The Poker Food Chain, Part 1

Thanks for the idea Jason.

Do you play in a casino, home game or online? Do you want to move up the poker ladder? This is what I think is important about moving up in each case:

Home games are the easiest to beat. If you are beating a home game regularly, don’t get too excited yet. You still have some work. If you are playing a 3-6 limit game at someone’s house vs. a casino, you don’t have to overcome the rake. Imagine coming to my house to play a $3-$6 game, and I tell you that after 10 hours, someone will be winning $600 and it won’t be you. That’s pretty tough when most people buy in to a $3-$6 game for $100. If you have 9 players, there’s only $900 available less the $600 drop, less the $100 you started with. That leaves only $200 to spread around the other 8 players. If you are breaking even in your home game, stay right there, Dan. Sklansky has written some excellent stuff on this topic and this might even be his example.

Casino poker games, in my opinion, are much tougher than home games and not just because of the rake …

In casinos, you don’t as often get the guy who shows up because his buddies are playing poker down the street and he plops down $100 to be one of the boys. When someone takes their game to the casino, they really want to beat some strangers out of some cash. I believe that if you are breaking even in these small casino games that you are doing quite well. Kristy Gazes wrote something about moving up that I believe has a lot of merit. I don’t remember it exactly but it goes something like this: If you win 3 times in a row, move up in limit. If you lose 3 times in a row, move down. Simple.

Some people think the internet is easy to beat. I don’t. Moving up in limit on the internet is too easy. The internet is the easiest way to lose your whole bankroll. If you think the rake is tough in a casino, the internet is the power rake. I know so many good/great casino players that can’t beat the internet. If you want to move up on the internet, you must limit your buy-ins to avoid going broke. There are many big names that have gone broke on the internet for huge money.

One last thought before I summarize. What is your bankroll? Can you move up in limit and take a couple of shots without putting yourself out of action? If the answer is yes, I say take a shot at the higher game. Cash is a poker players’ most important asset. You must guard it like its Fort Knox.

What does all this mean? Move up when you are winning and can afford it. That will put you in the proper mindset while playing. In order to make money consistently playing poker, you have to end up playing in a game where your share of the rake is less than 1 small bet per hour.