How to Get Started in Online Poker

Have you heard than idn poker is a lot of fun? Indeed poker has a perfect combination of a social friendly circle or club versus battling wits and adrenalin of winning. When getting started with poker some people rush out to deposit a considerable sum at a biggest online site they can find. They usually quickly lose their deposit, sour on the game and leave. There is a better way and it is more fun. Instead I recommend starting at any quality free online poker sites. There are many out there to choose from.

Learn Poker Rules

While poker rules are simple, the game is fairly fast paced. Usually you have less than 30 sec to make a move. Thus it is critical to be able to quickly grasp at least what cards you have, how they combine with community cards and all different ways you can win. Do you want to learn all that when you have your real, hard earned dollars on the table? Perhaps you do. As for me – that would make me nervous and where is fun in that? Free multiplayer poker sites, where you play against other people online, are perfect for learning these basic poker rules. You will learn them with no pressure and no hit to your wallet.

Do Not Be a Patsy

There are reasons why many sites encourage you to make a cash deposit as soon as possible. The most important one is to bring new money into the game. Poker is a zero sum game. That is what someone won someone else must have lost. New inexperienced players are called “fish” or “patsy” in poker parlance. Good players purposely seek them out. Poker is a game of skill after all.

The better you skills are the better and more consistent your payday is. You are certainly not a patsy. Since you are reading this article you are already ahead of 90% of poker newbies. You have mastered poker basics on safe play money poker sites for free. So when you are ready to play for real cash you enter the game with some confidence. You are not intimidated or confused by a strict dealer and quick pace at casino tables.

Learn What Not to Do

Some poker experts believe it is detrimental for your poker skills to train on free, that is play money, poker sites. They explain that when there is no real money on the line players modify their behavior. In other words players have no fear of losing their money and become maniacs raising every hand just to see what happens. I agree with that observation. Play money sites often feature reckless, hyper aggressive even maniacal players who never stop for an instant to think what they are doing.

Well, they are easy to beat if you have a minimal discipline and not engage in the same over the top playing style. Poker has what is called a perfect strategy – strategy which guarantees to win the most over the long term regardless of what cards you are dealt. The closer your play to perfect strategy the bigger your edge becomes. Think of it this way – if you cannot beat a free poker game, why do you think you would prosper in cash game where players, on average, are much more competent? Make sense? This way of thinking goes further. When you can consistently beat a free poker game, it is a solid indication that you are ready to move up.

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