Poker For Beginners - Invaluable Guide To Beginners Poker...

How To Play Poker

We cover everything you need to know about online poker on the hub page, but here are some selected areas of the game that are focussed on the game from a 'poker for beginners' perpective.

1. What do I need?

From an equipment perpective, this is straightforward. You will need a reliable internet connection(preferably broadband to ensure stability and give you some speed) and a laptop/PC - or of course a suitable mobile for playing mobile poker.

So that part is easy, it's when you get to the knowledge requirements that poker starts to get more interesting. As a poker beginner you'll need to cover a lot of ground before you're ready to play in cash games, but learning the basics is easy and will quickly get you to a stage where you can practice free poker or play in freeroll (free to enter) poker tournaments.

2. Poker Rules

As in every game where your level of skill determines your level of success, understanding the rules is critical. Poker rules for are easily understood, and there are many resources outside of our site which will help you with understanding poker game rules. Once you begin to appreciate the basics, you'll soon see that these are shared by all the poker game variations - Texas Holdem, Omaha, Stud, Casino Poker, Horse...and others.

3. Poker Hand Rankings

Of course, you'll need to have a good understanding of poker hands and rankings - which hands are better than others. Knowing whether your hand is a strong or weak one is essential. It will also be good to take a look at a poker glossary and get to know the different terms used in online poker.

4. Poker Games

Choosing the right game for your style can mean the difference between great success and a constant struggle to win. Focussing on a specific game type is good advice at this stage. It's worth reading more on poker game types, and getting a good understanding before you begin playing for real.

5. Practice, Poker Tutorials and Poker Schools

There are thousands of poker review websites, online poker rooms, books, and magazines all focussed on online poker. Our advice is to spend as much time as you can studying. Many of the online poker rooms have tutorial and poker school sections for poker beginners, and there are a number of independent dedicated online poker schools. Studying and practice is the only way you can get the edge that will bring long term success, and tutorials can give you a great start. Practicing poker strategy should be the first thought on your mind once you've decided to move deeper into learning the game.

Practice is extremely important and there is no substitute for experience. One of the ways to gain experience is by playing free poker until you're ready to progress to cash games and tournaments. Almost all of the online poker rooms offer free poker play at the practice tables. You can register with these and download the software free too, and play for free for as long as you like.

6. Basic Poker Strategy and Tips

Once you have the basics of poker for beginners covered, you can start to work on understanding poker strategy. Poker strategy is the term given to how you play during games - playing appropriately on the strength of your starting hand, the potential hand you might be able to achieve, the position you're in at the table, the amount of chips you or your opponents have, the playing style of your opponents, and how many chips are either in or likely to be in the pot. Poker strategy also covers what to do and when - the well known arts of bluffing, betting, and folding.....read more about basic poker strategy.....

7. How do I deposit money to play?

Once you've registered an account with an online poker room, you'll find there are many different deposit options, from debit and credit cards through to money transfer options such as Neteller and Moneybookers. Depositing is easy, but before you sign up anywhere make sure you're getting the chance to take advantage of the best poker bonus offers.

8. How do I know there's no cheating, is online poker safe and secure?

Remember that in an online poker room, you're not actually playing against the poker room (except for casino poker of course) but against other players. The poker room makes a profit by taking a small percentage of each pot, called the rake. So there's no worry that the poker room will try to cheat you because it has nothing to gain. Strict security measures are in place to ensure no players try to cheat, and most poker rooms have their software and games audited on a regular basis by independent auditors.

I've written this guide to poker for beginners with the intention of making a simple, easy to follow introduction. As a poker beginner, I figured you want to start with the basics - so we're going to cover the what, why, how, and where of poker on this page. You've made the decision to learn about a game which has no rival - poker for beginners is the first step in building up a knowledge base which you can grow continuously.

Once you've read through this poker for beginners section, you'll be ready to move on to a deeper study of the many additional elements of online poker that have helped explode the game's popularity. From there you can move on to some of the powerful secrets of poker strategy you'll need to set you on a strong foundation for success. By gaining a good understanding of basic poker strategy secrets, you'll be in the best position to play poker calmly, consistently, and above all successfully against a wide range of opponents.

As a poker beginner, your aim is to develop into a skillful layer. How you play and what you know will determine your level of success. So we'll start by asking the question ''what is poker''?....And to put it quite simply, poker is a stunning card game that's known the world over with literally millions of active players - one of the internet's greatest success stories, hugely popular, and with a popularity that is still exploding as access to the internet grows throughout the world.

So that's the what. You can read more on some great reasons for playing poker on our 'why play poker?' page which gives you an insight into the variables and benefits of the game. It's also worth taking a look at the benefits of online poker, which sets out some good examples that show the reasons why poker is hugely popular.

Now it starts to get interesting as we head into the how, where, and when of online poker games.

Where To Play Poker

1. The Poker Rooms

There are dozens of poker rooms where you can sign up, play free poker games, or start playing for low stakes until you've gained confidence. For a beginner, we'd recommend Party Poker or Pacific Poker, which both have good learning support for beginners. Either as a beginner or an experienced player, you want to use a room which uses effective poker software, has a wide choice of games, tournaments, and incentives, along with effective Customer support. The best poker sites cover all of these requirements, but you'll also find poker rooms which focus on one or more specific elements - clearly some of these can claim to be the best in their particular area.

For poker beginners we recommend 888 Pacific Poker or Party Poker - both of these well regarded sites provide software which is easy to use, and excellent support. As a poker beginner, it’s also a good idea to avoid some of the larger US based sites where you might come up against some very strong players.

2. Increasing Your Bankroll - Poker Bonus Offers

You'l need to understand fully how poker bonuses work, and wghere to get the best offers. Taking advantage of a bonus offer is a great way to get you extra cash for free, and extend your playing time while you sharpen up your skills.

Poker sites want to attract extra players, mainly to increase their profits but also to ensure a great experience for their existing players. The more players they gain, the better the competition, and the more successful the operation in general. The poker sites offer incentives to play, and these come mainly in the form of a bonus which can either be given on your first deposit, or as a reload on subsequent deposits. There really is no reason why you wouldn't want to take advantage of poker bonus offers, this is free money and can only work in your favour by extending playing time and giving you a bigger starting bankroll. There are always rules surrounding how much and when you can withdraw once you've taken advantage of a bonus, but they're definitely valuable .....read more on poker bonuses.....

Poker For Beginners Summary

We're at the end of the poker for beginners section. To summarise, let's look at some of the main points you need to remember.

1. Practice is all important before you risk losing cash in real money games or tournaments, and it's best to concentrate on one variety of poker game as a beginner. We've seen that there is a huge variety of games on offer, and that free poker gives you a great chance to practice, along with the option to use poker tutorials and visit poker schools.

2. Bonuses and promotions give you a little extra to play with, and tournaments are everywhere.

As a final note for poker beginners, you should remember that online gambling of any type is illegal in a number of countries, and you should check if local laws and regulations affect you before you play. Certainly all countries make under age gambling illegal. Make sure you do not play unless you're certain that it is legal.

Also, gambling can be a big problem if you are unable to control it, and gambling online makes it easy to lose money, although you can also have a lot of fun if you play carefully. Only play with money you can afford. If you become upset at losing, then it means you are probably losing too much. Don’t let gambling affect you and other people around you.

The golden rule is, if you can lose and smile, and it doesn’t have a bad impact on anyone else, then you are probably OK.

Have fun, enjoy yourself…but be careful! You should be prepared to lose, and able to do this without any worry. Remember, you are responsible for any losses incurred, and only you. Do not gamble with more than you can afford. It's easy to play, and it's easy to pay...be careful!