Getting Started: Buying In and Posting
It might seem at first as though buying in for the minimum is the safer choice, since that means you will be risking less. But that isn’t really the case. Playing “short-stacked” increases the likelihood that you will find yourself “all in” at an earlier point in your session -- or even in the first hand you play!
Last week we were talking about a few items worth considering once you've opened your account on Betfair Poker and decided to take a seat at a cash game. Continuing with our discussion of "pregame" considerations, there are a couple of other decisions to contemplate before you play that first hand.
Let's say you've decided to take a seat at a "micro" stakes no-limit hold'em table where the blinds are $0.02/$0.04. As we were saying last week, that's a fine place to start if you haven't played before. Or even if you have, it's not bad to begin with the micros if only to give yourself a chance to get acquainted with the client without risking too many pennies.
Okay, here comes another "pregame" decision... for what amount should you buy in?
Buying In
Believe it or not, deciding on a buy-in amount is actually a strategic decision. That is to say, what you choose here will directly affect other choices you'll be making once you start getting dealt hands.
Once you select a seat you'll be invited to select a buy-in amount, ranging from a minimum to a maximum. The standard maximum buy-in for most no-limit hold'em cash tables is 100 big blinds, meaning at a $0.02/$0.04 table the maximum amount with which you can begin will be $4. Meanwhile the minimum buy-in is 35 BB or $1.40.
It might seem at first as though buying in for the minimum is the safer choice, since that means you will be risking less. But that isn't really the case. Playing "short-stacked" increases the likelihood that you will find yourself "all in" at an earlier point in your session -- or even in the first hand you play!
Buying in short will certainly reduce the amount you can lose (or win) in a given hand, but you should also realize that doing so will increase the "luck" factor when you play. It can also reduce your options considerably once you get involved in a hand, which is another way of saying playing short-stacked reduces the "skill" involved in the game.
Let's say you buy in for the minimum -- 35 big blinds or $1.40 -- and pick up a hand like Ac-Qd in middle position. It folds to you and you decide to raise to 4 big blinds or $0.16. The table then folds around to the guy in the big blind who decides to reraise to $0.48. What do you do?
See the problem? Your stack is so short that if you just call here you have already committed more than a third of your chips before the flop. And now the pot is about a dollar, which is more than you have left behind!
The fact is, it's almost a "push-or-fold" situation for you already. Let's say, though, you do just call. When the flop comes, you really won't have much room to maneuver. If your opponent continues with a bet on the flop, you probably can't just call him, but will either have to fold or shove all in.
With a bigger stack, you have more room to operate and won't be in "push-or-fold" mode all the time. By the way, Betfair does offer a new variation called "Push'em" in which everyone is required to buy in for just 5 big blinds. Obviously Push'em is more of a gambling game, although there are "short-stacking" strategies that increase your chances of winning.
My general advice is to go ahead and buy in for the maximum. Give yourself room to play hands down to the river and be able to make solid strategic decisions on every street. You may eventually find you prefer buying in for a little less or maybe even taking the "short-stacked" approach, but if you really want to learn how to play poker well, I don't recommend it (despite my name!).
Posting
One other choice to make when you first sit down has to do with posting the big blind. Let's say you've found a full-ring game with one empty seat. You click on the seat and notice that for the current hand the big blind is way over on the other side. That hand ends, then you are given a choice either to go ahead and post an extra big blind and get dealt a hand right away, or wait until the big blind comes around to your seat to play.
Mathematically speaking, it probably doesn't matter too much whether you go ahead and toss out big blind from middle position or wait for the blinds to come around. If you get dealt a bad starting hand, you're probably just going to check and fold here, thereby losing your one big blind. Meanwhile, if you get a decent one you might check or raise here and get involved right away.
More often than not, though, you'll find yourself in a little bit of an awkward spot right away when you post out of turn. Also, you deprive yourself the opportunity to observe a few hands first before you get involved. You can learn a lot about your opponents' styles even after just a few hands of watching them, which can help you with your decision-making once you do start playing.
Thus do I recommend waiting for the big blind to come around rather than posting out of turn. Sure, it takes a little bit of patience, but actually patience is one of the most important skills you will want to develop as a poker player.
And speaking of developing your skills, we'll get into some other cash game strategy advice for those getting started next time, including understanding the importance of position.