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Tips and Tricks for a Successful Start

You can start playing as soon as you have received your $50 starting capital from PokerStrategy.com.

The next steps

• Set up your software
• Find a good table: FL, NL, SnG
• Climb up the limits
• Learn to start playing at multiple tables
• Clear your $50 starting capital and $600 First Deposit Bonus

You can find more tips for getting started at PokerStars and talk to experienced players at the PokerStars Forum at PokerStrategy.com:

Go to the discussion forum: Tips for getting started at PokerStars

Set up your software

There are a number of extras (four-colored cards, for example) that you can activate in the software. The next section will show you how this works and what you might find helpful while playing.

Using a four-colored deck
Even the most experienced players can miss a flush because they didn't see the cards right. You can avoid mistaking a spade for a club by using a four-colored card deck.

• Open the Lobby (the main window).
• Click on Options in the menu above.
• Activate 4 Color Deck.
  

Save your hand histories
In order to use programs like PokerStrategy.com's Elephant to analyse your game and see your opponents' stats, you need to save your hand histories to your hard drive.

• Open the Lobby
• Click Options
• Go to Instant Hand History Options...
• Activate Save My Hands History in the
  next window
• And make sure the hand histories are
  being saved in English

Activate the auto-rebuy
You can set the amount of money you wish to take to the table in FL and NL ring games. You can also activate the auto-rebuy in order to always have the right amount in your stack.

• Open the Lobby
• Click Options in the menu above
• Then select Auto-Rebuy (Real money Ring Games)...
  
• Activate Automatically Rebuy at Fixed Limit tables
  
• Activate Automatically Rebuy at No Limit, Pot Limit and Mixed Limit tables
  
• Enter 12 bets for Fixed Limit. If your stack now falls below 12 bets, the software will automatically rebuy for you
• For the No-Limit big stack strategy it's 100 big blinds
• Under Automatically add chips to, enter 12 big bets for Fixed limit.
• Enter 100 big blinds for No-Limit big stack strategy.

Find a good Fixed Limit table

Your poker career begins with table selection and can end because of your table selection if you do a poor job of it. Here is how you can find a profitable table:

Step 1: Find the right limit
Click Hold 'em in the main Lobby. Then click the Fixed Limit and Micro buttons so that they go red.

You should use a table filter to help you find the right table, or you might have trouble sorting through all the tables.

• To do so, click Hold'em Ring Games Filter on the bottom left
• Under Max players, activate the 9/10 option and deactivate the other options.
• Under Stakes, enter $0.10/$0.20 for the min. and max. 
• You can then close the filter window.

Step 2: Open a table
You can now see all available tables for Fixed-Limit $0.10/$0.20. You can open a table by double clicking on it.



Step 3: Take a seat at the table
An empty seat is easy to spot. Just look for the message Seat Open.

With a single click the seat is yours. Select the amount of money to take to the table and join the game. It's that easy.

If you find a good table, but all seats are already taken, you can join the waiting list for the next available seat by clicking Join Waiting List

Finding a table for NL Hold'em

Finding a NL table is just as easy.

Step 1: Find the right limit
Click Hold 'em in the main Lobby. Then click the Micro and No Limit/Pot Limit buttons.

You should use a table filter to help you find the right table, or you might have trouble sorting through all the tables.

• To do so, click Hold'em Ring Games Filter on the bottom left
• Under Max players, activate the 9/10 option and deactivate the other options.
• Enter $0.01/$0.02 for the Min and Max under Stakes
• You can then close the filter window.

Step 2: Open a table
Now you have a list of all tables suitable for your format, No-Limit Hold'em. You can open a table by double-clicking on it.



Step 3: Take a seat at the table
An empty seat is easy to spot. Just look for the message Seat Open.

With a single click the seat is yours. Select the amount of money to take to the table and join the game. It's that easy.

If you find a good table, but all seats are already taken, you can join the waiting list for the next available seat by clicking Join Waiting List

Finding a Sit and Go

Sit and Go's have their own area at PokerStars. A number of different types of tournaments are offered, but not all are worth playing. The next section will show you how to find the right tournament for you.

Step 1: Find the right limit
Click the Sit & Go button in the Lobby window. Then choose 1-Table and then All.

You can now see all available single table tournaments, but they aren't all the type you are looking for. Use the filter to sort out unwanted tournaments.

• Click Sit & Go Filter on the bottom left
• Make all the changes as seen in the screen shot below.
• You can now close the filter window.

Step 2: Open a tournament
Now you have a list of all tournaments that are suitable for the strategy you learn at PokerStrategy.com with one exception; do not enter any of the Double or Nothing tournaments. The rest are fine.

Double click on a tournament to open the tournament lobby.



Step 3: Register for a tournament
Double check that you've selected the right tournament and click Register on the bottom left of your screen.

A new window will open for you to complete registration.

Now all you have to do is wait. The tournament table will open automatically as soon as registration is closed.

Getting started in Fixed Limit and No-Limit Hold'em

Wait for the Big Blind to come to you
You've made it to the table, but you aren't getting any cards yet. The software will ask you if you want to post a Big Blind out of turn to join play immediately.

You should only do this if you are in the cut off, meaning the seat directly next to the dealer (or if you are sitting in the Big Blind). If not, be patient and click Wait for Big Blind.

Here's a quick review of the positions at a poker table: A table with 10 players has 10 positions. The four groups of positions are: early, middle, late and the blinds.

Once you're at the table, you can tell the software to automatically post your blinds each round. To do so, simply click Auto post blinds.

How to leave a table
Once you're ready to stop playing, turn off the Auto post blinds function.

You can sit back and wait for the Big Blind to come to you and then simply close the window.

Moving up the limits

Poker is fun; it's even more fun when you make money. This won't happen over night; you have to work your way up the limits. But don't worry, it's not that hard when you follow these tips:

Always play 10 seat tables
The basic strategy you learn at PokerStrategy.com is based on full-ring games. This means the table has either 9 or 10 seats.

There are so many adjustments you have to make to your strategy when you play short-handed games (tables 6 seats), that this strategy no longer works. You will learn how to play in short-handed games later on, when you gain access to the advanced articles and videos at PokerStrategy.com.

Play the limit you can afford
It's pretty simple. If you want to be successful, manage your bankroll. This means only playing limits you can afford.

Impatience can kill your poker career. It's only natural to want to progress quickly, but don't lose control. You can find help in the PokerStrategy forum and psychology and bankroll management articles:

Go to the Psychology Forum at PokerStrategy.com

Or browse through the Psychology section:

Psychology Articles

Or go over the articles on bankroll management one more time:

Bankroll Management for Fixed Limit

Bankroll Management for No-Limit for the Big Stack Strategy

Bankroll Management for Sit and Gos

Multi-tabling
Once you've gotten used to the software and become comfortable with using the Starting Hands Chart and post-flop play, you are ready to give multi-tabling a try.

This can increase your profit substantially. The operative word here is "can." It might also do the exact opposite. Multi-tabling requires a few adjustments and a bit of practice.

Start by adding just one table. If things go well, you can start playing at 3 or 4 tables simultaneously.

Most players have a hard time keeping track of more than 4 tables at the same time. Tracking software, such as PokerStrategy's Elephant, display statistics on your opponents at each table.

Download PokerStrategy's free Elephant software

Clear your $50 starting capital and $600 First Deposit Bonus

A bonus can be like a boost of nitrous gas for your poker career. It's basically free money with a single condition - you have to do something to get your hands on it. Here's how it works:

How to clear the $50 bonus
You earn points when you play poker. At PokerStars these points are called VPPs. The more you play, the more points you receive.

Once you've downloaded the software correctly, entered the marketing code
strat-50 and entered your User ID here, you will receive your $50.

You need to collect 500 VIP Player Points (VPPs) within 90 days from receiving your starting capital in order to withdraw these $50. You get 1 StrategyPoint for every 2 VPPs you earn.

How to release your 100% up to $600 First Deposit Bonus
You can also take advantage of the First Deposit Bonus from PokerStars of up to $600. Simply deposit money into your account and you will be given a bonus for the same amount. A $50 deposit gives you a $50 bonus and a $600+ deposit = a $600 bonus.

You can also divide your deposit into 3 smaller deposits. For example, you could deposit $200 three times and get 3 bonuses of $200 each. These deposits all need to occur within 90 days of the first deposit.

Note: You have to use the bonus code STARS600 for every deposit that you want to use in conjunction with this bonus offer.

More information on how to clear the bonus you can find here:

Starting capital and bonus guide

Use other bonus offers to build up your account
Your profit is two-fold: You earn money while playing poker and earn money for playing poker.

Ideally you should always be clearing a bonus when you play poker. The first one is the $50 from PokerStrategy.com.

You can find more lucrative bonus offers for all partner rooms in the poker room section:

The most lucrative poker bonuses