Poker

How to Play Online Poker

With many people accessing online casinos in the US for the first time this year, it is reasonable to wonder how some table games are played. Online poker is among the more skill-based and less luck-based casino games, with a $10 deposit keeping you in the game for hours. That’s if you play your hands right.

Once you enter an online poker site from this list, you will need to sign up by providing some basic information. That’s the easy part, as getting one of the available poker bonuses. To start betting your balance on a poker table, you should follow the below steps:

1. Tap on the room you would like to enter; the buy-ins (amount required to enter the room) will be displayed in the lobby section. As soon as the room loads, you must select the seat you want to take. At this stage, you can decide whether your total balance will be available to bet while on the table or a part of it.
2. After you take a seat, a small amount will be deduced during each round (the ante bet). Now, the deal will occur, with two cards visible only to you. Based on these, you must decide whether you are going to call the bet of the previous player (bet the same money), fold (pass this round), or raise (increase the current bet placed by other players).
3. As soon as all players have performed the above actions, the first three cards (the flop) will be dealt in the middle of the table. The exact process – pass, fold, raise – will be repeated once more, starting from the left-hand side of the table.
4. A fourth card will follow, where players repeat the above process, and a fifth.
5. If at least two players are in the game after the third round of cards has been completed, they must reveal the cards, and the highest hand will win.

That’s the basic idea of Texas Hold’em online poker, although players can bet back and forth by raising within each round. The main process remains identical unless you are playing a different poker variant.

Poker Variants

Poker is accessible in several different formats and variations. The most basic distinction with poker is the following:

Real money poker – players bet on their hands with real money chips, and all wins are paid out accordingly.

Mobile poker – either playing poker through an app or via your mobile browser online, online poker’s process and basic rules remain identical. All poker sites listed support mobile and online poker games.

Free poker – most poker sites will offer freeroll tournaments that players can join daily or weekly. A few will also provide ‘play money,’ enabling online poker players to compete without spending any real money. This operates similarly to the demo mode for other casino games.

Live poker – most sites will provide several poker variants, but only a few in a live format. When playing live poker, you will compete against a dealer or other players. Some poker sites support the option to invite and play against your friends.

The above poker versions are essentially the same, with a different underlying principle. However, if you are playing Texas Hold’em Poker live or in a video format, the gameplay, rules, payouts, and odds will remain identical.

The challenge is keeping up with different poker variants and how they work in any of the above settings. The following table provides a basic overview of the most popular online poker variants:

Poker Variant	Number Cards	Goal
Texas Hold’em	Two cards facing down	Competing for the best hand using the five community cards and the two held
Omaha	Four cards facing down	Using two of your own cards for the best hand
7-Card Stud	Seven cards (2 face down)	Competing for the highest poker hand
2-7 Triple Draw	Five cards facing down	Can discard cards to get the lowest hand
Razz	Three cards with one facing up	Players are competing for the lowest hand

Poker Strategy

Learning to play online poker and competing with a set strategy are two completely different things. However, we understand that everyone needs to start from somewhere, so we briefly cover the most basic strategies one can use to play poker more competitively.

Don’t opt-in for too many rounds: Others mustn’t know your play style in poker. As soon as they know the types of hands you are playing, it is hard to get their money. One of the most straightforward strategies is to play as few hands as possible, but when you are in, go hard. This way, it is unlikely that they will have a peek into your hand.

Never limp: This phrase means being the first to ‘see’ the pot; being the first to ‘speak’ in poker is an uncomfortable position, and it is better never to play it.

Don’t bluff for the shake of it: Waiting for the two aces to come is not the best way to play poker. Bluffing your way through some rounds is paramount if you don’t want to waste your bankroll in ante bets. But when you do bluff, do have a reasonably good hand or one that could turn potentially killing!

Play the big blind: When speaking last on the table, it is the best opportunity to go aggressive in poker; however, don’t go too hard unless you have a hand to support your actions.

Fold if you have doubts: Learning several tips and understanding the gameplay entirely is a great way to start. However, you should never forget that the people you face might be luckier or just know more about the game. Folding a hand is the best move anytime you aren’t sure.

Some of the most advanced poker strategies are outlined below; tap on each to discover additional information as soon as you know enough about online poker:

Maniac – playing as many hands as possible

Loose-aggressive – more targeted than the maniac, but still betting big on several hands

Tight-aggressive – betting on many hands, but with reasonable stakes

Loose-passive – playing many hands but mainly calling other players’ bets

Tight-passive – players seeing a few hands, letting others take control of the action

Nit – seeing very few hands and betting massive amounts when in the game

Types of Poker Games

The different strategies and poker variants are dependent on the type of poker you are playing. Real money poker sites provide numerous rooms with the same variants in different settings. Some tournaments might go on for weeks, while other rooms see players coming and going within minutes. The most common poker games you will encounter online include:

No Limit Poker – not suitable for beginners, no limit poker games provide players with complete freedom on how much they can raise during each round. Having a maniac in a no-limit table can literally destroy your gameplay.

Freeroll Tournaments – are ideal for beginners since players can enter without paying a fee, and there are usually cash prizes for the top place. Several poker tables can operate within the same tournament, merging when three or more players have lost.

Tubo Poker – such poker games vary from other rooms due to the blinds’ speed increase. If you are not the type of person who will bet on poker for hours, this might be the best option.

Heads Up – rooms involve two players only and tend to be more fast-paced than any other type of poker. Quickly getting the upper hand in a heads-up poker room is paramount; otherwise, leaving is the only viable option.

Sit n Go – players love this poker game for its speed and simplicity. Sit n Gos usually last an hour, and any losing player exits without a chance for a rebuy.

Top Poker Events in 2022

Poker fans reading this page are unlikely to get the required skills to qualify for the next big poker tournament of 2022, but it is always a great experience watching them on live TV or streaming them online:

• World Series of Poker in Las Vegas – among the numerous poker events held in the gambling capital, the WSOP is the most prestigious. Players need to pay $10,000 for a ticket to the highest stakes Texas Hold’em tournament. 
• World Poker Tour Championships (changes location every year) – several different events comprise the WPT, most of them held across the US. Since its launch in 2002, the WPT has popularized poker and has drawn millions of players to the sport. Getting in is not as easy as watching it, though, with $25,000 buy-ins.
• Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure in Atlantis Paradise Island – after the event was launched in 2004, players used to participate in poker rooms while boarded on a 5-star cruise ship. Although this has since changed, it remains one of the most significant poker events.
• World Championship of Online Poker in Stars Casino Pennsylvania – right at the start of online poker in 2002, the WCOOP was launched online at Pokerstars online casino. In the US, players can access the site and participate in setting their chips against the most prominent poker players. The event usually starts in September.
• European Poker Tour across Europe – another major event sponsored by Stars Casino, is watched annually by nearly 900 million people. The EPT is the umbrella term used to characterize several events held across European capitals like The French Open, The Irish Winter Tournament, etc., throughout the year.
• Grosvenor Poker Tour in London – one of the most recent poker events which still gained a lot of traction, took place for the first time this year in London. With a $1,500 buy-in, the GPT is a much more accessible poker tournament for mere mortals. 
• Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza in Las Vegas – another less known but worthwhile poker event running yearly in Vegas is hosted in the Venetian. The buy-ins are accessible, starting at $300, while the top prize is $1 million. The tournament usually takes place during February.

Top 10 Poker Players: Highest Earners

If you have been following poker tournaments like us, you will recognize some of the names in the following list. The highest poker earners are mostly the same people attending the WSOP, the WCOOP, and other significant events. Although most of them started with tournaments held at Las Vegas Casinos, more and more tend to also participate in online poker games.