Online poker rooms have been studiedly growing for years leaving those looking to play online poker with plenty of choices to choose from. Regardless if you are an amateur or a seasoned professional, finding an online poker room is as easy as turning on your computer. Almost all online poker rooms off cash games and many have freeroll game, as well as, offer tournament play for all players. This guide will focus on how to select an online poker room.
Picking an online poker rooms begins with understanding your level of knowledge about the game of poker. If you have never played the game of poker before but want to learn some site cater to teaching the beginner, while others are geared more toward the seasoned pro.
Knowing what kind of poker you are hoping to play is another consideration since each will offer different variations. The most popular online poker games are Texas Holdem and Omaha Hi/Low. There are many other variations available also and will vary from room to room. Finding the online poker room that offers what interest you is simply a matter of looking around.
Making the right choices and getting the most enjoyment from playing poker starts here with some basic steps to consider. We hope to give you a better understanding of what to look for when picking an online poker room.
Players in the United States are subject to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which prohibits Internet gaming or gambling, including placing bets when playing online poker. Many financial institutions will prohibit the transfer of funds from U.S. accounts to poker websites per the bill. This page is for informative purposes only and does not offer advice on how to break these laws.
Featured Video on Online Poker Rooms
This video offers great comparison of some of the best online poker rooms available. The narrator, John from www.learnpoker4free.info offers pros and cons about each site he covers. John also offers a website where he teaches how to play better poker.
John compares sites like Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, and Cake Poker. He claims to play in all three of these daily and that they are all free.
Step 1: Learn what to Expect from Online Poker Rooms
There isn’t a lack of online poker rooms available and that will make choose the right one harder. With a little research and knowing what you want and expect you can easily and quickly eliminate many of them, helping you find the right one for you.
With the exception of PokerRoom.com almost all online poker rooms require a one time download of their software client to play. PokerRoom.com offers both a download or allows you to play directly from your browser without the download. These poker client downloads will enable you to access the tables and account information by adding a icon on your desktop screen.
Regardless if you are looking to play free poker or cash games each online poker room site require registration. The information varies with basic information: name, address, phone number, and email address. A user name and password will also be required along with an email address to activate your account.
For cash players online poker rooms will require banking information. Banking information will allow the site to debit your bank whenever you authorize a deposit and allow you to receive winnings from cash games and tournaments. Minimum deposit and deposit bonus requirements vary from site to site.
The following chart shows just a few of the online poker rooms available and their required deposits and limits. Also listed will be bonus percent for first time deposits.
| Deposit Comparison | |||||||
| Full Tilt Poker | 105% | $600 | $50 | ||||
| Bodog Poker | 110% | $500 | $20 | ||||
| PartyPoker | 120% | $200 | $25 | ||||
| Absolute Poker | 100% | $500 | $50 | ||||
| Titan Poker | 150% | $500 | $25 | ||||
| PokerStars | 100% | $600 | $10 | ||||
| Mansion Poker | 100% | $500 | $15 | ||||
Free play options are also available on each of these online poker rooms requiring only a registered membership. Banking information isn’t required unless cash deposit is made.http://www.directoryofonlinepoker.com/bestpokerbonus.shtml
Step 2 Learning to Use the Online Poker Client
Not all online poker room clients (programs) are the same and some are out right confusing for the beginner. With a little patience and time, you will be able to navigate the rooms in no time.
PokerStars.net is considered one of the easiest online poker rooms to navigate. Their layout has tabs for each of the more popular games like Texas Holdem, Omaha, Stud, Tournaments, and Sit & Go Tours. They also have tabs containing other variations they offer. Each tab in PokerStars contains sub-tabs for play money and cash game amounts.
Full Tilt Poker is considered one of the hardest online poker clients to use in spite of their recent upgrades. Like PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker offers a choice of free play and cash games and a selection of many of the most popular poker games (Texas Holdem, Omaha, etc).
There are many other online poker rooms available, each has their own program client, and each offers many of the same variations. When choosing which online poker rooms to play in take the time to become familiar with how the poker rooms are set up and how to get in and out of tables.
Placing bets, raises and folding can also be different from room to room. You will want to play in a few free games first to get acquainted with how each online poker room is set up at the tables. Once you are comfortable with the online poker rooms you will be playing and winning tournaments in no time.
Step 3: Learning the Basics of Playing in Online Poker Rooms
If you have ever watched World Series of Poker on television you know they have set rules and guidelines they follow. This is the same for online poker rooms. Many of them follow exactly or close to the same rules of the WSOP.
Because players are allowed to sit out of play while at table, according the WSOP rules, they are also allowed to sit out of hands in online poker rooms. Many times a table or tournament will have players who will never play a hand. Their hands are auto folded and play continues without them. Anyone can use this option.
Online poker rooms will also offer no limit play, pot limit, and fixed limit. The play for each of these varies greatly between free play and cash games. To get the most out of your learning experience it is best to play each of these to better understand how they work. Doing so will enable you to make develop a more rounded understand of the game of poker and give you a greater return of your time and money.http://www.directoryofonlinepoker.com/compareonlinepoker.shtml
