What type of poker should I play?

Dear Antonio,

I just wanted to say thanks for being so cool. I played a table with you at E3 at the Yahoo booth. You were great to all of us! After I got a straight, I stood up and borrowed your celebration wave. Hope you didn’t mind.

We had small talk but I later regretted not asking you real educational poker questions. I’ve been playing online (play money) and home games (for small change). At what point should I step foot in a real card room? And when I do, what type of table should I play (e.g. tournament, no rebuys, nl, pl, shooter)? My short-term goal is to place high in $100-$200 buy in tournaments. My ultimate goal is to play you heads up for a bracelet!

Eric

Hi Eric,

Seems to me you’re just about ready to break your card room cherry. Start with small buy-in tournaments and sort of feel your way along. Don’t be scared that they’re a bunch of sharks out there. Trust me, they’re no different than you — just maybe more experienced, that’s all. As for cash games, a lot of rooms these days have cheap fixed buy-in no limit games ($100 or maybe even just $40). Those are good too for getting your feet wet. Good luck with your goals — just don’t expect to get that bracelet too easily!

· Antonio