June 30, 2010
February 11, 2010
How to Choose an Online Poker Site
So
you have decided that you want to play poker Online
and your hunt for the perfect site has begun. But alas
there are literally hundreds of poker sites on the Internet. How do you discriminate between all of these available sites
to find that desired site ? There are several key criteria that you should be aware of
in your quest to find the poker site that is perfect for you. Understanding these criteria
and being able to use them as a basis for comparison
will significantly simplify your selection process:
Free Poker – If you are looking to play online poker for pure recreation
and not for money
ensure that the site you are interested in accommodates “free” players. Most online poker sites do cater to free players.
Software Download vs. Web-based – Most
if not all
online poker sites require you to download their poker client software onto your computer system to run. If you are adverse to downloading such software onto your system
then you might want to check to see if the poker site alternatively has a web-based poker interface
which allows you to play poker on the site from within your browser. Software installs run the potential risk of viruses and/or adware being loaded onto your system (although most of the reputable firms would never do that)
but software installs on your computer generally run a lot faster than web-based sessions. Software installations harness the power of your local PC’s CPU
whereas web-based interfaces rely on downloading any screen real estate updates over the Internet during play. This can be slow
particularly
if you are running over a slow internet connection (e.g.
a dialup line). Hence
if you are after speed
select local software installations; if you are concerned about your computer’s safety or cannot afford the disk space used by a software installation
select a web-based poker site.
Methods of Deposit/Withdrawal – If you are planning to play poker for money over the Internet
it is very important to consider the methods of deposit and withdrawal that a poker site supports. Many of these sites permit major credit cards to be used
which seem to be the universal deposit mechanism of choice. Others permit the use of bank transfer
ACH transfer
checks
and wire transfer from banks. Most poker sites also support some form of 3rd party eWallets
which provide an intermediary between banking institutions and the poker site itself. The main criteria to look at are: 1) What methods of deposit/withdrawal are supported by the poker site
and how many of these methods are supported by the locale that you live in ?; 2) Is it legal to fund/withdraw to/from a poker site
from the jurisdiction that you are playing in ?; 3) What are the fees associated with the 3rd party eWallet companies that you are able to use
and how reliable are they (this latter question can be researched on some of the poker message forum boards) ?
Locale Restrictions – Some poker sites restrict the playing for money (and even free play sometimes)
based on your locale
and the laws governing gambling in your locale. You should check with the laws of your local jurisdiction and check with the poker site
to see if there are any imposed restrictions on play
based on your locale.
Support – You should definitely look at the methods of support that a poker site offers. Poker sites generally provide one (or more) methods of support that include: telephone support
fax support
Email support
and live chat support. The more of these that a poker site offers
the better. For telephone support
check and see if the poker site offers toll-free support from your playing jurisdiction or not.
Game Variety – Depending on your level of poker playing expertise and your interest in variety
it is important to determine which game types the poker site supports. Almost all of the sites offer Texas Holdem
but depending on your leve
l of interest
you should check to see if they offer games like Five and Seven Card Stud
Omaha Poker (and all of its variations)
Blackjack (not poker
but often included as a game option)
Stud (and its variations)
Draw poker
Tournament support
and limit and pot limit games. Tournaments in particular are very popular with online poker sites
and some site tournaments offer very large prize pools.
Bonuses – Most
but not all
of the poker sites offer some form of bonus to the player
when you initially sign up with the site. Each site’s bonus is somewhat different
but of the one’s that offer first time bonus
it is usually predicated on a minimum initial deposit. Many bonuses are also calculated based on the amount of money deposited and spent on the site. Additionally
many sites offer reload bonuses
which are bonuses that are offered to existing customers
beyond their initial deposit bonus
and as an incentive to keep you as a customer.
Graphics and Useability – This is a very important consideration. Every poker site has a different look and feel to it. If you are going to be playing poker for money
it is important that you feel comfortable with the screen graphics and your ability to navigate (via mouse or keyboard clicks) through the poker program. If you feel uncomfortable at all with the poker site
you should definitely not consider playing at it for money. You should always test a poker site out in “free” mode first
before actually considering it for real-money wagering.
Game Features – You should always consider the game features that are available with a given poker site. Game features such as hand history
multiple simultaneous playing windows
player notes
audible and visual indicators
player statistics
connection status indicator
player chat
turbo games
and screen options should always be considered.
Rake – Rake is the amount of the pot that the poker site takes (as part of its fee for doing business)
from each hand. You should always be aware of how much rake a poker site takes (compared to another site). Poker sites usually use a Weighted Contribution rake method or an Average Contribution method
when calculating rake. Obviously
the lower the rake
the more money you will take home on hand wins
but this criteria by itself should not dictate which poker site you use
since all of the above factors need to be taken into consideration as well. In summary
the aforementioned criteria should always be used
when deciding which Poker site is best for you. Depending on your preferences
some of these criteria should be given more weight than others. Happy Poker site hunting !!
–
Omaha Hi Lo – A Varaition of Standard Omaha
Omaha Hi Lo is a form of the regular poker game Omaha. In fact
the wagering
the blinds
as well as the postings are totally identical to Omaha poker.read more
Omaha Rules – A Guide to Omaha Poker
Omaha Poker rules are extremely similar to the the rules of Texas Holdem. A player who is already familiar with Texas Holdem rules and strategies should find learning how to play Omaha (sometimes even called Omaha Holdem) relatively simple. read more
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February 09, 2010
Poker Hand Rankings
If you want to become a serious poker player online or offline
you need to know the poker
hand rankings or you not know if you have a good hand or a bad hand. Of course
if you are use to playing with friends at home
you are more than likely not playing by the rules that are seen at casinos. All casinos
poker rooms online
and offline play by the same rules. The first thing you must know is that all 52 cards are used to play poker in most cases; however
the joker may or may not be used. The joker is often only seen in Draw Poker games and is not used in Texas Holdem
other holdem games
and stud poker.Cards are ranked from highest to lowest with the Ace at the top. The King
Queen
and Jack come next in that order and then 10 all the way down to the 2 often referred to as the deuce. The Ace can be used at the top or the bottom as a one for straights or even for the lowest card. In practically all poker games
only the five best cards are counted even if you are playing a seven-card game. Here is the breakdown so you will know if you have a good hand.If a joker is in play
the best hand a person can have is a five of a kind with five Aces at the top of the list. If no joker is in play
the best hand is the straight flush. A straight flush is five cards of the same suit such as all spades
all hearts
all clubs
or all diamonds. Of course
the cards must be in order to be a straight such as five diamonds from 5 to 10. A Royal Flush is the best hand
which includes the Ace
King
Queen
Jack
and Ten. Four of a kind comes next. All four cards must be the same card
such as all tens
kings
etc with the higher the card ranking the better. The best of course would be four Aces.Next is the Full House. A full house is three cards that have the same rank and then a pair. The higher the three cards the better such as 3 Kings and 2 5s. Of course
the person with the higher three cards will beat other players.The flush is next. A flush is cards of the same suit
but not in order. This means you can have five hearts of any rank. The person with the highest rank card will win if everyone has a flush. The straight is next with five cards in order from various suits. This means you can have 1 ace space
1 diamond king
1 heart queen
1 club jack
and 1 spade 10. The suit does not matter.Three of a kind means the same card such as all three kings. The next is a two pair of the same such as 2 Aces and 2 fives. The last one is one pair such as 2 tens. Of course if no one has any of the above
the person with the highest card will win the hand.
–
Colorado Jury Agrees: Poker Is A Skill Game
A Colorado jury has decided that a man was not guilty of organising an illegal gambling tournament because poker is a game of skill. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_29012009_149.html
Free Poker Money at Titan Poker
This free poker bonus is from PokerNetOnline who have been giving out free bankrolls at Titan Poker for a few years now. PokerNetOnline (PNO) give out 200 bankrolls of $50 each day to new players at Titan Poker. This free offer is probably one of the easiest to claim of the many free bankrolls offered at Titan [...]
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February 08, 2010
The Mind of a High Roller and Good Poker Player
gambling is such a lucrative activity where gains are manifested only to those who have access to it.Generally
gambling is considered as a game of chance. Everybody would love to gamble because of the fact that it could provide them easy money without having to toil and wait longer.Others contend that the reason why people love gambling is based on the fact that they consider it as a play
a game that gives them the kind of satisfaction that they need. They find it as an outlet that deviates from the usual life they have whenever they are at work or at home.The Gambling PeopleIn a typical casino environment
people who are seen playing poker
blackjack
roulettes
etc. usually come from different walks of life.Normally
they would put a reasonable bet on something that they think would be enough to give them back their stakes plus a hefty amount of money if ever they win.But there are people who place bets or stakes with large amount of money. These people are known as the high-rollers of the casino. These high rollers are those that usually deposit $1
000 or more and certainly do not look for offers such as no deposit poker bonus and freeroll poker sites.The reason why high rollers exist in the casinos is based on the fact that there are special bonuses that are only designated to people who deposit large amounts of money. And most often than not
these high rollers are the ones that usually win and take the money from other bets.No wonder why a particular thinking had evolved. This is known as the high-rollers mindset.The high rollers mindset is a way of thinking of most casino players or gamblers that conceptualizes the idea that the higher the bet
the higher the chances of winning and getting bigger amount of money.High-rollers mindset is usually employed by high-rollers or those who gamble a lot of money. They believe that by placing large amounts of money as their bets
they would be able to get the special bonuses being offered by the casino. Plus
they can even have more benefits that are only entitled to the high rollers if ever they get to win the game.Having a high-roller mindset is not at all wrong
especially if a person has a lot of money to bet. The only drawback is that it tends to let a person gamble a lot of money just for the thought that he or she might win. The bottom line: high rollers who gamble more have higher chances of losing more. After all
its still gambling where people are never sure if they will win or not.
–
Draft California Poker Act Becomes Public
California’s proposed poker legalisation law is released into the wild. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_01052009_215.html
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A pokerbot site is inviting bot users to vote for the most bot-friendly site. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_20062009_250.html
CEREUS Online Poker Network Approved by eCOGRA
CEREUS online poker network has received the eCOGRA Certified Software accreditation seal. Read the full story at http://www.classicasinos.com/PokerNews/ns_11122009_411.html
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