Guide to Playing Online Poker

Online Poker is the game of choice online and the number of players who take to the tables each day online is simply staggering. With the increase in the use of the internet, the game of poker has become considerably more accessible and this has significantly increased the numbers playing internet poker each day. There is also significantly more guides and information about the game now then ever before. The first company to develop the first online poker site was a company called Planet poker way back in 1998. In 1999 a second site, Paradise Poker, opened their doors to the online market.

When we look at what's about today, there are simply hundreds of online poker rooms. When we take into account all the poker skins and white labels, this probably runs into the thousands. Of course from best to worst, there is a big difference in what's on offer. The largest site in the world is actually Zenga Poker however this game offered for Facebook users is free to play, something Facebook are looking to change. The largest cash site is PokerStars, and by a country mile, regularly seeing up to 300,000 players logged onto the site during peak hours. With the acquisition of Full Tilt Poker, there numbers have taken off - Full Tilt Poker at one time commanding the second largest following.

Which is the best Online Poker Site?

The question is fairly subjective, in the same way that any other product or service would be. Different people like different things so views on the best site will differ. One real contender will be PokerStars but being the biggest and best has advantages and disadvantages. They have arguably the best software, the best range of games, the highest traffic and the biggest cash games and tournaments offered anywhere online. Of course with this comes many of the best players in the world, and whilst there are thousands of bad players, the site is also littered with some of the top players in the game.

Additionally, with this amount of traffic, the numbers that enter tournaments are considerably higher than any other room. This has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that you can play massive tournaments with prizes up to the million mark for next to nothing. The disadvantage - there are a lot of people that enter so the tournaments take a long time and you need real stamina to make a descent cash. As with most sites, the higher the buy in, the less the number of entrants. As a player on PokerStars, i can vouch for the range of games - they have it all, so you will not be disappointed. As view flop percentages are shown, finding the action is not difficult.

How do Online Poker Rooms make any Money?

I think the first thing to get out the way is that poker sites don't have a stake on one player over another. They are completely impartial as to who wins in any game, and rightly so. For anyone who plays online, you will regularly see a player lose and say 'this site is rigged'. Firstly that's a pretty good tell that you're dealing with a bad player. Secondly, this makes no sense. Why would a poker room take the chance of making one player win against another - they get paid anyway, regardless of the result. Poker rooms make their money through rake in cash games and tournament entry fees. In ring games, the rake is usually between 3 and 4% of the total pot, so every $100 pot, the house takes between $3 and $4. When you buy into a tournament, the fee is usually around the 10% mark. If you buy into a tournament costing $20, the fee would usually be around $2, represented like this: $20 + $2.

For the larger sites, you can imagine the levels of revenue this would generate, especially if you're talking over 250,000 players at peak hours! Still, players need to take this into account.

For more read our guide: How poker sites make money.

Legality of Online Poker

Legality never used to be an issue, but these days, it seems it's a real problem. First of all looking from the perspective of legality - online poker is still illegal and regulated in most countries, especially in Europe. Many Countries including United Kingdom regulates online gambling and they make a large amount of revenue from it. In the US, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill in 2005 to legalize and regulate the online operators in that state. This didn't last long though as the bill was thrown out by the Senate State in March of the following year, on the grounds that the online game may be illegal.

In 2006, the Bush administration pushed through the Safe Port act, aimed at enhancing the security at the ports across the US. Along with this act came another act called the 'Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement act", also known as 'UIGEA'. This is the act that resulted in the issue for US players as it prohibited players from making transactions from online poker sites to any US financial institution. Of course this wasn't completely effective and players soon found ways to circumvent this restriction. It wasn't long before the world saw what was known as 'Black Friday' in which the Department of Justice (DOJ) shut a number of the leading .com poker sites'. This resulted in these sites shutting their .com sites and opening similar websites under a .net or similar domain extension.

Whilst all these restrictions are in place for US players, there are still a number of sites that accept US players, although they are few and far between. My advice would be to check out the legality of playing in whichever country or area you are in to make sure you are permitted to play. There are many critics and many nations for that matter that consider the online game as a form of gambling. This has frequently been disputed by players as the skill element is what they would say distances online poker from other forms of gambling where players don't have as much say in the outcome. I guess there is an argument either way, a reason that this isn't an argument that is ever going to be won or lost.

Differences between Online Poker and Live Play

Whilst poker is poker wherever it's played, the online game is very different from live poker. When transitioning between live and the online game, there are certain adjustments that need to be made. One of the biggest differences is the interaction with other players. Online, the only interaction is through the player chat box, and that can be turned off, so it's a very different experience than playing face to face. Additionally, everything is faster and more surreal online. The preparation time is considerably less and you can be logged on and playing in minutes, compared to a trip to the casino, in which a player will have a good amount of time to mentally prepare.

Whilst it's true that players can be who they want to be online (many players wouldn't play the same levels of aggression in live games), many players fail to pay their virtual chips the same respect as they would cash - in essence, there's no difference between the two. This can lead to bigger losses online with players taking more risks than they would normally take in the live arena.

One of the big advantages of playing online is that players can get through more hands per hour and so can have a considerably higher win rate. There is the option to multi table and with the addition of the no wait Holdem games that have been recently introduced, this win rate can be even higher. If course, playing more hands per hour can also magnify losing streaks. In contrast, the online game is far cheaper than laying live, for a number of reasons. Firstly there is no travel costs, no food and entertainment that might go along with a trip to the casino and whilst the rake online isn't a million miles away from the rake taken in brick and mortar games, the incidentals online are considerably less.

Online Poker Bonuses and Bonus Codes

We covered how poker rooms make money earlier in this guide (rake and tournament fees). The money that is generated by the top rooms is considerable and to ensure that they keep a flow of players through the doors, the bonus / loyalty offers can be considerable. Most bonuses are earned as a player plays real money games. It is normal for online sites to reward VIP points or equivalent as players play rakes hands (for cash). These points can then be exchanged for cash or gifts, normally including tournament buy ins. Generally, the higher the stakes or buy in, the more points are earned. Similarly, the more hands played per hour, the higher the number of points a player will earn.

In addition to player bonuses, there are sometimes free tournaments or freerolls that are offered as part of the incentive. This can be a great way to kick start your bankroll and at no cost or risk to your own money. Bonus Codes are specific trackers that are assigned to a promotion and using these codes assigns you to the promotional bonus on offer. Of course not all poker rooms use bonus codes and where one isn't needed, you will be automatically assigned the bonus on offer via the link to the site.

No Deposit Bonuses

Remember to apply the same level of caution to offers that you would in the real world. Not much in this world is free and whilst you will see no deposit offers, there are usually restrictions in terms of how much you need to wager before you can withdraw this as cash. It's certainly a great way to get playing with some free cash but be sure to read the fine print in terms of what the withdrawal requirements are, so that you're not disappointed.

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