Playing Online Poker
Everyone has heard of Poker, weather you are a big gambler or not, the word poker brings to mind a gathering of guys with beer and their cards and poker chips. Too many who enjoy the game of poker and do not quite know the way to begin, playing poker online is for you.
Playing online poker has taken the world by storm and has increased the number of online poker players drastically. Many novice poker players who want to begin playing are too nervous to venture into a crowded casino to try their hand at poker, or are often reduced to turning to seedy and often dangerous venues to play. No longer is this a problem. One can learn the rules and tricks of poker by playing online, at home. Not only is this a safer and less intimidating setting for beginners, but it can be more cost effective as you are now not paying for the costs of getting to the poker venue, or the costs of being at the venue.
Playing poker online is a great way for novice players to begin playing as you can buy in for low stakes and there are sites where the player is offered poker freeroll tournaments which means there is no entrance fee for the player to buy into the game.
The online poker sites have many features that entice new poker players into the game, such as that the winner of the online poker game will via satellite, gain entry to actual real poker games being played in the world.
One may worry about the safety of playing online poker, but the safety features of the online gambling world have been made user-friendly and there are many systems in place to prevent fraud. Online poker systems will also check the IP addresses of the players playing to prevent players in the same household, known as open proxy servers, from partaking in a game at the same table.
As of February last year there are over 545 active online poker sites, with the numbers constantly increasing. If you want to try your hand at poker but have been to nervous to get started, well then playing poker online has just opened up the poker world for you.
Top Poker Rooms
Playing poker online has been one of the most popular games on the internet for over a decade. There are many conflicting pieces of advice on what to look out for when playing online poker, and choosing an online poker room can be a daunting decision. Here are some of the most important aspects for you to consider when choosing an online poker room.
RNG
Random Number Generators (RNGs) are used in online casinos as well as land casinos to ensure that game play is fair. Ensure the poker room you want to play in uses these generators. You can usually find this information in the “Information” section or “Terms and Conditions”. If you aren’t sure, take your business elsewhere, where they are transparent with their conditions.
Ensure Your Security
If you take anything from this article, take this piece of advice as it is by far the most important. Play online poker only if 128-bit SSL technology is used in order to protect your sensitive information. Encryption ensures that your details such as your name, postal address and credit card number cannot be stolen. This protects you from getting ripped off by shady online poker rooms.
Transparency
There are many online poker rooms that go through monthly checks from licensed companies in order to certify their practices and fairness. An online poker room that provides you with statistical analysis tools allow you to ensure that they are trustworthy. Another thing to look out for is conspiracy between players, but most online poker rooms should provide an effective way of ensuring that this does not happen.
The best thing you can do is choose a site whose popularity has spread through word of mouth, or is owned by a major company. This ensures that their standards will be upheld.
There are many online poker rooms that offer players statistics on what goes on at a poker table. The main benefit of this is the assurance that the site is constantly checking to ensure that there is no suspicious activity happening. For example, if there is a group of players that consistently play together at the same tables, they will quickly be banned from playing. Players who collaborate to conspire will quickly be found out, ensuring fairness of game play for other players.
There is a number of online poker rooms that have been running for over a decade. Any one of these established poker rooms will be safe, after all, they wouldn’t be in business today if they engaged in shady business or game play practices. If you are new to the online poker world, or are having a hard time making a decision on which one to sign up with, the more established poker rooms are usually the safest.
The most important thing you can do when deciding to sign up with an online poker room is research. Whether it’s from friends, colleagues or reviews on the internet, ensuring that you arm yourself with knowledge is the best thing you can do to protect yourself. If you find a site with very negative reviews, bear in mind that it could be disgruntled players seeking revenge. But if the negative reviews seem founded or make you doubt the validity of the site, your best option is to go to one of the more reputable ones instead.
Most online poker rooms offer players 128-bit encryption to protect their information. If you are unsure, don’t be afraid to reach out to customer support for more information. With so many online poker rooms guaranteeing your security, there is no reason to take needless risks.
What Types of Online Poker Games are Available Online?
Online poker has become one of the most played types of games on the web with hundreds of online poker rooms now accessible to thousands of online poker players all over the world. There are many different types of online poker games available on the web today but some are far more popular than others, here are the most popular examples played today.
Most Popular Type of Online Poker
By far the most popular of all types of online poker games played in the vast majority of online poker rooms and online casinos has to be Texas Hold’em poker. Texas Hold’em is the game that most people would associate with poker because it is Texas Hold’em that most people see in movies, on television and on speciality sports channels that show poker and poker tournaments.
There are two main types of Texas Hold’em poker, No Limit Texas Hold’em and Limit Texas Hold’em poker. Limit Texas Hold’em is a good place to start for novices and new comers to the game of Texas Hold’em poker. Limited Texas Hold’em means that there is a predetermined limit to how much can be bet or won, this means that you know going in what you can lose or win.
Other Types of Online Poker Games
One of the most popular types of online poker other than Texas Hold’em is seven card stud poker. In seven card stud poker, players receive two hole cards and two that are community cards. The game begins with players showing their smallest card value to determine a starting point and an opening betting round. Three more cards are dealt face up followed by a betting round and a final face down card.
Another type of online poker game is called Omaha rules poker. Omaha rules poker is starting to gain a lot of popularity and may even become more popular than Texas Hold’em. This is probably because the game of Omaha rules is quite similar to Texas Hold’em with a single major difference. In Omaha rules each player gets four hole cards of which two can be used to make the best hand possible.
Stud Poker Rules
Stud poker is also referred to as 7 Card Stud. It is one of the classic and most iconic of all casino games. It is played in both land based and online casinos today. This particular form of poker can be quite tricky to master but the basic objective of the game is to get the best five card hand from the seven cards dealt to you. The player with the best five card hand would win the pot. Make sure that you take some time to learn about the different possible hands that can be dealt and how the hand ranking work when playing stud poker.
Stud poker is generally played making use of what is known as a Limit Betting Structure. This means that the bets are placed according to fixed increments. For example, if stud poker has a $4/$8 limit set then all bets during the first two rounds have to be placed in increments of $4 and in all subsequent betting rounds wagers should be placed in increments of $8. Always make sure that you find out what the limits are before you start playing a game of stud poker.
Here are some important tips and facts that you should remember when playing Stud poker:
- Players may only play 1 hand during every round.
- Only opt to play for a progressive jackpot if the jackpot is more than one hundred thousand dollars in value.
- When playing at land based casinos, you would not be allowed to converse with fellow poker players seated around your table.
- Most Stud poker tables will seat five different poker players as well as the dealer.
- If you should be dealt an incorrect number of cards during a deal then you will not lose your wager but you will be out of the round.
- Stud poker rules state that players do not have the option to substitute any of the cards dealt to them. You simply have to make the best hand possible from whatever it is that you were dealt.
- Always take the dealer’s card that has been placed face up into account when deciding what your next move should be.
Omaha Poker Rules
The game of poker has been around for quite a long time and is today more popular than ever before. One of the most popular of all poker games is of course a poker game known as Texas Hold’em poker. Texas Hold’em is the most played from or version of poker in the world, both in real casinos and in online casinos and poker rooms.
While Texas Hold’em may be the most popular of all versions of poker, it is most certainly not the only version available, or the only popular one for that matter. There are a number of other types and styles of poker that are popular in real casinos, online casinos, poker halls and online poker rooms. One of these is an exciting variation of Texas Hold’em known simply as Omaha rules poker.
How Do Omaha Rules Poker Work?
Omaha rules poker is fairly simple and straight forward and is one of the easier versions of Texas Hold’em to learn to play. In Omaha rules poker each player is given four cards. These four cards are what are known as hole cards or private cards. This is because only the player with cards is able to see what they are.
The next step is the cards open to all players; these are known as community cards. There are five community cards and they are all dealt facing up. The way that the game of Omaha rules works is that each player may only use a maximum of three community cards and a maximum of two hole cards or their own cards to create the best possible five card hand.
There are basically three variations of Omaha rules poker, pot limit Omaha poker, fixed limit Omaha poker and no limit Omaha poker. In pot limit Omaha poker every player is able to bet whatever is in the pot, for example, if there is a hundred in the pot, then a player can bet that same amount.
In no limit Omaha rules poker there are no restrictions on the players as far as bets are concerned and each player is only limited by the amount of chips that they have for the game. Moving in the opposite direction to no limit Omaha poker is fixed limit Omaha poker. In fixed limit Omaha poker there is definitely a very specific limit that is applied to betting during the game. Of all the versions the pot limit version is the most popular.
Draw Poker Rules?
There are various types of poker that have been developed by different people in the world. Draw poker in particular is the basic form of poker and the most common. It is the type of poker that you would teach a person who is just learning how to play poker. Despite the fact that this form of poker is no longer common in casinos, it is important to know how to play it because it will help you learn all other types of poker. In order to learn how to play draw poker, you need to know the 5 card hands and their rankings as well as knowing when to place bets and how to place bets as well. All cards are dealt and discarded facing down and cards are only revealed at the final showdown of the game.
In order to learn how to play draw poker, you would need to understand the rules. There are a number of websites that provide this information. Due to the fact that there are numerous types of poker, you should make sure that you are learning the rules of draw poker and not any other type of poker. You should keep in mind that by learning draw poker, you will be setting the base for learning the more exciting types of poker.
You can practice how to play draw poker by downloading the game on to your computer. There are a number of programs that are available that will help you as you play the game. They can give prompts when you are stuck and also give hints and tips on how to play the game. This will go a long way in teaching how to play the game and improving the way you play as well.
The basic aim of the game is to have the person who has the best hand as the winner. Learning the different rankings of the games will help you know who the winners and the losers are. Playing in a group is always so much more fun and so, you can invite a few friends to join you for a game of draw poker.
Texas Hold’em Poker Rules
Poker is one of the biggest and most exciting casino games, and the most popular variant is unarguably Texas Hold’em. You can find Texas Hold’em at almost every casino, whether it is a land casino or an online casino. In fact, in many casinos around the world, Texas Hold’em Poker is the main poker game. In fact, at many of the world’s biggest poker tournaments, Texas Hold’em is the most popular and most important event.
Gameplay
Unlike many other popular forms of poker, when playing Texas Hold’em, each player receives only two cards, while the rest of the cards are dealt on the table face-up for everyone to see. This makes Texas Hold’em the most strategic form of poker, as it is not necessarily the cards that matter, but the way you choose to play them.
The two cards that each player receives are called the hole cards, and the cards placed on the table are called the flop. At the end of the first second, another card is drawn onto the table and this is called the turn. In the third round, a fifth card is put onto the table. It is referred to as the river.
As with any other type of poker, there is a small blind and a big blind. In each round, the small and big blind change, and the first player to place a bet is always the person sitting directly to the left of the big blind.
Players can choose to either check (if there are no bets placed), bet, call or fold.
With Texas Hold’em’s huge popularity and the amount of strategy required to win, it is no wonder so many people are interested in learning how to play. As one of the most exciting card games, it is worth learning.
The Ten Best Texas Hold’em Tips
The poker game of Texas Hold’em is currently still the most popular of all styles of poker game. Texas Hold’em is fast paced and exciting and can be played in real casinos and poker rooms all over the world, or online where a variety of Texas Hold’em is offered in both online casinos and online poker rooms all over the web. Here are the ten best Texas Hold’em tips to become a more consistent winner.
1. Understanding the Nuts
Understanding the meaning and implications of understanding the nuts is possibly one of the most important tips that you will ever learn about Texas Hold’em poker. The nuts simply refers to the best possible hand that you can have in a game or a round of Texas Hold’em poker. The nuts can vary depending on the value of your initial two cards, the cards in the flop and so on.
2. Understanding the Odds
In the average game of Texas Hold’em, having the nuts is more often than not against the odds. This is often because your initial cards can determine how soon you fold your hand in the game, before knowing what cards are still to come in the flop for example. Calculating your odds as to how close to the nuts you are or can get could mean the difference between folding and losing or staying in and possibly winning.
3. Keep your eye on your opponents
Keeping an eye on your opponents is an extremely valuable tactic because you can learn a great deal in any game simply by watching your opponents. Every opponents has a ‘tell’, something that they do that gives away the quality of their hand.
4. Remember that other players are doing the same thing
It is also good to remember that other players are also watching you, watching what you do and when you do it in order to assess your strengths and weaknesses.
5. Learn to bluff
Learning to bluff convincingly is a vital part of playing the game of Texas Hold’em. There are many different ways to bluff, particularly once the flop is revealed.
6. Position matters
Your betting position within the game matters, the further down you are in the order of betting you are the better, this gives you more time to assess the quality of other players hands before you are required to bet.
7. Big money stack intimidation
If you have managed to accumulate a large stack of chips or you are able to come into the game with a large money stack, you can use this to control the behaviour in the game in your favour.
8. Fold when you need to
There is nothing wrong with folding when you need to and in fact it is part of a good game strategy. Folding if you have a bad hand saves time and money and the less you lose the better and the less others win the better for you.
9. Other tricks and strategies
There are many different tricks and strategies that you can use to win. Betting really big can get others to fold early meaning you win the blinds. Getting others to think you have a bad hand when you have a good hand may get them to raise more, increasing the pot.
10. Always have fun
Believe it or not but one of the most important tips is to always remember to have fun. Stressing out will certainly not help you to win.
Different Types of Online Poker Tournaments
Online poker games are among the most popular and the most played of all the different types of online casino style games that you can play on the web. Online poker has superseded many of the other traditionally popular online gambling games like roulette or online slots games. The introduction of highly specialized online poker rooms and the subsequent online poker tournaments helped to push the popularity of online poker all over the world.
Most Played Types of Online Poker Tournaments
If you are still quite new to the world of online poker then most of these popular online poker tournaments will be completely foreign to you. There are many great benefits to finding a few really popular online poker tournaments to play at; online poker tournaments represent the opportunity to play online poker with a diverse range of online poker players at a fairly low cost to you. Playing online poker with a diverse range of players from all over the world means you gain a massive amount of experience at a low cost.
The sit and go tournaments are probably the most played types of online poker tournaments. Sit and go tournaments usually feature a varying number of players, anything from two to eighteen players at any one time. Sit and go tournaments are also usually the most affordable.
Another very popular type of online poker tournament is the so called free roll online poker tournament. Free roll online poker tournaments, as the name implies, are free to enter and do not require a buy in. the great thing about free roll online poker tournaments is that you don’t have to put any money into a buy in but you can still win in the tournament.
Other Types of Online Poker Tournaments
There are of course other types of online poker tournaments which vary in degree of popularity. Guaranteed prize poll online poker tournaments are very common in most online poker rooms. The poker room guarantees that the total prize pool will reach a specific amount; these are popular because players know exactly what they will be able to win.
Among the most popular of all poker room tournaments are the satellite poker tournaments. These are small tournaments that are linked to much bigger tournaments, winners of the satellite tournaments get to move on to the bigger tournaments.
Poker is without doubt the single biggest and most popular card based gambling game today; the game is played in all corners of the globe in a number of different styles and configurations. All styles of modern poker are valid and poker tournaments are just one way of bringing together players interested in a challenging international experience in the style of poker that they love to play.
Since the introduction of the internet and the World Wide Web poker tournaments have become even more popular than ever before. It is much easier for players from all over the world to get into online poker tournaments and many of the best online tournaments feature admission to some of the biggest real world international tournaments as prizes.
Most Popular Types of Poker Tournaments
International poker tournaments are becoming more and more prolific as the popularity of the game increases. While online poker tournaments are gaining in popularity over real world international tournaments largely due to their ease and convenience in terms of logistics, both still follow the same format in terms of types of poker tournaments.
Arguably the most popular of all poker tournament formats, both real world and online, are the Freeze Out poker tournaments. Basically the way that the Freeze Out poker tournament works is very simple, the idea is based on the amount of chips that players in the tournament manage to accrue. The player with the most chips at the end of the tournament is the winner.
A type of tournament that is rapidly gaining in online popularity is the so – called satellite tournament, you may have heard this term before while exploring online poker rooms or online casinos that feature regular poker tournaments. Satellite tournaments essentially work as feeder tournaments to larger events such as the World Series of Poker or World Poker Tour events. Players can enter satellite tournaments with the hopes of winning the main prize, entry into one of these larger and much more prestigious poker events.
Another variation on the satellite poker tournament format is the Shootout poker tournament. This essentially is a mini version of a satellite poker tournament that takes place at the same poker tournament event. The idea here is that the winner of each table moves on to the next round, the tables begin to decrease in number until there is only one final table left.
Other Styles and Types of Poker Tournaments
There are other styles and types of poker tournaments like the Heads Up poker tournament where participants at the event actually go head to head or one on one, this is a similar format to tennis tournaments or darts tournaments.
Some tournaments also feature additional aspects like the Re – buy. In a re – buy style of poker tournament players are permitted to buy or re – buy chips if their chips happen to fall below a certain level. There are two kinds of re – buy tournaments, limited and unlimited re – buys.
World Series of Poker History
The World Series of Poker event has quite a long and interesting history. The event first began back in nineteen seventy and the idea behind this tournament at the time was really to attract more poker players to Las Vegas to bring more money into the town and into the casinos along the strip.
A little over four decades later and the World Series of Poker is one of the largest televised sporting events in the world today. The World Series of Poker really began with humble beginnings and in fact, the very first tournament in nineteen seventy only attracted a grand total of seven players. In its history the World Series of Poker has seen over half a million international players take part in the events annually.
Today the World Series of Poker is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world with a grand total of sixty eight gold bracelets awarded last year and a total of sixty two events happening throughout this year. There is also an Asian edition of the tournament on the cards, the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific event.
The Early Years of the World Series of Poker
The seed of the idea for the World Series of Poker was initially planted when Texan Tom Moore came up with the idea to host a poker tournament at his hotel and casino in Reno Nevada. He named the even the “Texas Gamblers Reunion” and hoped to attract a large number of professional poker players to the event. Ultimately the turn out to the event and subsequent interest was not what Tom had hoped for and he scrapped the event’s future.
Another gaming entrepreneur named Benny Binion was inspired to come up with a similar event in Las Vegas and after conferring with Tom Moore initiated the very first World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas Nevada in nineteen seventy. The very first winner of the very first World Series of Poker event was a poker player named Johnny Moss. Johnny Moss also successfully defended his title in the following year and won a grand total of thirty thousand dollars in the process.
How the World Series of Poker Event Grew
After the first two or three years of the World Series of Poker, the event began to grow from strength to strength in a steady manner all the way up to nineteen ninety one. After ninety one there was a slight dip in interest but with the advent of cable television coverage and later, internet coverage the tournament is bigger today than it ever was in its entire history.
Selecting A Poker Room Online
As online poker rooms have grown to be more and more popular among popular enthusiasts, the supply has increased in an effort to meet the demand. This means that players now have a choice of many different poker sites when it comes to choosing an online poker room at which to enjoy this classic casino game.
How To Pick A Poker Room Online
In order to find the very best possible online poker room for you, there are a few factors that need to be considered. Players can find the best online poker rooms by simply investing a little time and effort into the search process. The top factors that should be considered when making this decision will be discussed below.
Online Poker Room Bonuses
Many online poker rooms offer players sign up deposit bonuses that give them extra playing credits for their money. These bonuses can amount to as much as one thousand dollars’ worth of free playing credits. Many online poker rooms also have even more generous deposit bonuses on offer for high rollers. Players looking for added value should research the different bonuses on offer and make sure that they remember to have a look at the applicable terms and conditions as well.
Investigate The Rake
All poker players should note that the rakes may differ from one online poker room to another. Find out exactly what the rake structure is the level of poker that you wish to play and compare it to the industry standard or acceptable rake of five to ten percent for games and ten percent for poker tournaments. Unfortunately, there are a few poker rooms that overcharge and players are advised to avoid these.
Level Of Security Measures In Place
All trustworthy online poker rooms will advise players regarding the numerous security measures put in place for the player’s protection. Players who are still a bit unsure about divulging their credit card information to the online poker rooms are advised to make use of a trusted e-wallet instead.
What Type Of Opposition Are You Looking For?
Many players completely forget to take this point into consideration when choosing an online poker site. There are some online poker rooms that are renowned for attracting some of the best online poker players around. Other poker rooms are famed for their inexperienced or loose players that provide more experienced players with many opportunities to win big.
Players need to think about whether they are looking to improve their skill as a poker player or if they are looking to be as profitable as possible. This will determine what type of opposition you are looking to face and which online poker rooms is most likely to provide you with this opportunity.
Online Poker & Security
Poker is considered to be one of the casino classics and this game can be found at just about every online and land based casino. In fact, this game is so popular that dedicated poker rooms are becoming almost as popular as casinos online. Many player rightfully have a few concerns about the level of security and safety there’d be in place when gambling at online poker rooms. Let’s consider a few factors below:
Security & Safety
Online poker rooms are fairly similar to online casinos as far as their security measures are concerned. Most online poker rooms also make use of 124 bit encryption software to ensure that all player transactions can be processed in a very secure way. Players can rest assured that their personal information and financial information is safe when gambling at any reputable online casino.
It is very important that players choose carefully when it comes to selecting the best online poker room for them. For security reasons, all players are advised to find online poker rooms that are relatively well-established, fully licenced and very popular among online poker players.
Online Poker: Fairness & Honesty
All good poker players are looking for a fair game and all reputable online poker go to great lengths to ensure that this is what they get. There are many security measures in place to make sure that other players are not cheating when playing at the online poker room. Also, poker rooms have to be audited in much the same way that online casinos do. This ensures that the RNG is working well and that live dealers are dealing fairly.
Can You Trust Online Poker Rooms?
The answer to the question of whether or not you can trust an online poker room will depend on the online poker room you have selected. Unfortunately, as with most online industries, there are a few dishonest establishments. However, players can easily avoid these traps by doing their research and choosing a reputable online poker room that is certified and has a good reputation among online poker players.