Play online poker to make money? This is the dream of many players who are just starting out in poker. But how easy is it to be on the winning side in poker? Where to play and how to play? How do you learn to bluff and what can you learn from other gamblers?
And what is the best thing to do when you lose? Our online poker guide leaves almost no question unanswered.
The Moneymaker Effect
Before the poker boom, poker was firstly an old boys’ game and secondly a somewhat seedy affair. With the global wave of poker that broke out around 2003/04, the general conditions changed abruptly. Suddenly poker was seen as the game of the younger generation.
Because you could suddenly play poker online, the structures changed. When Chris Moneymaker won $2.5 million via an $86 online satellite at the WSOP in 2003, a worldwide boom began – the so-called Moneymaker Effect.
Poker internationally and in German-speaking countries
The hype mainly took place in the USA, but also spilled over 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 largest 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. For most players, however, 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 don’t take the game itself seriously enough and make crazy bets when it’s just play money. This also ruins the gameplay for the rest of the table.
Software vs browser play
Whether you play in the browser or in a download version depends on your preferences, but also on the device you are using. Most poker sites offer both for the computer, although there is traditionally little demand for playing in the browser.
With a mobile phone or tablet you usually have to install an app.
Play poker with your mobile phone
Most online poker real money apps that you can download are well designed and implemented. The menu navigation in the apps is now also mobile and the game runs stable if you have decent internet.
Whether you play poker online with a laptop or a smartphone no longer makes much of a difference. The poker software is usually optimized for Android, iPad and iPhone.
Play at multiple tables
If a 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 multi-screen computer. However, most players prefer to only play one game at a time anyway.
Deposit and withdraw
After registration you can top up your player account with credit. There are usually several payment methods to choose from: Card payment, Sofortüberweisung, 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 where not only the players of 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 (e.g. online casinos or bookmakers).
A well-known poker network is called iPoker and comes from the gambling provider Playtech. There poker players from Bet365, William Hill and other websites sit together at the poker table.
The main 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 next to Poles, Swedes, Japanese and Senegalese at the table and all play with or against each other.
Among the most popular poker rooms are
- poker stars
- 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 about these poker rooms and poker sites:
- Cake Poker
- Chico Poker
- carbon poker