Getting Started

How do you get started On-line? Online Poker Rooms typically offer their games in one of two ways: Downloadable software and Java applets. Each format has pros and cons... Downloadable software takes time to download and install on your hard drive, but the graphics and quality of play are typically very good. Java-based programs typically offer sound and animation, but at a poorer quality. Since there is nothing to download, play can commence immediately.

After you have read our Getting Stated page, be sure to visit our Online Card room Review. We have downloaded and installed all of the major operator's software packages and provide you with a honest unbiased opinion of what is available in the marketplace today. We have also put togehter a guide to making safe, secure, and easy online transactions, in our Online Payment Systems guide. Keep in mind that many online card rooms will let play for fun without signing up or making a deposit. Read the terms and conditions carefully and be sure you understand all of the rules. Here are some other parameters you should keep in mind before selecting an online Poker room:

Reputation

Like any other situation where Real Money is on the line, it pays to do a bit of research before you begin. However, the number of player's currently playing should give you an idea of a cardrooms size and reputation.

Time Of Day

There's not much problem finding a game if you're based in the US and want to play early-evening, but if you're based in a different time zone or want to play before breakfast you may find even the more popular sites are fairly quiet. Ladbrokes and Poker24hrs are European sites and may well have games on when the US is in bed. Alternatively Paradise Poker is the busiest online site with around 1000 players online pretty much 24 hours a day. To check the popularity of a site at any current time I'd recommend a visit to the excellent Poker Pulse site, which lists how many people are currently online at the major sites.

Games Available

If you only want to play low/medium limit $0.50-$1 to $2-$4 Hold'em you'll be well served at most of the sites listed on Poker Paper, but $if Omaha or 7 card stud are your thing then you'll have to look around more carefully. Some sites offer interesting games but have few takers, on Planet Poker, Razz, 5 card Draw, Draw Lo, and Lowball are all available but even at peak times there's rarely a table of every variety. Paradise has recently added Five Card Draw, Five Card Stud and Crazy Pineapple to the games it offers, and as the busiest site you'll be sure to find a game going on.

Most sites now offer pot limit and no limit as well as the traditional limit game, but the smaller sites will probably only offer these betting forms in Hold'em.

Stakes

$0.50/$1 games are the lowest stakes commonly available and the most popular stakes played. But some sites seem to attract players to higher or lower stakes of games, high rollers may find themselves well catered for on Wsex or Ladbrokes where games with stakes as high as $50/$100 are regularly played. Wsex has upped the stakes to $200/$400. Ladbrokes regularly hosts a $2/$4 blinds pot limit hold'em game where the average pot is around $100.

As UB and planet poker seem to be most popular for micro-limit games, with real money games as cheap as $0.05/$0.10.

All sites have play money tables but unless you still don't know whether a pair of 3s is worth playing with 5 overcards on the board, it is suggested that you learn more in the real money micro-limit games. It might only be loose change you're playing for but it is real money, and you'll notice some difference in the seriousness of the game. However well you feel you're playing in a play money game you'll find many other players making plays they wouldn't dream of in a real cash game.

If you don't yet feel ready to deposit real money in an online poker site it may be a good idea to play in a Freeroll tournament. Sometimes these have cash prizes so players are taking them semi-seriously, and if you play well and win you may find you've got some real money to start you off on the real cash tables.

Another way to learn the game is at Poker School Online where there are no real cash games but the students are keen to protect their online 'play money' bankroll and ranking points are given for the best players. Poker school's monthly fee also buys you online lessons with some of the top pro poker players.

Tournaments

Most sites now offer some form of tournament poker along side their ring games, but Poker Stars is head and shoulders above other sites for it's multi-table tournament action, each day it runs a dozen or so tourneys with buy ins from $0 to $200, these can have two or three hundred entrants and offer the winner and those reaching the final table a sizeable payout.

The other form of online contest is the single table tourney, sometimes called a 'sit and go' tournament. These run all day on many sites, the game will begin when ten players have filled a tournament table. Prizes are awarded to the top three finishers with the winner taking 50% of the prize pool, 2nd taking 30% and 3rd 20%.

Dynamite Poker has more closely copied bricks and mortar cardrooms by offering re-buy tournaments and the ability to make a deal when it gets down to the final 3, this innovation has got to be good for the online game. However Dynamite's usual buy in is between $1 and $10, so not the place to play if you hope to win a lot of money.

Value For Money

Online poker rooms make money by taking a rake, a percentage of every pot, usually around 5%. For tournaments they make money by charging a flat fee (buy-in) when you enter a tournament (usually $1 for a $10 buy-in tourney.)

Promotions

Many players have opened an online poker account at a particular site solely because of a good promotion - the most common promotion is a deposit bonus (around 20% is average) This 'free money' is not credited to your account immediately however, you'll need to play a certain amount of raked hands before you qualify for your prize. Obviously you should check that the site has games you're going to want to play before you commit your money to it.

New sites tend to offer the best promotions as they need to attract new players in a crowded marketplace. Pro Poker has some of the best offers at the moment with a generous $100 per 10hrs played at stakes of $3/$6 or above. These offers never last long however, when the site's established it won't need to pay you to play there.

However generous the 'free money' is you do need to be wary of putting your money into sites with little or no reputation, new sites can sometimes be slow and unreliable when you try to cash out.

Reward point schemes are a common promotion at established sites. The more you play the more points you get. These points are often 'spent' on freeroll tournaments with big prizes so may only benefit you if you're a good tourney player. Reward Points are more of a bonus for playing at a site rather than an incentive to make you join.

Please visit our Promotions page for a list of most current promotions available to you today.

Deposit Options

Most sites have similar deposit options but check how much you're going to be charged for a deposit. Some sites waive the credit card fee or credit it back to you based on your play. A much better solution is to use what is known as a "digital wallet." If you've ever used PayPal, then you know exactly how this works. Please visit our Payment Systems page for a detailed explanation of the more popular ecash options available to you today.

Soft Games/Hard Games

Some people have called game selection, or table selection, the most important of all poker skills. It's obvious that a good poker player will make more playing on a table of poor players rather than pitting his wits against players of equal skill.

So if you're just starting out in your online poker career, and so much of a fish that you don't even know what a fish is! (A beginner player) it may be wise to steer clear of sites with a reputation for tough games. Paradise games are reputed to be the hardest to beat, as a long established and extremely busy site it seems to attract the strongest and most experienced players. Games at sites such as Ladbrokes, America's Card Room and Wsex seem to attract the novice poker player and those who like a gamble.

Useful figures to look at in the lobby area of a site is average pot and plrs/flop (in Hold'em obviously) Poker Paper reviews list which sites display these useful 'facts and figures' .

At sites such as Paradise (where everyone's read their poker books and know they should fold A3os) the number of players seeing the flop (Plr/Flop ratio) in a $2/$4 game might be 25% and the average pot could be around $20. In a 'soft' or 'loose' game at a smaller site there could be 50% of the players seeing the flop making for a juicy average pot of $40. It's obvious why many online poker pros seek out these 'easy to beat' games rather than making a living earning 3 Big bets an hour at a tougher site.

Soft games at $1/$2 or $2/$4 levels may be relatively easy to find but when the stakes get more serious the players are likely to be more skilled. A clever high stakes player may find he has more of an edge at a site like Paradise where he can make moves on weaker 'by the book' players. You may find you can steal a pot or two from the players playing above their means. Who says you can't bluff at limit poker!

Software

What determines 'good' or 'bad' software seems to be personal taste. Some software has clever graphical representations of the players, and maybe flashing lights and music when you win a pot, others keep it very simple. All the software I've tried recently has been very user friendly - not like the bad old days with clunky images and ugly colour schemes. A good tip when you're playing any new game is to start at low stakes or play money, just till you get used to where all the buttons are and can adjust the options to suit you.

Security

All the sites listed here on Poker Paper are either long established popular sites or have good backing from major online businesses. Collusion is something to be wary of, particularly at high stakes (online colluders are hardly going to bother with a $1-$2 game if they could be cheating a $10-$20) and if you're in any way suspicious report it. Online poker sites have their good names to protect and will investigate any players they suspect are cheating.

Extra Features

Most cardrooms will offer the following features...

• Player notes - to keep track of your opponents. Some sites (Ladbrokes, Pokerstars, Paradise etc) store your notes and you only need to click on your opponents name to reveal your thoughts on him/her from the last time you played.
• Statistics - Paradise and Poker Stars collect statistics from your session of play to provide you with details such as how many times you saw the flop, hands won at showdown etc.
• Multiple Tables - Most sites will let you play on two or more tables at once, although a few only allow two tables open and Poker Room only allows one table to be played. Innovative new site Pro Poker uses a split screen format to let you see up to 4 tables at once.
• Live Customer Support - Some sites have toll free customer support or live chat with 24 hour customer support staff. However don't expect every problem to be sorted out on the spot, it's common for the live help to tell you they'll 'look into' a problem and then send you an e-mail about it.