If you are new to online poker choosing which
poker site to play on can be a little daunting.
This is due the sheer number of sites that
springing up as the poker craze gathers pace. As
with all businesses some of these are better
than others, and there are sites to avoid.
However the poker player shouldn’t be put off by
the huge choice available to them as a safe and
rewarding experience can be easily found.
Choosing a Poker Room
There are hundreds of poker rooms on the
internet to choose from, some much better than
others and some which should be avoided like the
plague. So what do you need to look for in a
poker site? This obviously depends on what you
want from your poker experience but some of the
main things to look out for are;
Integrity and security
Ensure the sites are licensed, offer secure
encrypted banking, have random number generation
for their card shuffling and privacy policies to
protect you.
Banking
Getting your money in and out of the poker sites
needs to be easy. A majority of the sites
operate in US$ so for the UK or international
customers exchange rates can be an issue. Using
a credit card to deposit can create a problem
when withdrawing as Mastercard doesn’t accept
credits back from gambling sites, and Visa will
only allow it in certain countries. There is
also the issue that some sites will charge for
making withdrawals by certain methods. We
recommends using Neteller for easy and, in the
vast majority of cases, free transactions.
Bonuses
Almost all poker sites offer some kind of bonus
as an incentive to sign up to them. These are a
usually percentage of your initial deposit,
anything from 20% up to 100%. The majority of
poker rooms now release bonuses in stages once a
certain number of player points have been
reached.
Tournaments
Tournaments are a great way to play poker for
low buy ins and sometimes have some great prizes
for the winner or top finishing players. Many
sites also offer freeroll tournaments which have
no entry fee and great prizes, Paradise Poker
are currently running a $1million freeroll. The
low level tournaments are also a good way to
learn the game while limiting your potential
losses. Several sites now offer special freeroll
tournaments for first time depositors. These are
especially good as the competition will be
limited and it gives you a chance to get a feel
for the site. Titan Poker and Poker.com both
offer these freerolls.
Range of games
the best of the sites offer a wide range of
games including texas hold ‘em, and Omaha. They
also have a variety of sit and go tables that
you can play at, 1 on 1 tables, and even let you
set up your own tournaments for you and your
friends.
Most poker sites have a play money facility;
these are free table where you aren’t playing
with real money. They are a good way to learn
the game and get to know the site a bit. However
as it isn’t real money the behavior of other
players isn’t the same as in real money games.
Risks tend to be taken and cards are played that
would never usually be played in a real game.
Use an online poker guide for advice on which
are the best sites, information on how to play,
and lists of freeroll tournaments. The choice of
sites available makes it easy to change if
you’re not happy with the one you’ve joined,
there’s nothing stopping you having accounts at
several different poker sites. All of the poker
rooms promoted here are highly recommended and
we play at all of them.
As with all gambling you should only play within
your means, if you’re new to poker start off on
tables or tournaments with a low buy in then work
your way up as you get used to the poker room
and your play improves.
