Welcome toPokerTips.org
PLAY ONLINE POKER AND LEARN POKER STRATEGY
Welcome to PokerTips.org! Discover lots of content and articles
about online poker and how to become a better poker player.
We have poker rules for a variety of poker games, with a focus on
rules for Texas Hold'em, the most popular form of poker. Texas
Hold'em is played in the main event of the World Series of Poker and
the World Poker Tour.
If you have never played cards before, start with taking a look at
Poker Hand Rankings.
If you have played some poker before, try Texas Hold'em.
If you want to play for money, read the betting rules. For beginners
I recommend the Limit
betting structure.
If you are looking for fun variations to the normal poker rules, try
our Poker Variants page.
These games are good for variety when you are playing at home;
however, you will probably not find these games at casinos (online
or live).
Another good way to learn poker rules for free is through play-money
online poker games.
Books
Quick Guide To Start Playing Poker
Step 1: Sign up at a poker room and deposit your money. We have
reviewed many poker rooms at this site (Click here for all reviews). The best site to consider is
888 Poker which is a soft
online poker room with great software.
Step 2: Review the poker strategy at this site. You may know a lot
of what is written already, but you will probably pick up a tip or
two after scanning over all the articles. Write down the important
tips so you will use them when you play.
Step 3: Decide on the best deposit and withdrawal option for
yourself. The best option generally relates to where you live. It's
generally a plus if you can deposit and withdraw in the same manner
since it makes things easier.
Step 4: Start playing! Be patient; don't play at a level too high.
Play at a comfortable level where you can handle the swings.
This is a guide that will enable a new player to quickly work his
way into the internet poker scene. Please note: internet poker is
illegal in some jurisdictions. It should be okay to play for fake
money (play money). Read our
Terms of Use before
signing up at an online poker site.
Frequently Asked Questions About Poker
No. Poker is a reference to a five-card hand, consisting of
ranks from high card to straight flush (some games allow for a five
of a kind). In reality, there are many different types of poker.
Some games involve more skill than others. For example, the most
popular poker game is currently Texas Hold'em, which requires a lot
of skill but still has a decent amount of luck (at least in the
short run). Games that involve a lot of wild cards tend to have a
much stronger luck element (such as baseball). More information can
be found in our
Poker Variants section.
Generally,
poker is considered gambling. Many people, who play with their
friends, do not always play for real money. Also, many people play
on the internet for fake money, which would not be considered
gambling because they are not risking anything of real value.
However, most people play poker and wager real money, though
generally at low stakes. One can win in the long run at poker
because there is a lot of skill at poker. Because of this, poker is
generally considered a different type of gambling because you can
win at it in the long run. Nevertheless, no one is ever guaranteed
to win, and each session can produce a variety of outcomes.
Casino poker includes video poker machines, let it ride, and
caribbean stud. These games have set house advantages, and it is
impossible for the player to win in the long run. These games
are much more similar to other
high stakes casino
games like craps and slot machines than they are to multi-player
poker. The type of poker strategy covered on this site is about
multi-player poker, where people play against each other and not the
house. Multi-player poker has much more skill, and it is possible to
win at this type of poker in the long run.
It depends where you live. In some areas, gambling of all kinds is
forbidden (such as the American states of Utah and Hawaii). In other
areas, such as in the United Kingdom, online poker is considered
legal. This site is not a legal authority of any kind, so please
consult the laws of your area before playing. If you are not sure
about the legality in your jurisdiction, just don't play online
poker.
It should be as long as you follow several precautions:
A. Play at a reputable site. The one's reviewed here with higher
scores have a very clean history and you shouldn't have trouble with
them. Make sure the site is licensed and many other people play
there.
B. Cash out often. Why risk losing a lot of money if something bad
happens? It is always good to cash out often. Not only is it
insurance against having your money stolen, it prevents you from
losing a lot of money if you ever go on tilt.
Being 'on tilt' means playing poorly due to your emotions.
There is something known as collusion, where people gang up on their
opposition by telling their friends at the table what cards they
have. They do this on the phone or through an instant messaging
program. This is cheating. Poker rooms do their best to find
and ban colluders, and many have been banned from poker rooms. It is
very easy for a poker room to detect collusion because they have the
ability to review every hand for suspicious play.
Also, people who resort to cheating are usually bad anyway, so it's
not a big problem. Furthermore, collusion only works well at the
longer tables where it is harder to spot it. People trying to
collude at a game with 5 people in it may in fact hurt their play
rather than give them an edge.
If you are ever suspicious of collusion, leave the table and notify
the poker room.
The answer is: it's up to you. Never deposit more money than you can
afford to lose. Not only do you not want gambling to have a negative
affect on your financial health, you should never play scared. If
you care too much about the money at the table, it will adversely
affect your play. When deciding what limit to play, you should
generally aim for a limit where you can afford at least 100 big bets
(i.e. have $200 for a 1-2 game).
Read our Reviews. Currently,
Pacific Poker and Empire Poker hold the top two spots. This is
because Pacific has very easy competition (good for beginners) and
Empire Poker is a good all around poker room (many games, many
players, good about cashouts, etc.)
Each place is different- the average is about two business days.
Some places take longer though- like Pacific Poker.
Not by the poker rooms, but you generally need to report your
winnings to your government on your income tax return (assuming you
live in a country with income tax). This is the type of question
that really depends on where you live because some countries treat
gambling winnings differently from income. For example, in the
United Kingdom gambling winnings are not generally taxed because a
tax on gambling winnings is considered to be a double tax.