Regarding Poker

I will assume two things; 1) that you have a real-money account at an online poker site, and 2) that you want to make money playing online poker.

Making money playing online poker is not as easy as one thinks, unless of course you are a very experienced player and have a boat load of poker talent. There are several key characteristics that winning players share, and they are; playing their strengths, patience, discipline, and bankroll management.

Let me explain each:

Playing your strengths

This really is a no brainer, but I see so many online players do the opposite and see their bankrolls crash time after time.

Let’s say that you are a tight aggressive player and your strongest game is seven card stud hi/lo, tournament style, e.g. multi-table tournaments (MTT’s) and/or sit and go’s.

One would think that you should play that style of game, right? I see too many players get caught up in the excitement of the poker room with all it has to offer and see a lot of players play games that they just want to “check out” and try. Of course, because they lack experience in these games they lose their money, and lose it quickly.

STICK WITH WHAT YOU KNOW! Or at the very least until your bankroll allows you to “experiment”.

I know one player who plays a lot like me, in that he is very tight and aggressive. This style of play requires you to sit back and wait for the right cards to play depending on your position. This type of play dictates slower blind increases, e.g. blinds go up every ten to 15 minutes (even longer preferably).

So what does this guy do when he gets his first real-money online poker account? He plays turbo games (games where the blinds increases are anywhere from three to five minutes). Big deal you say, well, if he were a super loose and aggressive player then this type of game would be well suited for him, but he’s not, he likes to sit back and wait for the good hands. So why in the world would he play turbo games when he should be playing games with “normal” blind increases which would give him the time to get the cards he’s waiting for without going broke too soon?

Here is my point, if you excel at No Limit Hold’em and you enjoy tournament style poker, and you are a tight player then I would recommend that you play single table sit and go’s with regular blind increases. Simple.

It took me a long time to figure this out and now I preach it! Your online bankroll can go down very quickly if you don’t play games that suit you, trust me.

I almost play sit and go’s exclusively now because that is where I win most of my money. When my bankroll allows me to “experiment” then I do, but I do it cautiously.

Of course, if you do want to experiment with other types of games and structures then try them out with play chips or lower limits and do some homework on the game before playing for real money.

In the next Blog entry I will discuss patience and discipline.

I intend to discuss many aspects of poker, in particular, online poker, PokerStars and FullTilt Poker.

Flop’em dead!

So, are thinking about playing poker online for real money? There are a few things to consider before signing up with an online poker room.

Will the online poker room you choose offer these?

1. Exceptional Customer Support – You’ll want a room that offers exceptional support. By this I mean you should be able to chat with someone via phone or live chat or receive an email to your questions within 24 hours.

You’ll also want the support staff to be knowledgable and helpful and resolve issues quickly.

2. Timely Cash Outs – Isn’t the whole idea of playing online poker for real money is to make money? If the poker room is notorious for giving poker players a difficult time cashing out then you don’t want to be associated with that poker room!

I feel that exceptional customer support and cashing out are THE two most important aspects of choosing an online poker room, and here’s why:

If you walk into a brick and mortar poker room you will have no problem with talking to the poker room staff to get answers to your questions and anything else that you need help with. So why should an online poker room be different? YOU are their customer and they should treat you accordingly, with the highest level of support.

Again, you will NEVER have a problem leaving a brick and mortar poker room with your poker winnings would you? So why shouldn’t the online poker rooms pay you in a timely manner without making it difficult? They shouldn’t, and you should NEVER play at an online poker room that has no problem taking your money but a hard time paying you your earnings.

I’ve played online poker at several places but the online poker room I play at the most at and have cashed out is PokerStars.

After you’ve found an online poker room with exceptional customer support and know that they cash out your earnings easily and in a timely fashion you’ll then want to make sure that they have everything else that you want in an online poker room, such as:
• Game selection in your cash limits
• Large player base
• Good multi-table tournament (MTT) selection with good structures
• Reliable software and servers
• Player rewards program

So from my personal experience and from reading a ton on the Internet here are my top choices:

1. PokerStars – Yup, they do it the best in all aspects. I can truly say PokerStars really does have THE perfect online poker room.

Here would be my other choices from the little I played there and from the positive remarks that I read:

2. FullTilt Poker
3. Absolute Poker

Go to PokerStars and open a real-money account and you won’t ever regret it.

By the way, they now offer a 100% deposit bonus for all new real-money players up to $50! Just use the PokerStars Bonus Code, “First2007”.

Click here to setup your free PokerStars account.

Good luck and play smart!