Types of games

Im fairly sure this will have been covered already, so can someone please point me to a post that explains what the different games are?

Ring games, Sit and goes, Multi Table tourneys etc etc, and what is meant by $25 NL - Is that $25 buy in, so the most you can lose is your £25? If so, what are the blinds on these games, or is that all different aswell?

As you can tell, i am very close to signing up and im pretty nervous! ha ha

I don’t know of a place that has that info all together.
SNG = sit and go and it is one table tournament where when you bust out you are out of the tournament. The top X players make money.
MTTs are similar but involve more than one table. The top X players make money.
Ring game = cash game.
Limit is where you can only bet a certain fixed amount in multiples of 1x, 2x, 3x (I think…I am a NL player)
NL = No limit = you can push all your money in any time.
PL = pot limit = similar to NL but you can only bet the size of the current pot at any one time.
$25 NL is a cash game with a buy in of $25. You can only lose $25 at any one time but you can bust out and immediately re-buy with another $25. I am not sure of the blinds at $25 but I think it is $.25/$.50. I am not there yet.

Ring games: 9 or 10 people sit around a table and play poker for cash. Chips have cash value. The game has no definite start or end. You can join/leave at any time and play for as long as you like.
10 max ring has a maximum of 10 players. Minimum of 2 (obviously).
6 max ring has a maximum of 6 players. Min of 2.
The poker room takes a certain percentage from each pot for profit (rake).

Sit and Goes (SnGs): Start with a certain number of players. Each player is given a number of chips, the same for each person. Game starts. When your chips are gone you are eliminated from the table. Game ends when all but 1 player is eliminated. He is the winner. Usually prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd (depending on site, type of SnG etc).
Blinds increace at regular intervals to stimulate play. Blinds increace faster in Turbo SnGs. SnGs are defined by a buy in, for eg, $5.00 + 0.50. The $5s are added to make the prize money, the 0.50 goes to the poker room (rake).

MTTs: Like SnGs but with much more players and numerous tables. There is a specific buy in,which covers prize money and rake (like SnGs) if you loose your chips you are eliminated. Prizes for a certain number of places. Blinds increace at regular intervals.

'$25 No Limit' means the (max) buy in is $25, yes this is the most you can loose if you dont top up your stack or rebuy. The Big Blind is usually (in my limited experience) 1 hundreth of the buy in. So for $25 NL the big bling will be 25 cents. The small blind will be approx. half the big blind, in this case 10 or 12 cents.

You can download most poker software and just watch the games without depositing. I know you can do this with party poker anyway. This may help you.

Also, and I know I might get burned for saying this, but perhaps play some play money. It will help you get used to the format and discover what each game is about. Pay no attention what-so-ever to the style of the players who play play money, their tactics or how they play. Real money is completely different.

Hope this helps.

Instead of playing for play money at a site go to http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/poker/index they usually have some promotion that they are running like a seat to a world series of poker. Competition is a stepup from play money since you are actually playing for something. Another option would be to play free rolls or micro limits like 2nl. Which is where i started in 6 weeks after espn poker i started with 2nl BR $50 and now at 25nl BR $720.

excellent, thanks everyone for your help.

I downloaded paradise poker software and had a go at a few different games on their playmoney tables, and was actually suprised that i preferred the Pot limit tables to the NL.

Anyway, i had a crack at the $1m freeroll tourney too and was bitterley dissappointed with my play. I will post my final hand in the correct forum for your expert opinions!!

Like people said, don't translate much from Play money to real money. You probably like pot limit because it keeps people from pushing all in constantly but in real money that doesn't happen.

Originally Posted by EricE

Like people said, don't translate much from Play money to real money. You probably like pot limit because it keeps people from pushing all in constantly but in real money that doesn't happen.

This used to happen me. I actually used to play playmoney Limit SnGs. Believe me, The playing style difference between real and playmoney NL is huge so don't be so sure but at least now you can relate to what Pot Limit is.