Dantepoker

Getting Started

Discovering Poker: A Shameless Indulgence

After watching a very exciting poker match on TV, and drooling over those eye-popping bundles of dollars, you tell yourself “I want to play that game! ”, “I want to be a poker star!” or “I can’t wait to lay my hands on those bundles of money!” – but reality strikes and you realise that you don’t even know how to play the game. You can’t just take a seat at the poker table without knowing the how-to’s and game rules. Unlike most card games, poker has more complications – different rules, strategies, and terms are needed to be studied before diving into the pot toting pool.

Beginner Poker: play for free

Although most beginners start learning poker by reading how-to books or researching poker info websites, it is also highly recommendable to start by watching other players in action. Observing how the pros play hand after hand will give you a good feel for winning card combinations and poker tactics before you start playing your own game.

Of course it would be imprudent to start with real money immediately. What most players do is start by free poker gaming in an online cardroom. After downloading the software required in order to play in an online poker room, the gamer has to then sign up to that room either for free on a no deposit bonus or with a generous welcome bonus designed to boost or match your own deposit amount.

If ever you want to just observe an online game in your chosen room first, you can click and view a table where there is an ongoing game – with this you can watch how the “hands” are played. On the other hand, if you are excited enough to rush straight into a game, you can click an open seat in a free-play table. Play, play, play – constantly playing the game helps greatly in learning and preparing yourself to the next level (yes, with the actual money involved).

Strategy at the poker table

Winning poker takes more than just memorizing the basics. It is important also for you to know that the game is labyrinth-like – several questions are needed to be raised in mind while playing like “what is my opponent thinking?”. You need to be smart enough in order to beat your opponent as for example Tom Dwan (poker star) used “durrr” as his pseudonym when he started his online poker sessions. Dwan thought that it would initiate tilting to the opponents if they lose to such a name, and thus, it is likely to initiate winning streaks with the same opponent.

Starting poker with no bets however does not promise the best assistance when you get to the “real” game. As expected, players become different when actual cash is involved. However unnatural though, it can hone you and prepare you to getting to that point. Reading is the key. First with books, and in the game, what you are to read is the mind of your opponent - predict his next move and then prepare for a counter. When the time comes, you’ve learned enough, you can then start formulating schemes to outsmart your opponent.

Just play and play and observe, always recall that things you have learned from your mistakes.

Making money out of poker

No gamble has a predictable end. Poker cannot give any player 100% assurance of winning and it would be too futile to hope for sure cash as soon as the game ends. However, what others know nothing of is that there are several ways to earn and/or make more money in poker. First and foremost, we have to bear in mind that there is only very little marginal profit in poker (est. 1-2 blinds per table).

The outcome of your gamble can be manipulated, however, by your strategy in handling your cards and your opponent (e.g. his hand, game-play, chances etc), and even by a bit of luck with the cards. With this, the game may vary from time to time. You may win this time – have the best of cards at hand and strike consistent triumphs – but you never know what will happen next. Fortunately, there are certain ways to aid you in making more money.

Gamers usually depend on the strategies they have formulated without even assuring the safety of their bankrolls. Good thing, there are bonuses that promise good to best resorts even if you lose the game. Not all bonuses are as good as the strategies though, that is why you need to choose and weigh carefully the bonuses you want to avail for. There are also other methods of earning more money in poker, just like folding when you are about to lose the game, so as to decrease your losses, raising your bets when having the best hand, not losing a turn without having even a small hint of winning etc. Managing well from the start of the game to finish is the best solution – making back-up plans so as to save you from significant financial damages. In poker, it is basic knowledge that anybody can have a bad day that’s why bankrolls are present to suffice that temporary loss.

Where do I play poker?

There are different venues in playing poker – be it in casinos, home games or the internet. Online gaming is probably the most recommended venue for poker as the player can enjoy a game 24/7 from the comfort of their own home. The rise in popularity of online poker is also the reason why bigger bonuses are present in the web. Bricks and mortar poker however, is highly conducive to improving your game as you can play physically with your opponents and learn the nuances of the game more quickly than if you just play online. Combining on and offline experience will help make you a more well-rounded player.

Find a poker room to get started playing online poker today.