Tag Archives: poker rooms
How to Start Playing Poker Online
So you want to start playing online poker? You’ve heard the stories of people starting out in small money tournaments, and going all the way to the World Series? Or else you’ve read about professional poker players, and feel that you could do the same as they have? Or maybe you just think you could do well enough at it to bring in a little bit of extra very welcome income? Whatever your motives for coming in to the world of online Texas Holdem Poker, you need to think things through very carefully before putting your money down.
The first essential is to make sure that you do your research into the rules of the game, and especially the rankings of the hands. That is easy to do, especially in the modern world of computers and the internet where information is available so easily. Of course the limits and the betting round structures will vary from game to game, but make sure you understand the basics. Of course if you are completely new to the game you would be well advised to start at the free poker tables run by most of the better poker rooms, so that any mistakes you do make can be laughed off.
So many of the tutorials on online Texas Holdem Poker do not bother to consider the equipment that you will be using, but they do the beginner a disservice. Although a slow computer and poor internet connection will not mean that you lose money in hands where problems occur, they can easily mean you being sidelined at a time you are sitting on a potential big win, and the considerable loss of opportunity. Most of the online poker rooms operate what is known as an ‘all-in’ disconnection policy, which can considerably reduce your winnings if you are disconnected at the wrong time.
Opinion is very much divided as to how valuable practice on the free tables actually is, as without real money being involved, the emotions are totally different from those which you will face in real games. It is also possible that, if you continue too long in free games, you will develop a sense of fear about diving in to the real thing. Probably the best option is to start at the free tables, until you feel totally confident about knowing the rules, and then move quickly up into a paid game, albeit at an extremely low level.
In those very low stake games it is virtually impossible to lose significant amounts of money unless you play like a total maniac, yet they have a totally different feel from the free games. Cutting down the amount of time spent in free games, and moving up as quickly as possible, will give you the best possible chance of assessing your own strengths and weaknesses. Sign up for just one site, get used to the feel of their poker rooms, start in the free games, but don’t spend too much time in there. Move up as quickly as you can into the paid games, but only move up to the higher stake games when you feel you are really ready, and you can bet with stakes that you won in the smaller games.
Review Of PDC Poker
PDCPoker initial deposit bonus is one of the better deposit bonus you will find on the internet. In fact PDCPoker offers an initial deposit bonus of 100% up to $600. The traffic at PDCPoker is small compared to many online poker rooms. However, it is starting to pick up and you can now find some higher stake games during peak hours. The competition at PDCPoker is considered by many poker players to be below average, even at the higher stake games, so if you are a solid player and want to increase your profit from what you can make at the bigger poker rooms, PDC Poker would be a great place to start. In addition, the software at PDCPoker is also player friendly and the fact that PDCPoker offers live chat support gives them an edge over most other online poker rooms.
Major PDCPoker Promotions:
Royal Flush Bonus Win a bonus of 100 times the big blind by making a royal flush using both hole cards at any holdem ring game.
New Depositors Freerolls You receive 14 days of free seats in the $500 daily new depositors freerolls at PDCPoker.
PDCPoker Royalty Loyalty Program Make your way up the various loyalty tiers at PDCPoker to earn some impressive benefits.
Refer-a-Friend You receive $25 and you and your friend battle it out in a heads up match for a free $50.
As I mentioned, the traffic at PDCPoker is small compared to other online poker rooms. However, you will always find a game at PDCPoker. The fact that US players are allowed at the site is a good indicator that the traffic will grow in the future.
PDCPoker, unlike many online poker rooms, does offer a variety of less popular poker variations including HORSE, razz, 5 card stud, 5 card draw, triple draw, 7 card stud and badugi.
PDCPoker does offer the poker player many small buy-in tournaments on their tourney schedule. Most of the tournaments at PDCPoker buy-ins below $20 and often these tournaments are rebuy or bounty tournaments.
In addition, PDCPoker is known to offer many sit and go tournaments which are popular with many poker players. Usually the sit and go tournaments at PDCPoker average around $30 for regular tourneys and up to over $100 for heads up or double or nothing variations.
As mentioned, the competition at PDCPoker is still fairly soft relative to the larger online poker rooms. However, the Merge network, which PDCPoker is on, is still relatively new and they are just moving away from their aggressive freeroll approach to attract players. Thus, the poker player will find the low limit games to be very loose with very high pre-flop percentages.
As for the Merge network software that PDCPoker runs on, it is very solid with smooth game play and a lot of neat features. At some tables you can “deal it twice” and you are also given the option to “rabbit hunt” if you win the pot before the showdown. In addition, there is also a casino section attached to the software where you can try your luck at roulette, blackjack, video poker, etc.
As for support, PDCPoker offers both email support and live chat support. Live chat support is a plus since many online poker rooms do not offer this feature!
Deposits and withdraws at PDCPoker can be made by Visa, Click2Pay, ECO, Neteller, Moneybookers, eWalletXpress, PIC-Club, Entropay, ClickandBuy, paysafecard and echeck (great for US players!). The minimum deposit at PDCPoker is $10 for most options and the minimum withdrawal at PDCPoker is $50