The reason why $100 is a great initial goal is because this is an easily achievable amount that nearly anybody can do, with a little bit of practice.
And the great thing about taking little baby steps like this in poker is that it will help you start building your confidence an eventually succeed on a much greater scale in this game.
After you make your first $100 in poker, then you will want to make your first $1000, first $10000 and so on.
So in this article I am going to pretend I am starting poker all over again. This is what I would do if I was setting out to make my first $100 in poker.
Let's jump into it!
How to Make Your First $100 in Poker - What Games Should You Play?
The first thing you need to decide is what poker games you are going to play in. I would suggest picking something that is easy to settle into even if you are a total beginner to poker.
So this is why I often suggest: cash games.
Cash games are when you bring a small amount money to the table and you look to increase that amount. The blinds never change and the game never stops in theory either.
This is the best place to learn the fundamentals of the game and also to make consistent money in poker. This is because all you need to win is a very basic strategy.
In fact, as I discuss in a recent video, over-complicating things at the poker table is one of the biggest reasons why people lose at poker these days.
Now, I would also recommend starting at the very lowest limits which are the 1c/2c games online. Or if you play live in a casino, then this will be the $1/$2 games.
I know that this can be difficult for some people. Because the amounts of money are so small. But the best thing you can do when you are starting out is play in the easiest poker games.
And the lowest stakes always offer the weakest competition.
I know that this can be difficult for some people. Because the amounts of money are so small. But the best thing you can do when you are starting out is play in the easiest poker games.
And the lowest stakes always offer the weakest competition.
Lastly, if you are totally brand new to poker, I would also recommend playing in the 9 or 10 person cash games instead of 6 person games.
The reason why is because 9 and 10 players games tend to be slower and easier for a beginner to settle into. There is less bluffing involved as well, which lowers your learning curve.
By the way, if you want a complete step by step guide on what strategy to use in these low stakes poker cash games, I recommend grabbing a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
If you play online poker, then I would suggest starting in the 1c/2c cash games with about $40 in your bankroll.
You are pretty much always going to need to deposit a little bit of money in order to get started in poker.
By the way, if you want a complete step by step guide on what strategy to use in these low stakes poker cash games, I recommend grabbing a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
Getting a $100 Poker Bankroll - What Bankroll Do You Need?
If you play online poker, then I would suggest starting in the 1c/2c cash games with about $40 in your bankroll.
You are pretty much always going to need to deposit a little bit of money in order to get started in poker.
Now I know that there are stories like mine where I sold some play money chips to get an initial $60 bankroll, and never looked back.
But these stories are few and far between, and please remember that I still wasted an ungodly amount of time accumulating all those play money chips!
And since time = money, this was not such a smart idea after all.
Like many people, you can also go ahead and try your luck in the freerolls, but in my experience these are largely a huge waste of your time as well.
The reason why is because you need to outlast thousands of other people in a tournament just to win a very small amount of money.
Trust me, this is not a good use of your time. You will need to get unbelievably lucky and play for hours upon hours just to win some ridiculously small amount of money such as $5 for "free."
But these stories are few and far between, and please remember that I still wasted an ungodly amount of time accumulating all those play money chips!
And since time = money, this was not such a smart idea after all.
Like many people, you can also go ahead and try your luck in the freerolls, but in my experience these are largely a huge waste of your time as well.
The reason why is because you need to outlast thousands of other people in a tournament just to win a very small amount of money.
Trust me, this is not a good use of your time. You will need to get unbelievably lucky and play for hours upon hours just to win some ridiculously small amount of money such as $5 for "free."
Once again, this is not smart. This is why your best bet is just to simply deposit a small amount of money online (or at your local casino) to get started.
Your goal with this $40 is going to be to turn it into $100. I would suggest starting with one table of 1c/2c blind cash games and buying in for $2 (which is the maximum amount).
From there, you will want to slowly build your way up to a $100 bankroll by using good fundamentals against all the bad players in these games.
Remember to wait for good hands and value bet them often. This is something that Daniel Negreanu discusses at length in his latest poker training video series.
One of my top tips for taking your $40 and turning it into $100 at the low limit tables is to try playing multiple tables at once.
The beauty of online poker (compared to live poker in a casino), is that you can play as many tables as you want at the same time.
This allows you to drastically increase your winnings and ultimately achieve your poker goals much faster.
This has actually been one of the biggest "secrets" to my success as a 10+ year online poker pro I am well known for multi-tabling.
And this has allowed me to create some pretty significant profits at very low stakes due to this multiplication effect.
The biggest key is staying disciplined no matter what your short term results are.
So, the last big question is where should you actually play poker. What poker sites are the best to quickly make your first $100 in poker?
Well, where to play poker (online or live) depends highly on where you live and the laws and regulations surrounding poker sites there.
So it is very difficult for me to recommend any specific poker sites because people read my poker blog from all over the world!
But the biggest thing to look for (by far) are lots of fish and easy games to beat. You want lots of wild and crazy players like in this hand I reviewed recently.
Many people enjoy playing poker tournaments instead of cash games because of the thrill of the deep run and the ability to turn a very small amount of money into a large amount.
Making your first $100 in poker is a major milestone and a huge accomplishment.
And the great thing about hitting this goal is that you can now strive for much bigger ones like making your first $1,000 or your first $10,000 at the poker tables.
In fact, I already wrote an entire guide about how to quickly turn $100 into $10,000 at the poker tables, which you might want to check out next.
The biggest keys to making your first $100 bankroll are starting in low stakes cash games that are full of fish and using a very simple tight and aggressive poker strategy.
Once again, I would suggest $40 if you choose to play online.
Your goal with this $40 is going to be to turn it into $100. I would suggest starting with one table of 1c/2c blind cash games and buying in for $2 (which is the maximum amount).
From there, you will want to slowly build your way up to a $100 bankroll by using good fundamentals against all the bad players in these games.
Remember to wait for good hands and value bet them often. This is something that Daniel Negreanu discusses at length in his latest poker training video series.
Getting a $100 Poker Bankroll - Try Multi-Tabling
One of my top tips for taking your $40 and turning it into $100 at the low limit tables is to try playing multiple tables at once.
The beauty of online poker (compared to live poker in a casino), is that you can play as many tables as you want at the same time.
This allows you to drastically increase your winnings and ultimately achieve your poker goals much faster.
This has actually been one of the biggest "secrets" to my success as a 10+ year online poker pro I am well known for multi-tabling.
And this has allowed me to create some pretty significant profits at very low stakes due to this multiplication effect.
Now, with all that said, it is also important that you play the amount of tables that you are comfortable with, which allows you to make high quality decisions in each hand.
For some people, that might only be a single table. And this is totally fine.
Building up to playing 4, 8, 15 or 30 tables at once like some people do is not something that you learn overnight.
As a former mass multi-tabler myself, I have already written the most comprehensive step by step guide available to playing more online poker tables.
Are you having trouble beating low stakes poker games online or live? Are you looking to make a consistent part time income playing these games?
That is why I wrote this free little 50 page poker cheat sheet to give you the exact strategies to start consistently crushing the low stakes poker games right now.
These are the exact poker strategies by the way that I have used as a 10+ year poker pro. And I lay them all out for you step by step in this free guide.
Enter your details below and I will send my free poker cheat sheet to your inbox right now.
Alright, let's talk more about the poker strategy you should use now. You should be playing a tight and aggressive style of poker in order to have the maximum amount of success.
Now, if you don't know what this means, a TAG poker strategy consists of:
There is quite a bit more to it actually than this, but these are a few of the basics.
Unfortunately, a complete detailed explanation of this strategy (also known as "TAG") is outside the scope of this article.
This is why I have actually written three entire books about this.
But it is not really that complicated. It is basically learning how to play poker the opposite way of what most people (fish) do.
You want to be disciplined, play only good hands, understand the power of position at the poker table, value bet like crazy and stop bluffing so much.
Again, this is basically all just the exact opposite of what most people do!
The bottom line is that you will want to employ this very simple strategy at the lowest stakes games, and I can pretty much guarantee you will be successful with it.
My Free Poker Cheat Sheet Teaches You How to Quickly Make Your First $100 Bankroll
Are you having trouble beating low stakes poker games online or live? Are you looking to make a consistent part time income playing these games?
That is why I wrote this free little 50 page poker cheat sheet to give you the exact strategies to start consistently crushing the low stakes poker games right now.
These are the exact poker strategies by the way that I have used as a 10+ year poker pro. And I lay them all out for you step by step in this free guide.
Enter your details below and I will send my free poker cheat sheet to your inbox right now.
Play a Tight and Aggressive Poker Strategy to Make Your First $100
Alright, let's talk more about the poker strategy you should use now. You should be playing a tight and aggressive style of poker in order to have the maximum amount of success.
Now, if you don't know what this means, a TAG poker strategy consists of:
- Being highly selective with the hands that you decide to play before the flop
- Trying to play in position as often as possible (button and cutoff)
- Playing aggressively most of the time when you are in a hand postflop
- Value betting often and rarely bluffing in small stakes games
There is quite a bit more to it actually than this, but these are a few of the basics.
Unfortunately, a complete detailed explanation of this strategy (also known as "TAG") is outside the scope of this article.
This is why I have actually written three entire books about this.
But it is not really that complicated. It is basically learning how to play poker the opposite way of what most people (fish) do.
You want to be disciplined, play only good hands, understand the power of position at the poker table, value bet like crazy and stop bluffing so much.
Again, this is basically all just the exact opposite of what most people do!
The bottom line is that you will want to employ this very simple strategy at the lowest stakes games, and I can pretty much guarantee you will be successful with it.
The biggest key is staying disciplined no matter what your short term results are.
By the way, I discuss this in much more detail in my new Elite Poker University training.
Learn EXACTLY how to start crushing small and mid stakes poker games, play semi-pro or even full time pro. Use my proven elite poker strategies to start winning fast.
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Making Your First $100 in Poker - Where Should You Play Poker?
So, the last big question is where should you actually play poker. What poker sites are the best to quickly make your first $100 in poker?
Well, where to play poker (online or live) depends highly on where you live and the laws and regulations surrounding poker sites there.
So it is very difficult for me to recommend any specific poker sites because people read my poker blog from all over the world!
But the biggest thing to look for (by far) are lots of fish and easy games to beat. You want lots of wild and crazy players like in this hand I reviewed recently.
And even though, there will be more ups and downs when you play against players like this, your long term results (which is the only thing that matters in poker), will be much higher.
Honestly, one of the biggest mistakes people make when playing poker online is they choose to play at a tough poker site that is full of good players.
If you choose one of the easy poker sites instead, that are full of beginners and fish, then you will have a lot more success.
And quite frankly, you will be able to quickly achieve your goal of getting a $100 bankroll much faster without even needing to learn any advanced strategies.
Honestly, one of the biggest mistakes people make when playing poker online is they choose to play at a tough poker site that is full of good players.
If you choose one of the easy poker sites instead, that are full of beginners and fish, then you will have a lot more success.
And quite frankly, you will be able to quickly achieve your goal of getting a $100 bankroll much faster without even needing to learn any advanced strategies.
What About Playing Poker Tournaments?
Many people enjoy playing poker tournaments instead of cash games because of the thrill of the deep run and the ability to turn a very small amount of money into a large amount.
For example, I have won tournaments before where I only put in $2 and turned that into $800. Sounds amazing right?
As always, there is a catch though.
The variance in tournaments is typically a lot higher than in cash games. This means that you will go through far more lengthy and extended losing streaks.
This is a big problem when you are starting with a tiny little bankroll of like $40 online.
It can be very easy for a good winning player, through absolutely no fault of their own, to quickly blow through that entire bankroll even if they only play tiny $1 or $2 buyin tournaments.
And this is because variance in poker (natural ups and downs) is a very real thing. You need an incredible amount of short term luck to place high in a poker tournament.
And all poker tournament players (doesn't matter if your name is Phil Hellmuth), will run badly and get very unlucky for months or even years on end sometimes.
You only hear about successful poker tournament players when they suddenly get hot and catch a run of good cards and make a ton of money. But most of the time they are actually losing.
This is the "behind the scenes" that they never tell you about. And since your bankroll is so small, you simply cannot afford this!
This is why I typically do not suggest playing tournaments until you have a much bigger bankroll (of say $300+) which will allow you to withstand the swings much better.
But with all that said, I know that some people prefer playing tournaments no matter what, and bankroll management isn't a big deal for them.
Again, not something that I would recommend, but to each their own.
This is why I have already written the most comprehensive strategy guide available online for dominating micro stakes poker tournaments.
Final Thoughts
Making your first $100 in poker is a major milestone and a huge accomplishment.
And the great thing about hitting this goal is that you can now strive for much bigger ones like making your first $1,000 or your first $10,000 at the poker tables.
In fact, I already wrote an entire guide about how to quickly turn $100 into $10,000 at the poker tables, which you might want to check out next.
The biggest keys to making your first $100 bankroll are starting in low stakes cash games that are full of fish and using a very simple tight and aggressive poker strategy.
You might want to try multi-tabling and in general I would suggest avoiding poker tournaments for now, until your bankroll is a little bit bigger.
If you follow these simple tips, it will not take you very long to make $100 in poker and be well on your way to making much more!
Lastly, if you want to know the step by step strategy that I used to create some of the highest winnings in online poker history in the small stakes games, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
If you follow these simple tips, it will not take you very long to make $100 in poker and be well on your way to making much more!
Lastly, if you want to know the step by step strategy that I used to create some of the highest winnings in online poker history in the small stakes games, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
