How to Get Started in Online Poker

Have you heard than poker is a lot of fun?Indeed poker has a perfect combination of a social friendly circle or clubversus battling wits and adrenalin of winning. When getting started with pokersome people rush out to deposit a considerable sum at a biggest online sitethey can find. They usually quickly lose their deposit, sour on the game andleave. There is a better way and it is more fun. Instead I recommend startingat any quality free online poker sites. There are many out there to choosefrom. Learn Poker88 Rules While poker rules are simple, the game isfairly fast paced. Usually you have less than 30 sec to make a move. Thus it iscritical to be able to quickly grasp at least what cards you have, how theycombine with community cards and all different ways you can win. Do you want tolearn all that when you have your real, hard earned dollars on the table? Perhapsyou do. As for me - that would make me nervous and where is fun in that? Freemultiplayer poker sites, where you play against other people online, areperfect for learning these basic poker rules. You will learn them with nopressure and no hit to your wallet. Do Not Be a Patsy There are reasons why many sites encourageyou to make a cash deposit as soon as possible. The most important one is tobring new money into the game. Poker is a zero sum game. That is what someonewon someone else must have lost. New inexperienced players are called"fish" or "patsy" in poker parlance. Good players purposelyseek them out. Poker is a game of skill after all. The better you skills arethe 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 pokernewbies. You have mastered poker basics on safe play money poker sites forfree. So when you are ready to play for real cash you enter the game with someconfidence. You are not intimidated or confused by a strict dealer and quickpace at casino tables. Learn What Not to Do Some poker experts believe it isdetrimental for your poker skills to train on free, that is play money, pokersites. They explain that when there is no real money on the line players modifytheir behavior. In other words players have no fear of losing their money andbecome maniacs raising every hand just to see what happens. I agree with thatobservation. Play money sites often feature reckless, hyper aggressive even maniacalplayers who never stop for an instant to think what they are doing. Well, theyare easy to beat if you have a minimal discipline and not engage in the sameover 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 whatcards you are dealt. The closer your play to perfect strategy the bigger youredge becomes. Think of it this way - if you cannot beat a free poker game, whydo you think you would prosper in cash game where players, on average, are muchmore competent? Make sense? This way of thinking goes further. When youcan consistently beat a free poker game, it is a solidindication that you are ready to move up. Observe and Adapt There are at least three fundamental skillsyou must learn before you go on a roll in Las Vegas. Obviously learn the cards.That is understand how cards combine into winning combinations in Texas Holdem poker88. Howdifferent combinations rank against each other. Most of the players you willencounter do know that. But those hours you spent online will pay off there.Since you played for free you could afford playing more hands. More practicemade you faster and more comfortable running card combinations in your mind.The other two skills are being observant and adapting to current playing style.What is there to observe online you might ask? Even in online poker you canobserve a lot. Watch how much time your opponents take to respond. Make mentalnotes how they respond to different situations. Discern patterns in their play.It sounds like a lot of work. That is because it is but so is walking. You donot consider walking hard because you learned it once and it became you naturethrough constant practice. It works the same with poker skills. Finally,adapting means adjusting your game to take maximum advantage of specificindividuals seated at your specific table now. You cannot play mechanicallyapplying "best practice" rules like raise with your good cards andfold your junk cards. I want you to do better than that. Here your sharpobservation starts bearing fruit. You will notice that a raise from maniacmeans a lot less that a raise from a tight, cautious player. Betting out intofour players after a raise on previous round says a lot more that an automaticbet on the flop. You have to adjust your play by loosening up and tighteningdown as opportunities come and go. There is one thing I learned well - playingpoker is fun and playing is the important thing. But playing andwinning is even more fun. Spend a little time preparing then you canenter on your own terms and be a dangerous opponent not a fish. Where to Go Online This is a brief section because the answeris easy. Find a site with Fixed Limit and No Limit poker which loads fast andits graphics are functional but sparse. I find that many gambling themed sitesare heavy on flashy in-your-face graphics which confuse me and turn me off. Youwant to avoid those and seek out poker rooms where graphics are simple,functional and basically "get-out-of-the-way" for you to focus onpoker. You have plenty of choices from feature-rich, downloadable software bylarge commercial online cardrooms with an excellent support for Windows and Mac.On the other end of spectrum is free no download poker softwareplayable in a web browser. Such no download clients still offers full-featuredTexas Holdem poker yet playable even on iPad or smartphone. Where to Learn Poker Strategy The pointers I gave in this article areonly bare basics that get you started on the right foot in poker. However thereis plenty more if you wish to improve your game. Depending on your personal wayto learn and how you digest information you can go one of the two ways. Eitherspend a lot of time on poker forums interacting with fellow new players andlearning via social group. It can be fun and pretty motivating but be preparedto spend some time. Another way is buying a book and really working through it.For the best value I recommend Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big WithExpert Play by Ed Miller and David Sklansky. The book is solid,methodical yet readable and covers all aspects of winning in poker. Enough Talk - Go On and Play Some Poker Now it is time to put everything into anactionable plan. Here is how I recommend you to proceed. Start out by playingpoker for free online. After you have learned the rules buy a book. Read itonce. Play more poker while staying observant. Think of the hands you playedafter the game is over. You will automatically return to the book. Reading itsecond time will not be boring at all because you get deeper meaning based onyour own experience at the tables. After you are beating a free game online youcan pay a visit to your local casino and play some Limit Texas Holdem. Startingout with No Limit is a sure way to lose your bankroll quickly. Continue onplaying micro stakes online as well as low stakes in a casino. Inevitably therewill be moments when you have lost control and made stupid mistakes. It isnever wrong to go back to the previous level to rebuild confidence. Even pokerpros do that often. Keep building you bankroll and saving for a trip to Vegas.I will see you there. http://194.32.78.99/