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Online Poker for the Beginner : Starting Out

Online poker started in the late 90s and has now virtually exploded due to extensive media coverage and aggressive marketing. The World Poker Tour has brought the game into our living rooms and we get to see how the professionals play their hands. Sometimes online qualifiers end up at the final table which makes us believe that anyone can make it, all you need is 'a chip and a chair'.

Below you can see some of the advantages of playing online compared to poker played at the casinos:

Always available

Multiple table option

No tipping the dealer

Lower rake

No dress code/ no drunk players

Online Poker Preparation

Poker is a game about skill , good judgment and patience. Before you start playing, I suggest that you read some of the poker strategy guides available online, check what starting hands to use, learn the poker terms and read about common beginner mistakes.

BankRoll playing Online Poker

Never bet money you cannot afford to lose. There are many freerolls available, play them to get used to the poker client and how a tournament is played. It takes time to play a freeroll, but if you do not have the patience maybe you shouldn't play poker at all ? If you have money to spend, use the best sign-up bonus you can find. By using these bonuses you will get for ex an extra 20% added to your poker account at first deposit.

Which Poker Game to Choose Online

There are several versions of poker: Omaha, 7 card Stud, Texas Holdem, Omaha Hi/Lo, 5 Card Stud or Draw poker. To see all online poker games and poker room comparisons for each game visit our poker games section.If you are looking for rules to a particular game visit our poker rules section. What ever game you choose to start with, play limit and do not start with no limit. This will make you realize how important the value of your starting hands is. Limit Holdem might be the easiest game to start with and then work your way through the other games. By learning more than just one game, your overall poker knowledge will increase rapidly.

Keeping Track of Your Opponents

Many poker clients have the option to put a note on your opponents at the table. Use this feature frequently and note the good players and avoid sitting down at tables with good players. Similarly you should record betting patters and things you notice about a particular player. It might be that whenever you check post flop he/she nearly always bet at the pot. Even stonger might be that you caught him/her bluffing at the pot pre flop or post flop. These are all traits and can help you if you come up against them again.

Summary

Remember that it takes time to become a very good poker player. Never consider yourself to know it all, always try to learn something from every table you play at. A combination of reading poker books by better players and playing a lot will get you a step closer to become a winning poker player.

See our Guide to making money playing online poker.

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