So did you just win your first real money in an online poker freeroll? What should you play? What gives you the best chance on increasing your bankroll? Here are the ways that I found to be the best ways to get going when beginning real money on any of the online poker rooms available nowadays.

So assuming you have gained 5 dollars, you should be set in beginning your journey to a higher bankroll. Chris Ferguson went from 0 to 10,000 dollars by never playing poker tournaments that cost him more than certain percentage of his total bankroll. However, at the beginning you will be limited to $1+.25 Sit n Go's. You should stay here for awhile until you have reached around 20 dollars (as in my case). I found playing 1.25 sit n go's annoying after while but I was able to maintain a focus and reach the 20 dollar mark.

Once you are here, you have a lot more options.

You now have the opportunity to play heads up shootouts and even sit down at a table and try to build your stack. I played 2+.15 Heads up in Omaha Hi until I reached 25 dollars (never falling below 15). If you do fall down, I recommend going back to the 1.25's until you have reached 20 again.

Helpful Hint: The 2+.20 Heads up shootouts are a great way to boost your bankroll quick if you’re growing impatient ($6 gain if you defeat 2 players’ heads up).

My favorite thing to do while I’m in the 25- 30 dollar range is play satellites. These are great way to improve your game and if you manage to qualify, put you in a major poker tournament. The Daily Double has always been my favorite satellite. There are 9 players and 1st place receives the entry and 2nd gets a cash prize. The Daily Double always has a huge prize pool and is really fun to play.

The other way is to sit down at a table of your choice. You should probably choose the .5/.10 blind table seeing as it has a minimum buy in of 2 dollars and will let you keep the majority of your money. However, be careful while playing, you catch a few bad beats and keep re-buying and you could find yourself down a lot of money in a short time.

Hopefully through all of this you will increase your bankroll up to 50 dollars or better. This is the best way I have found to do as you begin playing real money on any online poker site, in my case, Full Tilt Poker.