Poker games are extremely addictive to play. You can play it in ample ways. And, cash poker buyin is one of them. Usually, on the limit tables, the minimum and maximum buy-in is fixed. It depends upon the house rules. On the other hand, we have no limit tables too. Now here is the dilemma of how much cash to add.
First of all, there is a huge strategic difference between fixed-limit and no-limit poker games. The lesser the amount of bet is, the lower the strategic influence is. There are certain factors affecting the decision of how much to buy-in. The following are three of them.
Total cash you own
As we all know that such games are highly addictive. And, there are times when losing makes you aggressive. The player just tries to win back the amount he or she lost. This emotionally weak state ends up in buy-in in more than you own. Which is one of the biggest mistakes a poker player can make. As advice, poker buyin should be just between ten to fifteen percent of the total bankroll. But of course, the house will not agree with it due to some obvious reasons. Also, you must use the smaller fraction. In order to avoid the risk of losing them all.
How long can you play?
This is the second factor on which the poker buyin amount depends upon. Let’s say, you need to be somewhere. And, you just have an hour or two to kill. Therefore you are looking for a poker game. As you will be in a hurry, you might want to make a bigger bet. And, get over with it as soon as possible. But, this is definitely not a good strategy. In fact, one must start with a smaller poker buyin. And, wait for the right time to bet big. That is the best thing to do. But, if you do not have time for that. Still, just stick to the smaller ones.
Your level of the game as compared to your opponent
There are times when you think you are the best. Which is definitely what no poker player should say. Now let us imagine that we have an unlimited supply of bankrolls. Also, there is nowhere to go. This means you have ample time. So, now we will look for the third factor. Which is keeping a check on the other players. You need to understand the skill level of opponents. If you are better than everyone at the table. You can go for a deep stack. On the other hand, if you are competing with pros then you must start with smaller poker buyin.
Let’s take an example. You have one thousand dollars in total. During the game, with a flop in your hand. You placed a bet for $950. The opponent raised it to $1000. Now, you either need to go all in or fold. As you have only $50 remaining. The decision-making of putting it all in is easy. But, if your betting amount is just $500 and the rest of the conditions are the same. It will be much more difficult to make this decision. And, the chances will be, you fold.
So, if your opponent is more skilled than you, go for a smaller poker buyin. However, you will earn a lot with bigger bets if you can overcome the skill of other players.
Conclusion
If you have small buy-in in poker. You will have to make all the decisions, before or during the flop. Because the opponent can raise it to the extent where you might have to go all in. But, the good thing is you can make those decisions quite easily as compared to deep stack issues. As it will not affect your pocket much. You can buy-in again for the next game. But, it does not mean that you go all in every time.
Once you start with a small buy-in amount. You can have a look over the other players’ games. And, grasp their skillset, their nature of playing, raising amount, and many more things. This will help you to avoid greater loss. Once you know them all, you can have a large amount of poker buyin.
Remember, this will not assure you win. Instead, it will avoid losing your hard-earned money at the very beginning. So, stay put and keep your mind open.
Good luck with the game. Have fun.
