I should have never loaded Party Poker

[Gary Gorski]

So I finally joined the 21st century here and loaded Party on my machine today. Play money only just to see what it was like so I join a 10 +1 single table play money tournament.

Im down to the final two short stacked - my $300 vs his $7770. 32 hands later I've won the tournament and a cool $50 in play chips (whoo hoo!)

Of course the problem is now that I made that improbable comeback I'm ready to break out the credit card and play for real which I will probably end up getting slaughtered doing. Any advice from you poker gurus on where to start when playing real money? Should I just play some cheap hands at first or dive right in to a tournament?

[cartman]

There are differering opinions on how to make the dive into real money play.

My suggestion is to start in the small tournaments, especially Sit and Goes. The reason for this is that your risk is limited to the buy in of the tournament. If you play on the micro/small limit tables, you will see people doing almost anything to stay in the pots. If you move to the higher limit tables, even just $1/$2 or $2/$4, you can lose a lot of money in a hurry.

[Maple Leafs]

So does Party Poker offer actual tournaments for play money? And if so, do people play realistically (because of the nature of the game)?

I've been playing Poker Stars play money tables for "practice" but I find it useless because of everyone is hyper-aggressive (and why not, you can have more free chips whenever you want). Would Party Poker be a better spot for someone who wants to play for fun?

[Huckleberry]

So does Party Poker offer actual tournaments for play money? And if so, do people play realistically (because of the nature of the game)?

I've been playing Poker Stars play money tables for "practice" but I find it useless because of everyone is hyper-aggressive (and why not, you can have more free chips whenever you want). Would Party Poker be a better spot for someone who wants to play for fun?
No. It's just as bad at Party Poker. My wife tried to play on the free tables to learn, and I watched 4 hands where something like 35 of 40 possible players saw the flop.

Unfortunately, the best way I've found to practice poker is IRL with friends (low money) or family (free).

[Farrah Whitworth-Rahn]

Of course the problem is now that I made that improbable comeback I'm ready to break out the credit card and play for real which I will probably end up getting slaughtered doing.
If you're not slaughtered in play, I'm sure your wife will kick your ass.:D

[Gary Gorski]

Yeah Im finding it to be pointless to play the play money tables. Like four people went all in the 1st hand of the last tournament I did. Guess I'm going to have to take the plunge and put a couple of bucks in an account to get a good game.

[Gary Gorski]

If you're not slaughtered in play, I'm sure your wife will kick your ass.:D

Only if I lose - she's not as mean to me as you are to Arlie :D

[Farrah Whitworth-Rahn]

Only if I lose - she's not as mean to me as you are to Arlie :D
Arlie has free will, and his own credit cards. He could certianly sign up for accounts like these if he wanted to.

I don't crack the whip on silly things like this.

[Gary Gorski]

Arlie has free will, and his own credit cards. He could certianly sign up for accounts like these if he wanted to.

I don't crack the whip on silly things like this.

Sure, that's what you all say. There are too many men here who have been married too long to fall for that line :p

[Farrah Whitworth-Rahn]

Sure, that's what you all say. There are too many men here who have been married too long to fall for that line :p
Seriously. He's been playing some sort of online poker lately so I know he loaded it. I don't care as long as he's not using my money.

[Farrah Whitworth-Rahn]

I'm just teasing Farrah - I know that you're not the meanie you pretend to be online :)
Yes I am. Shut the hell up. :p

[Gary Gorski]

I'm just teasing Farrah - I know that you're not the meanie you pretend to be online :)

[timmynausea]

I think for practice freerolls are a little better than play money tables. There is still some pretty wild play in the early stages, but once people calm down there is actually a prize at stake so the play tightens up. Plus I just think multi-table tournaments are cooler, but that's just me.
Here's a huge freeroll schedule.
http://www.sweetfreerolls.com

[Subby]

Hey Gary -

I will echo what Timmy said - if you like tourneys better than ring play...try freerolls.

I would also recommend reading this outstanding <a href="http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=602767&page=&view=&sb=5&o=">sit and go strategy guide</a> for beginners.

[Subby]

doal

BonusWhores.com also has a really nice tournament database <a href="http://www.bonuswhores.com/poker-tournaments.php">here</a>.

[Lathum]

I think playing the free tables is a great way to learn the flow of the game and basic strategy, but if you have even half a brain you will pick up the game pretty quickly and once that happens it can be really frustrating losing to 9-3 suited because someone chased a flush.

Now the problem is once you start playing for real there are still people that chase hands and play badly, so in the short term you can lose money, but if you play smart over the long run things will work out in your favor. Depending on the stakes you want to play, you can deposit $50 in an account and that can last for months.

[BrianD]

I haven't been able to get up the courage to play real money yet, but the larger freeroll tournaments can still be pretty enjoyable. The 5-table sit-and-go tourneys tend to be pretty poor...enough so that I can win more often than not (and my play is ok at best). The 3000-6000 seat freeroll tournaments are a different story. The first 5 hands tend to knock out about 10% of the field, and the field will be cut in half after 1 hour. Beyond that, play seems fairly realistic. I've managed to finish "in the money", but never terribly high.

I keep hoping that I can do well enough in the weekly Poker Stars freeroll tourney to actually win real money and make my fortune from there.

[lighthousekeeper]

I wouldn't break out the credit cards just yet. After seeing a post somewhere (not sure if it was here), I used www.freefiftydollars.com to get $50 free dollars for joining Party Poker (you don't need to add any of your own real money). I couldn't believe it but it really was legit - the only thing is that you really need to follow the instructions on their site. I'm not sure if it is still paying out, but it did 2 months ago when I used it.

(I guess it's only in those severly addictive things like gambling and crack cocaine that can they afford to give you your first taste for free...)


But anyway I got the free $50, and started playing. I eventually gambled that money up to $120, only to evetually lose it all in a kamakazi like nosedive one night. But it made for some exciting nights playing with real money that I felt wasn't even mine.


Then this week Party Poker had another deal where they give you $20 free if you play 200 raked hands. I played 4 hours last night, turning that $20 into $88. I'll probably be playing with this money until I lose it all again.



All this was done without ever using any of my own money or giving them my credit card info. I'd say that's the way you should go.

[stevew]

I wouldn't break out the credit cards just yet. After seeing a post somewhere (not sure if it was here), I used www.freefiftydollars.com to get $50 free dollars for joining Party Poker (you don't need to add any of your own real money). I couldn't believe it but it really was legit - the only thing is that you really need to follow the instructions on their site. I'm not sure if it is still paying out, but it did 2 months ago when I used it.

(I guess it's only in those severly addictive things like gambling and crack cocaine that can they afford to give you your first taste for free...)


But anyway I got the free $50, and started playing. I eventually gambled that money up to $120, only to evetually lose it all in a kamakazi like nosedive one night. But it made for some exciting nights playing with real money that I felt wasn't even mine.


Then this week Party Poker had another deal where they give you $20 free if you play 200 raked hands. I played 4 hours last night, turning that $20 into $88. I'll probably be playing with this money until I lose it all again.



All this was done without ever using any of my own money or giving them my credit card info. I'd say that's the way you should go.

Now that he registered, he cant really use free fifty.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Depending on the stakes you want to play, you can deposit $50 in an account and that can last for months.

I'll vouch for that -- my original $50 deposit has dwindled to about $10, but I've pretty much played whenever I wanted to in the past 3 months, and I've gotten my entertainment value out of it well enough to suit me. I've also gotten a lot better* than when I started & probably am comfortable enough to begin to move away from the mini-micro limits where I've lived most of the time (.02/.04 L or .01/.02 NL) and start doing more $5+1 Sit-n-Go's.

*Make no mistake, people who know their stuff would clean my clock in a hurry, but I still play much better than I did three months ago. I now actually see people that I consider fish ... which prolly makes them really scary bad players.

[BrianD]

I wouldn't break out the credit cards just yet. After seeing a post somewhere (not sure if it was here), I used www.freefiftydollars.com to get $50 free dollars for joining Party Poker (you don't need to add any of your own real money). I couldn't believe it but it really was legit - the only thing is that you really need to follow the instructions on their site. I'm not sure if it is still paying out, but it did 2 months ago when I used it.


Does anybody else have experience with this? It sounds like a decent deal, but just feels odd.

[Subby]

Does anybody else have experience with this? It sounds like a decent deal, but just feels odd. It's legit. They are an affiliate, so they get money from Party Poker when you play (in the form of a percentage of your rake).

The fifty dollars they give you is a small price to pay if you end up playing a lot at that site - because they will make that $50 back exponentially. A 15/30 limit player pays tens of thousands of dollars per year in rake, for example. Hell, you would be shocked how much a 2/4 player pays.

[jbmagic]

If he only sign up for partypoker and never put money in it. he is allowed to create a new account, different email and be able to deposit real money into it and take advantage of the promotion out there.

i know a great one and legit its called InstantBankroll.
hxxp://www.instantbankroll.com/

they wil give you free $75 dollars deposit to your party poker account. then you have to play 500 raked hands there and they will deposit another $25 dollars into your account. Once you do the raked hands , your allow to withdrawal.

to qualify for raked hands at partypoker , you have to play .50/1 or higher limit holdem.

it really works, i got my $75 dollars and i lasted the 500 raked hands.. i only had $5 left, but once i did the raked 500 hands they added the $25 dollars. so i end up making $30 dollars that i was able to keep.


i withdrawal the money out and going to play at pokerstars and start on a lower low limit like .02/.04 or .05/.10. i think starting out on a very low limit is better for a beginner and playing limit holdem. playing at those real money level is way better than playing with fake money. the quality of play is a little better.

the only reason i play at .50/1 level when i started out was for the free money :). But its kinda hard if your brand new to limit holdem. i just glad i was able to last after 500 raked hands to get some free money.

[stevew]

.10/.20 Pot limit is what ive been playing lately. Seems to be a good place to make some money.

[Gary Gorski]

Well its too late for me at party but are there programs like this for PokerStars?

[Airhog]

Sounds like a good deal, but im too lazy to call some number, and I dont feel like giving the other site my home number.

[OldGiants]

Forgive a real newbie question, but what is a 'raked hand?' I understand the rake is the casino share of a pot, but why is it necessary to say a 'raked hand?"

Is there such a thing as an 'unraked hand?' What would that be?

[jbmagic]

Forgive a real newbie question, but what is a 'raked hand?' I understand the rake is the casino share of a pot, but why is it necessary to say a 'raked hand?"

Is there such a thing as an 'unraked hand?' What would that be?


because a hand you play could be raked if the pot is a reach a certain amount.

so an unraked hand is a pot that doesnt get rake because total pot amount is too low.

it various on different poker sites and the level you play at.