If you look at various lists of mistakes most rookie poker players make, you’ll find “playing over your limit” on almost all of them. This has been a result of the general poker boom, and the explosion of poker all over television.

There are too many players watching poker on TV and thinking they can sit down at an online table and clean up like their favorite poker star. Rookie players head to online poker rooms and immediately sit down at the $10/$20 tables and higher, instead of growing into the game by learning and improving at a $1/$2 table.

So, how should you go about choosing your limit when you take the first step in your journey into online poker? Here are a few tips on choosing a limit, and moving up and down.

Before you can choose your table limit, you must assess two things: 1) how much (or how little) money have you got to play with; and 2) what is your poker-playing ability? You must be honest with yourself when answering both of these questions, or you’ll probably choose the wrong limit.

The first question isn’t too difficult to answer. If you don’t know how much money you have for playing poker, then picking a limit shouldn’t be your biggest concern. The second question is where many people have trouble assessing the truth. Most people think they are much better poker players than they really are.

The best thing to do with this question is to ask somebody else. Find a few people with whom you have played live poker games and get them to rate your play. Ask for an objective evaluation and listen carefully to the results.

Once those questions are answered to your satisfaction, put the knowledge into action. Basically, no matter how rich you are or how great a poker player your friends think you are, you'd probably be best served by starting at a low limit. At low-limit tables ($2/$4 or lower), the competition is generally not exceedingly fierce.

Any professional players aren’t going to waste their time in these rooms, so you should be able to adjust to the online game and work on your own game without being bankrupted. If you find the level of play in these rooms to be beneath your expectations, then consider moving up to a higher limit. It’s much better to choose a lower limit and move up after conquering it, than it is to drop down to a lower limit after busting out at a higher level to superior players. 

When choosing your limit you want to be motivated to play. If you're not motivated, move up or down a level. If you choose a lower limit and find it quickly boring, you may get crazy and try to generate excitement by betting when you shouldn't.

Conversely, if you choose a limit above your level of play, you could wind up playing timid and scared which would lead to being eaten alive by the blinds and slowly but surely reduce your chip stack.

Choosing a limit may take more time than you think, but don’t let it discourage your desire to play. Choosing a limit is never set in stone, so don’t be afraid to move up or down if you find you've made the wrong choice. If you take a big hit, move down; if you’re always dominating, move up.

The choice is always yours, so make sure you choose wisely.