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Choosing Your Buy-In for Online No-Limit Games

by Matt Lessinger

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Today marks my two-year anniversary of writing for the Online Poker News. I want to say thanks to all of you for reading my articles, and for the many e-mails you've sent me with questions and comments.

Now to the subject of the day. No-limit cash games used to be exactly that: no limit whatsoever. If you wanted to put $10,000 on the table, it was your prerogative. But now, almost all no-limit games, both on land and online, have a cap on the buy-in (although I believe the concept first became popular online). In almost every online no-limit game, the minimum buy-in is 20 times the big blind, while the maximum buy-in is 100 times the big blind. So, if you are looking to play in a $1-$2 no-limit game, you can buy in for anywhere from $40 to $200.

Let's say you have $100 that you are willing to invest in an online no-limit game. You could enter a game with $2-$4 blinds for barely more than the minimum. Or, you could enter a game with 50 cent-$1 blinds for the maximum allowable buy-in. Which one should you choose? Either one is OK, but it really depends on your goals and your playing abilities.

Reasons to Choose the $2-$4 Game

• You have less time to play.

• You are in more of a mood to gamble.

• You suspect you might not be the best player at the table, and you want to take a shot at getting lucky.

• You are not confident in your play after the flop.

As all of those reasons suggest, $100 does not give you much room to maneuver in a no-limit game with $2-$4 blinds. You will probably need to choose a hand and go with it. Your best hopes are to catch a strong hand early in your session, and get someone to gamble with you. That way, you could double up while your stack is still large, which will put you at $200 or close to it.

But, if you don't get that strong hand early on, one of two things will happen, neither of them good. Either you will force the action by playing a semistrong hand, which will probably leave you in the position of needing to get lucky, or you will go a few rounds without playing a hand. Paying $6 worth of blinds per round, your chips will disappear fairly quickly. Let's say after five rounds you finally find a strong hand. That means you've already had $30 of your $100 blinded off, and maybe more if you decided to see a flop or two with marginal holdings. So, even if you double up, you're only doubling what you have left, which might not leave you with much more than your original $100. And that's only if you win the hand! Nothing says that you will automatically win with a premium hand, even if you've waited five rounds for it.

Moreover, your stack doesn't really give you the freedom to bluff. Sure, you can fire one shot before the flop or on the flop, but if you get called, you have nothing to back it up. You always want to have the freedom to fire a second barrel, especially if you sense weakness in an opponent. Otherwise, you're in the position of always having to produce the best hand, and that restricts your options tremendously.

Reasons to Choose the 50 cent-$1 Game

• You have the time to wait patiently for good hands.

• You don't want to take unnecessary risks.

• You want your results to depend more on skill than luck.

• You are confident that you can outplay your opponents after the flop.

Predictably, all of those reasons are exactly the opposite of the reasons to play in the $2-$4 game. You have plenty of room to maneuver, and you don't have to commit yourself to your first decent hand. Even if you go four or five rounds without finding a playable hand, it'll cost you less than 10 percent of your stack. You'll still have the chance to find a strong hand, double through an opponent, and generate a nice profit.

You must be sure, though, that you are comfortable playing after the flop in a no-limit game, because you will be doing it a lot. There is only $1.50 in blind money for the taking, so you'll rarely encounter any preflop raises higher than $5. That means the vast majority of your stack will be in play after the flop, which might not be something you're used to if you've played a lot of tournaments instead of live games. Among other things, it means that not only will you have the opportunity to bluff, opponents will also have the chance to bluff at you. If that takes you outside your comfort zone, then maybe the $2-$4 game is your better choice.

Of Course, There is Always $1-$2

If one game seems too big and the other too small, then maybe a game with $1-$2 blinds would be just right (kind of like the baby bear's porridge). When I buy into a no-limit game with $100, $1-$2 is normally my game of choice. The first thing I do is evaluate the opposition. If they seem unusually tough, I can go find a different game, and I had only $100 at risk during the time it took me to make that decision. On the other hand, if the game seems soft, I have the option to add another $100 to my stack. That offers me some maneuverability versus opponents against whom I have confidence.

No matter what game you choose, the most important thing is that you feel comfortable. However much money you put into play, there is the possibility that you could lose it in one hand, so always keep that in mind. Of course, you can always double your stake in one shot, too; such is the appeal of no-limit. But in general, my advice would be to sit down in a live no-limit game only when you have time to sit there awhile. Poker, especially no-limit hold'em, is a game of patience. Make sure you have some, and then buy in for a large enough amount that your patience works in your favor. If you have only a few minutes, and you're looking to double your money fast, you might be better off playing craps instead.

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