I started poker in early April and ever since then I've been losing money in it, not alot, maybe in the 1k range by depositing 20-50 USD at a time on pokerstars.

So far I've lost literally every time(obviously been up too but lost the whole amount overall) but I feel like this has given me an okay understanding of online poker for a beginner as I've tried out literally everything at this point(sngs,mtt's, cashgames etc played all of those quite a bit) and the amount I've lost is definitely something I could easily earn back if I started taking the game seriously.

I've now dedicated myself to learning poker, bankroll management and other important aspects of the game by starting to read books on poker and just generally educating myself whenever possible. Browsing here too obviously.

Should I keep on playing at stakes appropriate for my bankroll size(I don't currently have one but I am thinking of depositing $1,000) and not go higher or is it a better idea to stop poker overall until I read atleast a few books and play after? I'm really not sure because the online competition is really tough and I am not sure if I can regularly win even at the lowest stakes.

For anyone reading this who has once been in a similar position or have any general noob advice is very welcome and I'll greatly appreciate it. This is my first time

quick response......stay at lowest levels until you can win consistently. No reason to burn through your training budget (bankroll is a bit of a misnomer for a beginner)

Like most people, I started with the ambition of playing for fun, with the aim of maybe winning. Fun was the point. Since I didn't get destroyed, and found learning strategy was interesting, I put the work in. I started with a deposit of $32 and never went broke though. Losing $1000 is unthinkable to a bankroll nit like me. I'd guess you're playing stakes that have a skill level way beyond you.
If you're new to online poker, you should start with 2NL or 5NL, or tourneys with buy-ins of up to $1, as even a hundred bucks will last you a few weeks or months in the nanostakes. If you jump into 25NL or higher, you'll get crushed.
All this depends upon how much you are prepared to lose with your "hobby". If $1000 is nothing to you, then by all means keep depositing that amount. If you want to actually win, play much much lower and never risk more than 5% of your roll on any particular table.

I knew that I was losing alot but the small deposits I made I never saw them as my "bankroll", more like just some spare cash to have fun with for a few hours. This is exactly what I'm looking and already in progress to change.

And you are totally right, I obviously played way above my skill level in like 50NL cash games without any previous experience but I guess at that point I was just having fun with the game and wasn't taking it seriously.

How long on average does a player have to play/learn before being able to beat the stakes you mentioned? I know it varies highly between people and how much time you invest into it but just a general idea would be helpful. It sort of seems realistic there are people who have played poker for years playing at those 2NL/5NL online cash games

From a standing start (no knowledge of poker) you could probably learn to beat 100NL in one year if you treated it like a proper job and did 40 hours a week of playing and studying, but the regs at 500NL zoom have already done 10,000 hours, so they are so far ahead as to be out of sight.
For most people starting at the bottom today, 50NL (on Stars) is an almost impossible dream, but 10NL and 25NL are eminently beatable if you put the work in, while 2NL is still beatable by playing a very straightforward ABC style.

or, and i'll mention it quietly, we could just play games other than nlhe that haven't been analysed to death

This seems like an overly pessimistic take to me. Imo no way someome actually working that hard wouldn't be a solid 200 winner in a year, and likely wouldn't be crushed in a lot of 500z fields. Thing is too many regs study 10 or 15% and play 90% which just isn't the recipe for real improvement. Granted you won't get to world-class reg level, but you don't need to be.

I do think getting past 10nl takes more work than the average rec is likely to put in, though. I doubt most new players will last to the point where they can compete at 50, though with 20 hrs of work (play/study/coaching) a week for a year I think it's definitely achievable.

Putting in manageable amounts of “fun money” that you can afford is fine. Your “bankroll” really does not exist yet and you are learning.

However, you should be playing the smallest stakes available. Otherwise none of this makes sense and you are spewing money, for fun or otherwise.


Personally, it took me 7 deposits of 50.00 each to become profitable, which took about 3 months.

If you have a job, bills are paid, etc, then stay at the micros and concentrate on getting better, don’t worry about how many times you redeposit.

If you get frustrated and the experience is very negative, then just quit and find a better hobby.

Don't waste your time at the nanos. At least play for stakes where winning a buyin is somewhat meaningful. You will be more motivated to learn and the other players styles are more similar.

If you have $1000 to invest into poker, divide it into 4 20 buy in shots of 200 to learn to beat $10. If it doesen't work out then take the last 200 to the $2 level.

It will probably take a year or two. The field gets better all the time, so it isn't as easy to climb the stakes now as it was in the past