ONLINE POKER TOP10 Beginner’s Tips No Limit Hold ‘em - Part II - Moving Up in Limits

Now it is time to map out your route to be a successful poker player.

When you first sit down in a game, never post a blind out of turn. Usually when you first enter the game, you won't be in the Big Blind position. Therefore you will be given the option of posting a Big Blind (BB) out of turn and being dealt in, or waiting for the BB to reach you. Never post the BB out of turn, a single BB may not seem like much money, but over time it adds up to quite a bit and needlessly damages your Bankroll.

When playing online, most poker programs have a box you can check which is usually titled 'Wait for Big Blind.’ By checking this box, you are telling the poker software program that you want to wait for the BB to come to you instead of posting it.

When sitting in a game, remember your goal should be to catch a big hand and make as much profit out of it as you can. After you accomplish this, you can cash out, adding more money to your Bankroll and getting one step further towards your goal of moving up in limits.

To begin your poker career, starting with a $50 Bankroll, you will start playing at a NLH $0.05/$0.10 table. With the size of your Bankroll, this is the only limit you can afford to play until you build up your Bankroll.  Your buy-in is $2.00 and the Small Blind (SB) for this limit is $0.05 and the BB is $0.10. Play this limit until you have $150 in your Bankroll, then you move up to $0.10/$0.25 limit.

Your second step is a NLH $0.10/$0.25 limit game where you will buy in for $5.00.
The BB is $0.25 and the SB is $0.10. When you have $300 in your Bankroll, you will move up to a $0.25/$0.50 limit table. If however you lose and your Bankroll falls to $60 or less, you must move back to the $0.05/$0.10 tables.

When playing $0.25/$0.50 limit, the buy-in is $10.00 and the BB is $0.50 with a SB of $0.25. You will play at this limit until you have $600 in your Bankroll at which time you will move up to the $0.50/$1.00 limit tables. If however your Bankroll falls to $150 or less, you need to move back down to $0.10/$0.25 limit.

Successful poker players know that a poker career encompasses one big, long game. You will not make progress everyday or at every limit. The key to being a winning player is knowing how to handle setbacks, so that you can afford to keep playing until you reach your goals.  By using Bankroll Management to budget and limit your overall losses, moving down a limit when you've lost too much and moving up when you can afford to, you will find success at the poker tables in the long run.

To recap the Short Stack Strategy, the basic principles to follow are:

•    Move up a limit when you have 30 buy-ins for that limit in your bankroll.
•    Move down a limit when you have 30 buy-ins or less for that limit left in your bankroll.
•    Play at tables with at least seven (7) other players and no more than two other short stacks.
•    Always buy-in for 20 BBs and reload when you have 15 BBs or less.
•    Never post the BB out of turn.
•    Leave the table as soon as you reach the goal of 25 BBs or more.