First couple of days: Better to experiment or play tight?

Hello,

I started playing a few days ago.

Obviously I'm playing with fake money here.

The thing is, I'm not sure how I should treat the fake money? In my mind, I definitely want to treat it as real money, so I usually don't take chances.

Due to lack of experience and overall knowledge playing tight at first seems like a natural choice to me since I consider myself conservative and have no prior gambling experience.

I rarely ever go past the flop, unless there's a damn good chance of me hitting the turn/river.

I also see about 30-40% of the flops. Out of the ones I do see, it's usually because no one raised pre-flop, or if they did, it was the min amount and I was delt a pretty decent hand.

Thing is, with fake money, especially at "card player poker" (the main place I play, because you can enter 10/20 NL tables with a $1000 bankroll) people will chase like crazy because they can just refill their fake money instantly.

Should I start playing more aggressively, or just stick to being tight -- and possibly tighter?

Unlike most people I guess, I'm not aiming to be the best player ever right off the start. I have many hobbies, and I know from previous experience (in such hobbies), taking baby steps is the way to go.

However, in this case -- I've read stories of people playing a very good super tight game and make great profits.

What do you think? Do really tight players have a good chance of being successful in real money NL games (or the 15/30 limit tables at party poker). Maybe even tournaments?

I'd suggest playing strong drawings hands that can win monster pots (pocket pairs / Axs suited connectors), although its not real money you can pick up excellent experiance of loose table play.

Some of the real money tables at the lower limits play like play money tables so it will be useful.

I would suggest not learning from the fake money tables. If you move up to micro tables games (nickel bets, etc), you should see somewhat a competitive environement to learn from.

As a novice, I would suggest:
(1) Understand the preflop cards you would play
(2) Understand the preflop cards you would raise (2xBB, I would suggest)
(3) Just make 3 decisions on flop, turn, river (will you check, fold, or raise)
-- When you bet (bet the same amount every time). I would do this if I flopped top pair or greater.
-- When you raise, I would recommend 2xBB each time. I would do if you had 2pair or better on flop
(4) Any strong playback, I would consider folding
(5) Play tight/passive.
(6) I wouldnt try putting ppl on hands but I would try categorizing if their loose/tight, agressive/passive.
(7) You should be folding 50%+ of your preflop hands

Play lots and start changing your strategy every so many weeks. I would avoid loose/aggressive playing unless you know what you are doing.

To note: I recommend this strategy when you are starting, but not when you get more skilled

I completely agree with Krapp. You won't learn much of anything at the play money tables except getting a feel for that particular site's interface. In fact, you will be more prone to pick up bad habits there than learn how to play any form of solid poker.

Be wary because the play at the play money tables is not typical of a real money game in any aspect.