Poker
Strategy: How Much to Buy In With
Buying in is the second
decision you must make when joining a poker
table (choosing your seat is the first). The
amount you buy in with affects many aspects of
your game, including how you play, what types of
cards you play and the size of the pots you
play. The question of buy-in amounts is probably
one of the most neglected aspects of poker
strategy.
Depending on the casino, you
can buy in from anywhere between 20 big blinds
and on up to no maximum. Online poker sites tend
to cap no-limit buy-ins at 100-200 big blinds
while fixed limit games don’t have buy-in
limits.
No Limit Buy-in Amounts
If you are a good, winning
player, you should buy in with as much money as
possible. The last thing you want to do is limit
your potential winnings by buying in with less
money than other people at the table. Every once
in a while, you’ll find a fish or a maniac with
a huge stack and you’ll be glad you bought in
for the max.
You will want to be careful
when buying in to no cap games, though. No
maximum games tend to attract more sharks than
regular games with maximum buy-ins. Ultra deep
stack poker can be very difficult when playing
against skilled poker players. The threat of
losing massive stacks adds a whole new dimension
to the game.
A good safe average for
players is to buy in for 100 big blinds. This
gives you enough room to maneuver but it’s not
such a large stack that a loss is devastating.
At online no limit tables, 100 big blind buy-ins
are the most common. This means that in a game
of $0.50/$1.00, they buy in for $100.
Some players buy in to no
limit games with extremely short stacks of 20-40
big blinds. That’s just a waste of time because
those players aren’t able to place any bets
beyond a preflop raise and an all-in bet on the
flop. Short stacked players are usually very bad
at poker so if you find yourself up against one
of them, just play a tight, straightforward
game.
Fixed Limit Buy-in Amounts
Because fixed limit doesn’t
have a maximum buy-in amount, the only thing you
need to worry about is the minimum recommended
buy-in amount. At the very minimum, you want to
have enough money at the table to cover a pot in
which every street is capped. That way, you
never face the risk of running out of money in
the middle of a hand and not winning as much as
you could have.
You’ll also want to add a
little buffer to your buy-in amount so you don’t
have to reload every time you lose a few chips
to the blinds or a pot. An average minimum for
fixed limit players is about 20-30 big bets.
That will give you enough room to play a few
pots without having to reload.
Some casual players prefer to
just buy in with whatever they are comfortable
to lose in one night. That way, they know when
to stop and call it a night. This strategy is
useful because it keeps things nice and simple.
When it comes to tracking your gambling
expenditures, nice and simple is always a smart
idea.
