A lot of people are intimidated by the thought of playing online poker. They think it’s too hard or too confusing, but in reality, it’s very easy to pick up on if you know what you’re doing.
This article is going to discuss some of the basics behind online poker and how you can get started right away, things like choosing your games, setting your stakes, etc., will be covered. Let’s get started!
Choosing Your Games
You probably already play a card game or two every time you get together with friends — whether it’s a five-card draw, Texas hold ‘em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha Hi/Lo… whatever. Heck, maybe you even have your grandpa’s old high-stakes bridge players over for dinner occasionally.
This is the case with most pkv poker players — we all have a game or two that we play regularly, whether it’s at home with friends and family, or at a casino. The first place you should start when getting into online poker is to choose your favorite games and stakes. Many people think they need to master every form of poker before they can win playing it online, but this simply isn’t true. You’ll come across as many new hands as there are stars in the sky as you play online, but if you stick with what you know best, whether that’s Texas hold ‘em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Seven Card Stud, Five Card Draw, then you’re going to do just fine.
Setting Your Stakes
If you already play in a game of Texas hold ‘em with your friends, then you’re probably pretty familiar with how it works. After all, there’s only one way to play the game (at least in casual games), and that’s like they do on TV! You’ll need to pick out what stakes you want to play when you get started online — most people recommend playing $1/$2 blinds, although $0.50/$1 is also popular among beginners, simply because it lowers the stakes so significantly. What this means is if you lose $40 playing $1/$2, it hurts far less than losing $25 at $0.50/$1 — even though your total winnings are exactly the same, $40 vs. $25. You’ll want to make sure that you have enough money to play online poker at your stakes of choice before you begin playing for real money, if not, try starting out with some fake chips until you build up a bankroll.
Making Your First Deposit
So you’ve chosen your games and stakes, now it’s time for you to make your first deposit! There are many ways that you can choose to fund your online poker account that range from free (the best way) to expensive (the worst way).