Free Poker

Playing free poker online is great fun and provides an opportunity for you to test your poker skills against other players all over the world without needing to get out your credit card.

Most of the major poker rooms offer free poker games and tournaments. For playing free poker online, the difference between the major rooms is pretty minimal. It is a great way to test out a room before you decide to play for real money there.

Here is a list of some of the major poker rooms that offer free poker rooms or free poker tournaments.

• Hollywood Poker
• Pacific Poker
• Full Tilt Poker
• Party Poker

If you are unsure which room to select we would suggest to start with Hollywood Poker. They have a lot of free poker players and run regular free poker tournaments.

Best of luck!

Online poker has gotten a bad rap over the last few years. Media stories of irresponsible teenagers bypassing age verification efforts and losing thousands on their parents credit cards or getting swindled out of millions in online poker deals gone bad are seemingly common on the radio and TV. The fact is that there are a lot of myths that surround online poker. Most of which are false or highly exaggerated by anti-gambling interest groups. In this article we will separate fact from fiction.

Myth: Online Poker is illegal

Truth: In the United States there is no federal legislation in effect that makes playing online poker illegal. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that was passed a few short years ago only holds provisions over the gambling sites themselves and the financial transactions they enter in the American marketplace. Recently legislation has been proposed to repeal this act and actually completely legalize a regulated online poker industry inside the borders of the United States.

Myth: Online poker is rigged for people to lose

Truth: This is one of the most far-fetched poker myths out there. The poker site themselves have literally zero interest in who wins or who loses on their tables. As far as revenue goes the only money they make is the small fee taken from each pot known as the “rake”. On top of that, the majority of online poker rooms are independently inspected by 3rd party gaming regulating organizations to test the sites’ random number generators. This ensures a random deal of cards and the overall fairness of the games.

Myth: Most online poker tables have cheaters or robots on the tables

Truth: Like most myths out there, a myth in itself is usually an exaggeration of some sort of true story. There have been isolated reports of bots that are used to play on online poker tables. Fortunately the game of poker is so complex that these bots rarely if ever make any money and are usually immediately found and banned by the poker rooms. If you feel you have been cheated playing online poker contact the support or security teams of the room and they will get to the bottom of it. If there is evidence of cheating you will be given a full refund of your losses.

Myth: Poker is gambling. You’ll always lose money in the long run

Truth: Poker is a game of skill…period. The reason why you see the same players making final tables on ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker and other televised events is because they are good! If poker was simply random gambling then you wouldn’t see these same people over and over again. Is there some level of gambling in poker? Of course there is. No amount of skill makes you immune from bad luck, but if you make the correct mathematical decisions while playing poker you can and will make money over the long haul.

Myth: Once you cashout money you start losing

Truth: This is what’s known as the cashout curse and it’s far from true. The reason this myth probably seems true for some people is that most players cashout money when they are ahead. It only makes sense that if you have a big string of good luck that the pendulum will swing back the other way eventually. There is no “cashout curse”. Again it would be bad for business for the poker sites to employ such tactics.

Choosing an online poker room is a big decision. New players should really do their homework before just depositing real money at just any random room. There are several things to consider when choosing a poker room. Make sure to double-check these characteristics before getting out your credit card.

Traffic

One of the most important aspects of any poker room is its average traffic. How many people are usually playing on the room and at what times of the day? Some rooms have drastically more traffic than others, although this is not the only thing to consider when choosing a room.

Available Games

Some poker rooms will have more tables of a certain game or limit running than others. There’s nothing worse than going through all the hoops to deposit money online only to find that there aren’t any games that you want to play available. Before depositing any money at a site make sure to browse the real money tables to make sure your favorite games are available.

Deposit Bonus

Since there are so many online poker rooms fighting for your business, the majority of rooms will offer a generous first time deposit bonus for new players. Many times this can be as much as 100% or more of your initial deposit. This bonus can be quite valuable, as some rooms will offer up to a $1,000.00 match on your first deposit. Make sure before selecting a room that you read the terms and conditions of the bonus to make sure you are getting the best value for your money.

Promotions

Another important aspect of any poker room you should check out is their promotions. Every online poker room offers some sort of promotional program to stay competitive with the other rooms. Whether it is a VIP rewards program, Tell-a-Friend bonuses or continued deposit bonuses, make sure the room you choose is giving you something back for your business.

Software

Every poker room’s software is a little different. Although it doesn’t affect the outcome or quality of the games some players prefer certain software to others. Your best bet is to download the software and play on their free money tables for a few hours before deciding to put real money on the site.

Security

Unfortunately the word of online poker has received a bad rap because of a few unsavory rooms. Online security is absolutely critical for poker rooms. Before making a deposit, it is advisable to do a search for any sort of security issues that may have occurred with that site. The 3 or 4 largest online poker rooms have never had a problem with this as their rooms and software is heavily monitored and regulated. However, if you are thinking about playing at a smaller room, then a little homework might save you some big headaches down the road.

Customer Service

Customer Service is very important in any business. There’s nothing more frustrating than having a problem with a deposit or having a question for the rooms support staff and having to wait hours or even days for a response. The 3 or 4 largest poker rooms will typically respond within the hour to any emails. Some rooms even offer 24 hour support chat or live support 1-800 numbers.

Deciding what online poker room is going to get your money is an important decision for many reasons. Do your homework and you can avoid many headaches down the road.

The most important tool for any serious poker player is their bankroll. Successful poker players monitor and manage this money daily, as it is the lifeline of their poker careers.

The main reason why the majority of amateur poker players lose is because they do not understand the concept of proper bankroll management. Until a player realizes just how important this is they will go broke each and every time.

The first part of managing a bankroll is easy. What kind of player are you? Do you have dreams of quitting your day job to play high stakes poker online? Or do you simply enjoy playing an hour or two after work or maybe after the kids are put to bed? There is a huge difference when it comes to bankroll management. A professional relies on their winnings to pay the bills, and as such, needs a very large bankroll to weather the inevitable bad luck that comes with poker. Different poker games have a different level of risk, but there is variance in all games, if there weren’t then you’d never lose right?

A hobbyist poker player is much different. Where as a professional simply cannot lose their bankroll under any circumstance and must play a certain limit to make their required monthly salary, a hobbyist has no restrictions. A hobbyist isn’t using poker money to pay the bills (and shouldn’t be using bill money to play poker), so they can take many more chances and play in games that most professionals wouldn’t play with a limited bankroll for fear of a string of bad luck.

Since most players reading this article probably have at least some sort of dream of going pro, we’ll focus on a very conservative bankroll approach.

Tournament players

Tournament players need to have a minimum of 30-50 buy-ins for the stakes they play. For example: If you play $5 single table tournaments on Pokerstars, you will need a minimum of $150.00 to ensure that you wont lose your shirt. If you’re skill is less than average that number should be closer to $300.00 to pay for the learning curve. If you lose a substantial amount of your bankroll it is advisable to drop down to $3 or possibly $1 tournaments until your bankroll recovers.

Cash Game Players

If you prefer to play cash games online, the standard advice is that you have a minimum of 300 bets for fixed limit games and 50 full buy-ins for No-limit or Pot-limit games. For example: A $1/$2 fixed limit Hold’em player shouldn’t be playing with anything less than a $600 bankroll. A $0.25/$0.50 No-limit Hold’em player needs a minimum of 50 buy-ins ($50 at this level) or at least $2500. Although this may seem extreme, especially for No-limit, veteran, successful players can tell you horror stories about losing 30-40 buyins or 200 big bets within a few sessions of poker. This has nothing to do with bad play, its simply the variance of poker.

Texas Hold’em poker has exploded in popularity over the last few years. With the introduction of real money online poker games, Texas Hold’em has generated a brand new generation of players to the game of poker. This article will explain 3 basic strategies that will vastly improve your poker game.

Stop playing every hand!

The biggest mistake most Texas Hold’em players make is that they play far too many hands. If you are playing at a full 9 or 10 person table then realistically you should only be playing, on average, about 3 hands per round or orbit. Playing weak hands is a very easy way to bleed chips away. A good rule of thumb for beginners is to only play high pocket pairs, face cards like Ace/King and Ace/Queen and the monster hands like Ace/Ace, King/King, and Queen/Queen. If however there are several people already in the hand and its only the minimum bet to see the flop then its OK to play worse hands like suited connectors and smaller pocket pairs. There will be enough money in the pot to justify playing weaker hands.

Position is important

No we’re not talking about how you hold your cards! Position is simply where you are in relation to the blinds and dealer button on the table. Early position means you are either one of the blinds or one of the first 2 players after them. Middle position is the next 3 players, and late position is the last two, including the “dealer” or button. Position is important for several reasons but the information you can get about your opponents is the most important.

In early position it is not advisable to play weaker holdings because there are several players to come after you that could raise. The hand isn’t good enough to call a raise so either you’ll make the mistake of calling or you’ll just be throwing away a bet if you fold. In late position however, there aren’t many players that will act after you, so therefore you can play weaker holdings if there are numerous people in the hand, and you can also raise weaker hands in the hopes of stealing the blinds. This is especially important in the late stages of tournaments as the blinds become more and more significant.

Aggression Aggression Aggression

Aggression is a highly talked about but rarely understood topic in Texas Hold’em. First and foremost, aggression does not mean bluffing every hand or raising every pot. In order to be effective aggression must be used at the right times. A good example of aggression is what’s called “continuation or C-betting” what this means is that if you are in late position and raise a hand preflop, it is standard and usually the correct play to bet on the flop if its checked to you, no matter if you make your hand or not. This isn’t necessarily bluffing; it’s using your momentum of your initial raise to make people fold …even when they have better hands. In a nutshell “aggression” is basically just taking control of the hand and forcing your opponents to make a decision rather then just going with the flow of the hand.

There are hundreds of other standard tips that are very useful in Texas Hold’em. These are just the most common and the most important for newer players. Once you really understand why these 3 tips work, you will see a big change in your game. You will feel more in control and you’ll be winning much more frequently.

There are many types of online poker tournaments, all with different rules, structures and buy-ins. Below are the 6 main types of real money tournaments that can be found in online poker rooms with a brief outline of each to help you choose the best type of tournament for your style or preference of play.

Single Table Tournaments (Sit n’ Go’s)

Single table tournaments (or Sit n’ Go’s are they are more commonly referred to) are the most popular poker tournaments found online. At any given time there are tens of thousands of Sit n’ Go’s running with buy-ins ranging from $1 (or even free) all the way to high stakes $5,000.00 games featuring some of the best online players in the world. There are 10 players in a Sit n’ Go. 1st place will receive 50% of the prize pool, 2nd will receive 30% and 3rd place will receive the remaining 20%.

Head’s up Tournaments

Head’s up tournaments are quickly becoming more and more popular. The premise is quite simple. 2 players pay the same buy-in and whoever wins takes it all. There are heads up multi-table tournaments where the field is cut in half after every match until only 2 players battle it out for the lion’s share of the prize pool.

Multi-table cash and guaranteed tournaments

There are hundreds of multi-table online tournaments that are ran every day across all the online poker sites. Again these tournament buy-in’s can be as cheap as $1, or as high as $5,000.00 or more. Often times a poker room will promote a tournament as having a guaranteed prize pool. These are quite popular, as the poker room will pay the difference of the guaranteed prize pool if there are not enough players to fill it. The “free” money poker room’s give away in these types of tournaments is called an “overlay”.

Satellite tournaments

Anyone that has watched the televised World Series of Poker is probably familiar with Satellite tournaments. Chris Moneymaker won his seat to the WSOP through a $30 satellite tournament on Pokerstars.com. Satellite tournaments are tournaments that do not pay out a large amount of the total players from the prize pool, but instead award only the top few finishers with the prize of a buy-in to another, much more expensive tournament. 3 of the last 5 World Series of Poker winners won their seat from an online satellite tournament.

Rebuy tournaments

The biggest difference in Rebuy tournaments from other types of tournaments is that when a player is knocked out in the first few hours of a rebuy tourney, they are given the option of “rebuying” or paying another entrance fee for a brand new stack of chips and another chance at the money. Additionally, players may also add chips onto their existing stack once during the beginning of the tournament. This additional boost to the players stack is called an “add-on”.

No matter what your particular poker style or preferences, there is a type of tournament to match it. With the variety of games and structures of games found online, it’s no wonder that online poker has grown in popularity and has dominated the marketplace over live casinos for several years.