Because books can be critically analysed as good or bad I recommend getting two to three texts teach you the basics of poker. Buying a book like the Theory of Poker by David Sklansky is also good reading to understand some of the math fundamentals that are true to every poker variation. After you have studied your first three or so poker books then now is the time to sign up for a poker room like bwin.com, familiarise yourself with the software and games and become comfortable in the play money games. Do not risk money just yet and do not worry about your results at the play tables, they are not a true reflection of poker.

So you have the basics now. You understand the betting rules and that a flush beats a pair. Poker is easy to learn and difficult to master and now we set about moving slowly towards a good grasp of strategy. At this point I would watch some of the poker television shows like High Stakes Poker, where you can watch some of the best cash game players in the world play Texas Hold ‘em and then watch some of the poker tournament shows. This shows you professionals going about their business. Remember that the TV only shows the interesting hands, a lot of poker is raise and fold. Position and patience are key ingredients to winning poker. Whilst only interesting hands are shown you are getting information from the commentators and the action which you can think about and work out why they did what they did in the hands.

After you have watched some poker you are now ready to play a little yourself. Before you deposit, read and understand bankroll management. Deposit something relatively small into the poker room of your choice and learn about the poker rooms various bonuses you can earn through playing at their site. You should also sign up through either a rakeback provider or be fully aware of the benefits of the poker rooms own VIP programme.

Start by playing one table at a time and play some cash games, some sit and go’s and some larger poker tournaments. Research each discipline on the Internet and get experience in each type of game keeping a note of what you struggle with and what you seem to do well. This will make interesting reading as you get more experienced. Sign up with a poker strategy forum and read the posts made by more experienced players, but remember that they may not always be right in what they are saying.

At this point you may find it beneficial to sign up with a site like Cardrunners, Poker VT or Stox Poker that offer video poker training. You may find it better to get a personal poker coach or you may prefer to go it alone. This all depends on how you prefer to learn. The poker training sites will be useful if you want to play more than one table and their strategies will help you realise this wish more quickly by bringing you up to speed with key poker strategies you will need to multi-table. You should also try a bit of live poker and read about tells and putting opponents on hands. There is always one more thing to learn in poker!

Practising good bankroll management and remembering everything from the books, videos and forums that you have read and watched you can start applying these things to your play at the poker tables. Do hand history reviews with an experienced player to highlight your leaks and make the changes necessary to plug those leaks as quickly as you can. Think about the game when you are away from the table and read the poker magazines and enter hand discussion competitions. Take every opportunity to learn about hands and how to play them.

Soon you will be a real force in poker if you follow this sort of step by step process to learning how to play poker.

By Malcolm Clarke

Let us assume that you are starting with a bankroll of $220 as an amateur player. This is not a massive amount of money and on my blog I recommended that even if you cannot afford this amount you save $55 for four months or $110 for two months and use that time to swot up on poker strategy before you begin to play.

$220 is my minimum poker bankroll for decent stakes. There is always the danger of being trapped at a low limit forever if you get too comfortable or do not put in the required volume to move up. $200 allows you to play $2 SNG’s and to take into account the rake you pay for each tournament. This is very important and explains why my bankroll requirement is not $200 as I like a full one hundred buy-ins.

You should play $2.20 SNG’s four tables at a time using solid SNG poker strategy. Read books and learn about ICM, push fold ranges and all the other SNG specific things you need to be aware of. You should be able to beat these types of SNG over time and when your bankroll increases to $440 you can play two tables at the higher level of $5.50 and two tables at $2.20. If you get to $550 you should move up fully to the four tables of $5.50 SNG’s and hopefully move up permanently with good results. If you fall below $350 in your bankroll go back to $2.20 tournaments only. Slowly moving up in levels until eventually you are playing four $10 SNG’s and have a bankroll of $1100 keeps you firmly within the rules and keeps you in the game. You can play up to eight tables at once if you wish but this depends on your own tolerance.

Continue to move up to the $20 SNG’s if you wish and by this time your bankroll should be above the $2200 point. In fact you should only play $20 SNG’s if you reach this point. If you choose to go professional you can use the SNG at high volume if you are successful to grind out good poker profits. At a 10% ROI your earnings playing 1000 sit and go poker tournaments per month would be $2000 per month profit. A 15% ROI (attainable for a good player) would be worth $3000 per month. Many players grind out up to 3000 SNGs in one month which is a hard grind but they earn $9000 or more each month. To reach this level you would need to be 12 – 15 tabling the SNG’s for many hours which personally for me is something I could not mentally handle for that long everyday. The swings can also be pretty fierce.

If you have a good job there is no reason that with two hours per night at $10 SNG’s you could not make an extra $250 – $500 per month for yourself this way. It is important you have a good bankroll strategy so you can always stay in the game and not risking going bust.

By Malcolm Clarke