion) losses.

What This Isn't

Without a doubt this is not a "How To Be A Good Player". There are enough resources in the Poker Section and on the internet in general, without me giving bad advice when I barely know what I'm talking about myself.

It isn't a guide on cash games, because I won't/can't play them (yet), so cash games are not covered here, sorry.

[Valiant23]

A (not so) Brief Background

I found PuntersLounge on the morning of the first Saturday of the football season. I was looking for a little help with my ante-post coupon, and spent a lot of that day reading what was posted on most sections. I was delighted to see this forum had an NFL thread in the USA and Other Sports section, and just below that was The Poker Section.

This interested me as I'd spent a few years watching Late Night Poker on Ch4 (and later on satellite), and so had a rudimentary idea of how to play. Myself and Pocket Lady both enjoyed discussing the program, and being a bit of a gambler I said I'd love to give it a try BUT having seen first-hand how poker/gambling addiction has taken a couple of work colleagues I was extremely cautious - even scared to go and play in a Casino.

So I started looking around the Poker section and expected it to be full of tales of woe, and how people have lost thousand's on the turn of a card. What I found were people from most walks of life taking great enjoyment in playing online poker. I read a lot of the current posts that day, but still wasn't prepare to throw away money on something I knew nothing about (strangely, that hasn't stopped me when it comes to football or NFL).

[Valiant23]

How I Was Hooked

Until I saw this post by Rednutt in the Bragging Thread;

Originally Posted by rednutt

i entered williamhill £500 freeroll on saturday and cant believe i actually won it 1st place £100 . i have came 2nd in sportingodds b4 but this is the first time i have ever won an mtt.

This post intrigued me. Freeroll sounds like a free competition, and you can win money! To be sure, I posted this in The Poker Novice Thread;

Originally Posted by Valiant23

Hi all, what is a 'freeroll' tourney?

Originally Posted by GotaFancy?

A freeroll is a competition that doesn't cost anything to enter but pays out real money prizes.

It may "cost" action points (or whatever the particular poker room calls it) which are earnt for playing in a certain number of payable games, or there may not be this requirement.

See the Telegraph FF thread for an example of a good freeroll at the moment - free to enter, with $50,000 in prize money (in the final). Games are at 7pm and 9pm every night. In the same thread as well there is the ManchesterOnline freeroll which is also for $50,000, free qualifiers at 8pm every evening.

Originally Posted by Valiant23

So I suppose a freeroll may be a good way for a wannabe to try their hand (sorry bout the pun) at no risk?
Thanks GotaFancy?

Originally Posted by GotaFancy?

GROAN!!!

Yes definitely!!

I'm pretty new to poker (been playing a couple of months) - and it does worry me "getting drawn in" and playing too much. So I try (and pretty much succeed) not to make any deposits - I stick to the freerolls and when I get some money from the tourneys, I play with that. It's a lot easier risking someone elses money than my own

I made an exception for the PL Poker league - but I view that more as a "social" cost than a Poker cost!!!

If my poker ever gets to the stage where I think I can make money at it, then I won't need to deposit money - because I'll be able to grow the money in my accounts from the freerolls - if I need to deposit then it means I'm losing!!!

Of course, I might one day (when my skills have improved) decide that it's worth paying a certain amount to play - as a leisure activity (instead of paying the same to go to the cinema for example!!) - but for the moment I can "get my fix" from the freerolls

Don't miss out on the PL Freeroll - numbers will be limited (last two have been below 100) and Paul has negotiated some GREAT prize money (at least $1000, possibly up to $2000 depending on number of entrants). September 4th I think it is - well worth it.

Originally Posted by Valiant23

GaF, you're a star-imagine the scene if you will. Start work at 04.30-finish at 0800 ( sh*tty hours, but what d'you expect from a burglar) rest of the day off, have a nap, then try to register for manchester and Telegraph, then go all in on a 52o, get the straight on the river whilst watching Vale win on Sky.



Its our dreams that keep us human eh?

So there you have it, and I've not looked back since. I've wondered what I'll do after I finish playing football, and dismissed bowls and golf, but I thought I was on to something here.

[Valiant23]

A Tale of Downloads, Nicknames and Ironing

Downloading the poker software for the first time may have you wondering if it's safe. Well I've downloaded 20+ poker sites now and the only problems I've encountered are those of my own making. The step by step instructions are very easy.

Be careful to choose a nickname you actually like, because unlike PuntersLounge once you've chosen a username/nickname it is yours for as long as you're there. Pocket Lady has a slightly embaressing username on BetFred which does her no favours imo , although she thought it amusing at the time. Now please make sure you have set up a real money account. This generally means you can play for cash, but don't have to deposit - in my limited experience they all try to persuade you, but only PartyPoker make it mandatory that you deposit before you get to play for prizes/cash.

Anyway, I digress. I went through the log in process at BetFred, and then had a look round, and clicked on various buttons. I found the Telegraph FF freeroll and the manchesteronline under "Tournaments" then "scheduled", clicked on it and was asked for a password. I entered the password and expected a "sod off freeloader" message, but nothing - I was in.

I have no record or recollection of how I played that night - although I do have a vague memory of clicking on 'all - in' when I didn't mean to. I know that I didn't qualify for quite a while though.

I didn't care anyway, I was hooked. I spent many an hour googling freerolls and had an almost all consuming desire to absorb new information. That is when this post especially came in useful by Carl;

Originally Posted by Carl

just found this if its any use.
certaintly for me it is.

Texas Hold'em Poker Strategy, Hints, Tips... Basic Texas Hold'em Rules

General Poker Basics

Texas Hold'em basic strategy

GreedyHog knows poker strategy

More Texas Hold'em Strategy and hints

Advanced Texas Hold'em Strategy

More Poker rules

Poker Variants

Texas Hold'em Poker Book reviews and discount sales

Pokersyte.com: Winning strategies for Holdem, Seven Stud, and Omaha poker games

Online Poker strategty and information (pokertips.org)

I stopped playing Football Manager as I wanted, no, needed to learn as this was something I was hoping to do for a long long time, and if thats the case you may as well learn the rules.

It didn't stop there though, as at that time there were 3 Telegraph qualifiers per night, 1 manchesteronline, various freerolls littered in between, and that was just BetFred! I was lucky enough to be able to play a lot of poker, and I paid attention to what players were doing, but I was on BetFred constantly. Pocket Lady was sat on my shoulder offering encouragement and advice (and distractions at times), and so in the end I threw her upstairs and told her to "Please allow me a little space in order to learn, oh light of my life".

So, off she goes upstairs, and on her second or third day of playing poker she managed to get to the last 10 of a qualifier and win a place in the final!!

Well obviously I was proud, and suggested she joined PL to become official, and fortunately the other forum members were typically supportive. Well, if telling me to pack it in and let Mrs V. take it up and I'll do the housework is supportive.

Anyway I managed to qualify for one of the two that P-L qualified for, but I still kept on playing and searching for poker rooms that had freerolls. One of the best apart from BetFred was Poker.com, and the standard was slightly better than I was used to, but it helped my game. There are other little features that can help bring you along too.

The two finals came and went, and I won $5, whilst Jamiebhoy picked up the big one. Mrs V did well in both, bearing in mind how long we'd been playing.

[Valiant23]

Okay, You've Won Some Money - What Do You Do Now?

As the weeks passed I did notice a slight improvement in my game, but every time I noticed this it had an adverse effect on my game, and is still something I'm struggling to come to terms with. At the moment there are peaks and troughs, which I need to 'iron out', but is all part of finding your own particular style. What works for Gaf? doesn't for brael, and what works for brael doesn't for frisky and so on, to an extent. Whenever I watch Pocket Lady and tell her to do what I'd do she loses more often than not.

What I did was to set myself a target. That was to win a freeroll, rather than just placing.

I was picking up a $ here and a few cents there, but I set myself that aim as an exam. If I could manage it, then I'd allow myself to look at other formats.

I managed it on the day after being released from hospital on Poker.com. The freerolls run every 2hrs, so if you do well in 1 you do find they run into each other. Well this particular evening I managed to finish 4th in the 7pm freeroll, winning about $4, which I was pleased about (the performance, not the cash). The only problem was I'd sat out of the 9pm one to concentrate. When I finished I started late on my freeroll and managed to turn it around and won. $25.01. Not the largest amount, but I beat 999 others for that. So I ended up being $30 better off. For nothing.

The feeling I had when I won was amazing. MUCH better than seeing a bet come in, because I had an influence over my own success, which you don't get in Sports betting unless you're a German referee.

[Valiant23]

Get Yourself An Online or E-Wallet

I wanted to be able to keep my poker cash away from my 'own' money, and saw adverts for Neteller and Citadel and other online payment systems (if you're familiar with Paypal, they're like that, but for gamblers). I chose Neteller almost at random to be truthful, but I've been pleased with their efficiency and customer service. They are extremely helpful and courteous.

So I opened my Neteller account and then started to draw my winnings to it, because poker.com had started to lose some of its appeal, purely because I was becoming more involved in other poker sites, such as Sporting odds and Blue Square. I was as nervous as hell because I was expecting the worst, but I ended up having a nice wedge (by my standards) sitting there waiting.

An exception to my 'keeping cash separate' rule occurred when Pocket Lady and I decided to join in with the monthly MTT's. Unfortunately Sporting Odds don't have Neteller facility, so we both transferred £10($17 approx.) from our bank into our Sporting odds poker accounts.

We have both had small wins in the dollar up and safety net MTT's on there.

Incidentally, some bookies automatically link your account between their sportsbook, casino and poker sites (such as Blue Sq), but with others you have to use customer support to transfer from sportsbook to poker (Sporting odds being one of these, in my experience).

[Valiant23]

How I Know I'm Not A Cash Player, and How Well I've Done

When you pay to enter a tournament you know exactly how much you are going to lose beforehand (the buy-in). After that you get a set amount of chips to use as you see fit, but with cash (or ring) games you take your bankroll to the table.

Now Sporting odds have a very good deposit bonus involving 'raked hands'. If you contribute to 150 hands where the house takes a rake they will credit your account with $30. Play another 400 and they give you $70. Now some people have done very well out of this, but I have done terribly. I played enough to unlock my bonus, but for now will stick to STT's and MTT's.

For a long time I kept a running total of my 'winnings for no investment' in my sig. I felt it was time to remove it as I have made an investment - £10. I can tell you that in the 4 months I've been playing poker I have made a profit of £150 or so.

As you can see I am trying (with good reason imo) to be very cautious about 'spending' on my poker, but this doesn't mean I won't ever. I now happily pay for low level STT's and MTT's.

If you want to have a go trying to build a bankroll this way, please feel free to post your progress here.

[legendkiller]

Cant beleive nobody has replied to this thread, its a very good read valiant.

Have you ever though of keep a poker blog? I've started one a week or so ago and the link is in my sig. I find it keeps things in perspective, and it gives an ongoing history of your play. I know af ew others that have done it and it has helped them resolve poker problems when they go through a rough patch as you are able to spot common subjects cropping up in your blog, thus allowing you to do something about it.

[GotaFancy?]

Originally Posted by legendkiller

Cant beleive nobody has replied to this thread, its a very good read valiant.

I think we're all speechless!!!!! A phenomenal piece of writing and an invaluable resource all newcomers on how to approach their poker!!!!

[The Quiet Man]

Mr V - you've got a novel going there!! No wonder you're working tonight as you're sure not working during the day!


Actually, I'm pretty sure that most of us can relate to your experiences and probably have similar tales to tell.

I know that I was very sceptical about Freerolls - 'no way can you win money without having to pay an entry fee' were my thoughts. We now know that Freerolls are just that - free.

As my 'wedge' has gotten a little bigger my thoughts have started to lean towards paying into MTT's but I'm still very hesitant as I don't think I'm a good enough player yet. I have dabbled in $2, $5 and a couple of $10 multies with limited success. I instantly regretted playing the $10 tables as I feel that's too much to pay when I don't feel very confident of getting in the money. (typical Aberdonian)

I also know that I play far too many tournies after working from 6.30am - 3pm and tiredness does cause you to make mistakes. I'm much better if I just enter 1 or 2 per day.

Anyway, don't know if this is making sense or not but having played Poker for less than 1 year I can see a massive improvement in my play and I hope that continues. In fact I can see improvement in almost every PuntersLounge player and I think the performances of everyone on the Dollar Up backs this up.

Anyway, thats enough for me - continued good luck to you and Pocket Lady in your quest to reach the superbowl, although it may be around 2025 at your current rate.

Cheers

TQM

[^Newbie^]

i have played poker for quite some time online and i have to say i am not really good at it . I depend a lot on lucks . So far , i have won something before .

Ladbrokes , forgot what freeroll was that . I was in 5th position . Took 50 USD from it i guess .

Bet365 - Their VIP Freeroll the 30,000 one . Placed 31th - Got 300 USD for that .
Their 5000 freeroll , got a couple of $5 wins for placing from 200 + .

That about sums up my poker career

[kevsul]

Well i started this week .. got most of my advice from GAF. to date i have finished 14 of more freerolls raning from position 150 to 350th out of a 1000 starters so i am getting there and i am only going to play in the freerolls untill i learn more about this great game. KEV

[AJ]

Mr V, great thread.

I'm just starting to get into poker, but don't want to risk much cash yet.

Thanks for the info about freerolls

[BillyHills]

Very refreshing thread MrV, well written and in plain 'english'.

Just lately all the new threads appear to be about 'Poker Tournaments' and how we are doing in them, i know thats what the forum is for but it is nice to see a thread like this once and a while. Keep it up.

I knew standing down from being a Poker Mod was a good idea, should have done it sooner!

[Valiant23]

Thanks everyone - mainly for not taking the p'ss too much (TQM ), but especially to legendkiller for bumping it.

I saw the blog in your sig., and loaded it in then had to go out before I had a chance to read it. I don't think I'm disciplined enough to keep a blog, as I was useless when it came to keeping a diary. I think that it has only been once or twice that I have been reluctant to post my demise, and I post the hand history if I'm puzzled or infuriated, or plain battered.

What I haven't mentioned is how poker seems to have become an all consuming passion for us both. We were almost evangelical whenever we talked to family and friends, because it has opened up a whole new world of entertainment and friends.

Oh and Billy Hills, you know very well the reason you packed in being a poker mod is because God wouldn't give you the extra day a week you need to fit it in with all of your other PL activities.

[^Newbie^]

wish there were more strategies on how to stay in the freeroll until money time .

Fantastic post mate with loads of good advice


When i started playing which was probably about a year ago now I opened several accounts with £10 each in them, some of them i managed to keep money in and some of them were emptied. Then i found freerolls and woohoo, for the last 6 months aside from SO i have not touched my own money and have been playing with the money i have made from freerolls. Not huge amounts but keeps me happy and able to play.

SO i opened and played to get the free $100 and that account is still well in credit and i had a good result on virgin poker, winning the $1000 freerole and taking home a new personal best of $275

I wish this post had been around a year ago and it is a great read for someone just starting to play,

WELL DONE MR V

[laidbackbloke]

Great post Mr V
When I started playing -a bit over a year ago- there were a fraction of the freerolls there are now. Its an excellent way for people to get into poker (and improve their game) without getting burned. You make the most mistakes when you are new to the game..................... so its a good idea to make them when it doesn't cost you much

[munki]

What a brilliant post Valiant . Well written and presents the perfect step by step guide for newbies like myself to learn about the game without having to pay for the privilege .