Playing online poker to earn money? This is the dream of many players who start playing poker. But how easy is it to be on the winning side in poker? Where can you play and how should you play? How do you learn to bluff and what can you learn from other games of chance?
And what is the best thing to do when you lose? Our guide to online poker leaves hardly any questions unanswered.
The Moneymaker Effect
Before the poker boom, poker was considered firstly a game for old boys and secondly a somewhat shady affair. With the worldwide poker wave that emerged around 2003/04, the general conditions changed abruptly. Suddenly poker was considered the game of the younger generation.
Because it was suddenly possible to play poker online, the structures changed. When Chris Moneymaker won $2.5 million at the WSOP in 2003 via an $86 online satellite, a worldwide boom began – the so-called Moneymaker effect.
Poker internationally and in German-speaking countries
The hype was mainly in the USA, but also spread to other parts of the world. Strategy books soon appeared in German and became bestsellers.
At the latest when Pius Heinz won the WSOP Main Event, the biggest poker tournament in the world, in 2011, the game of poker was considered absolutely presentable.
Free play against real money poker
You can also play poker online for free, i.e. play for play money. However, for most players, the game lacks excitement without at least a small amount of real money.
Playing poker for real winnings is generally preferred. This is also because many players do not take the game itself seriously enough and make crazy bets when it is only play money. This also ruins the gameplay for the rest of the table.
Software vs. Browserplay
Whether you play in the browser or in a download version depends on your preferences, but also on the device you use. Most poker sites offer both for the computer, although playing in the browser has traditionally been less in demand.
With a cell phone or tablet you usually have to install an app.
Playing poker on your mobile phone
Most of the online poker real money apps that you can download are well developed and implemented. The menu navigation in the apps is now also well-designed for mobile use and the game runs stably if you have a decent internet connection.
It doesn’t make much difference whether you play online poker on a laptop or a smartphone. The poker software is usually optimized for Android, iPad and iPhone.
Playing at multiple tables
If one poker table is too boring for you, you can also play several poker rounds at the same time. This is possible in most poker rooms.
Of course, it’s easier when you’re not playing on the small screen of a phone. The best way to play poker is multiplay from a computer with multiple screens. However, most players prefer to play one game at a time anyway.
Deposit and withdraw
After registering, you can top up your player account with credit. There are usually several payment methods to choose from: card payment, instant bank transfer, Trustly, Skrill, Neteller and Paysafecard are prominent examples.
It is important that you can withdraw your account balance at any time. The minimum withdrawal is usually €10 or €20, as is the minimum deposit. The maximum amounts are several thousand euros per transaction.
Poker networks
There are poker rooms in which not only the players from a single gambling site sit at the table. Smaller poker sites in particular like to use such a network solution – or websites that primarily deal with other forms of gambling (such as online casinos or betting providers).
A well-known poker network is called iPoker and comes from the gaming provider Playtech. There, poker players from Bet365, William Hill and other websites sit together at the poker table.
The most important online poker sites
However, poker rooms that only serve their own players dominate. Incidentally, it is quite normal that there is no separation by country: Australians sit at the table next to Poles, Swedes, Japanese and Senegalese and everyone plays with or against each other.
The most popular poker rooms include
- Pokerstars
- Party Poker
- GGPoker
There is also a chat function in pretty much every poker software, but you can also ignore it.
Poker blacklist
We warn against these poker rooms and poker sites:
- cake poker
- Chico Poker
- carbon poker