Before you start playing poker, first of all, you should learn the rules of the game as well as the laws behind it. Do not try to play without preparation, certainly not for the real money, as poker can be very unforgiving! Read our articles first. They will give you enough knowledge to get you started, they are also completely free.
As we already mentioned in the first article, your success in poker is based on the decisions you make during the game. The feeling of happiness you get after winning a few small hands doesn’t last for long and it’s a random occurrence, which we want to eliminate from your play.
The best players in the world, thanks to the accuracy of their decisions, have totally eliminated the random factor from their game. Remember that poker is all about its long-term nature and the number of played hands – the bigger it is, the more you say no to the laws of probability. Perhaps now you remember how bad you did on the advanced mathematics subject in school, but fear not – probability in poker is limited only to the simplest of actions and the only mathematics involved is on the level of elementary school. There is nothing to worry about!
Take some time to learn the poker rules and basic strategy. A few hours spent on education can translate into tangible money! Remember, you can also save money by not spending it on bad decisions!
Start with play money tables
If you’ve already gone through our basic articles, you can finally sit down and start playing. It will be up to you of course if you want to play for real money, but to get a grasp of the game, we advise you to try to play money tables first.
You can try to play money tables at any poker room you choose and it’s a really good place to see how playing online looks like, without the monetary risk. After a simple registration, you get a number of virtual tokens, you choose a table and you can start the game.
Use the poker knowledge you’ve gained at these tables, and when you find that you are ready to play for real, you can think about registering a real money account.
Play for real money
Any poker room with real money tables is licensed by the appropriate authorities, in the country from which it operates. Most of them are based in Gibraltar, Malta and the Isle of Man, where you can find the world’s biggest online poker room – PokerStars.
Licensed poker rooms have a number of very restrictive rules, which you should get familiar with. The most common one is the privacy policy. By registering an account, you should always enter your real name. It will not be visible to other users, but it’s a necessary piece of information for the poker room to carry out cash transactions with your bank or your digital wallet. Your personal details are completely safe and you don’t have to worry about them. The poker room has to be sure, that your credentials are real and that all your transactions are legal.
If you enter a false personal data during a registration, you can be sure to have plenty of trouble trying to cash out your winnings.
Verification
Almost all poker rooms have their own verification process of player’s personal data and you will most probably be asked to confirm your details. This type of verification is necessary to eliminate possible causes of underage gamers and fraudsters trying to enter real money games. Typically, you need to send in a scan of your ID card or passport and a utility bill addressed to your name. This can be a phone or a TV bill, electricity bill, or a bank statement. Some poker rooms also require you to send them a scan of the credit card you made your deposit with. All that data is completely safe and no one, except certain poker room employees, has an access to it. Also, your personal data cannot be transferred anywhere else.
If you fail to complete the account verification process, you won’t be able to withdraw your money. That’s why you should enter your real personal information during the registration.
After verifying your account, you can safely deposit and withdraw funds from your poker account.
Choosing a poker room
It’s very important to choose the right poker room at the start of your poker career. Many players decide to deposit their money the first time, due to the offered bonuses. Poker rooms often advertise those bonuses with colourful banners and promotions.
Remember, that at the beginning of your career, you will be playing at low stakes and only on one table, which will give you no practical chance to clear the required bonuses. Don’t pay attention to the rake back (partial return of the commission charged by the poker room), because on such stakes you won’t generate enough of it.
It happens very often that the beginners are registering with a poker room to receive their first deposit bonus. After realising that they cannot clear the bonus by playing on lowest stakes, they try their luck on higher stakes, where more experienced and better poker players simply take their money away from them.
At the beginning of your career, you have to think about learning to play well, not about the bonuses. There will be a time for looking at special offers in the future!
When choosing a poker room, you should consider the following factors:
- The overall level of the game – Many players, tempted by huge guaranteed prize pools and big wins, decide to start their poker adventure on the most popular poker rooms. These deals mainly attract very good players, who live of poker and the overall level of play in these poker rooms is much higher than on smaller rooms.
- Poker room’s licence and conditions – In poker, as in any other business, there are also unreliable companies. Often you can’t spot it in the very beginning, but when it comes to cashing out money, they make it a really hard experience. Some companies will not pay out your winnings at all! Therefore, only choose companies with good financial standings and good reputation among other players. All poker rooms in our offer belong to the safe group. Get familiar with all the advantages and disadvantages a poker room might have before you sign up to it.
- Poker variants and a number of players at the tables – Once you’ve decided which variant of poker you want to practice, check if your chosen poker room offers that variant, and if it does, how many players are online playing it. Waiting for half an hour for a Sit & Go tournament to start is pointless.
- Software functionality and aesthetics – Remember that poker is just a game and you should enjoy using the software of the poker room you’ve chosen at the beginning. This is your personal choice, but a very important one. However, do not pay attention to the number of tables you can play at the same time because at the start you will be playing only one. Instead, think about whether the software suits you visually and functionally. Try it and decide for yourself – preferably at the play money tables.
Now, it’s time to start playing poker. Always remember about a responsible approach to the game. The last piece of advice we would like to give you here is: do not play for too long! Poker is a great game, that can suck you in for hours and make you lose the sense of time, just like a good video game. In poker, however, you can quickly lose the concentration required to play and begin to make mistakes, that will reflect in your results. You’re simply going to pay for your mistakes! Do not ever play when you’re tired and always take breaks from your game. That’s the best way to keep mentally fit and to play responsibly.
Remember:
- Thanks to your acquired knowledge, you limit the random factor in poker.
- Start with play money tables first.
- Give poker room your real name when you create your real money account.
- Go through the account verification process and you will be able to deposit and withdraw money.
- Register only on licensed poker rooms with good reputation.
- Think carefully which poker room you’re going to choose.
- Don’t be tempted by bonuses – there will be time for those later!
- Keep your concentration on the game and never play for too long!
