[martijn]

Hi All,

I am new to this game (at least online), and I just want some tips from you guys on how to start with playing online poker. I am planning to start straight away with a 200 dollar deposit :-). I have several open questions:

- On which poker room to start?
- Which bonus to use, or start without any bonus?
- Can I start with only a no deposit bonus or do I always have to deposit?
- Which are sites with the weakest fields? < probably best site for me ;-)

Hope you guys can give me some answers

Thanks M.

[theballsflop]

Hi martijn. This is more of a sports betting forum so if you are serious about poker, probably better forums out there that can provide more info for you. But I'll try to help you out a little with what I know.

1) It depends on which country u're from. Most poker rooms have exclusions to specific countries and regions. If you are from outside the US, Pokerstars/Full Tilt and the Ipoker network (Betfair, Titan, Paddy, WilliamHill) attract the most traffic. The games are not easy at low stakes though, heaps of grinders who know what they're doing. If you are into SNGs and tournaments, stick with the big boys as the traffic there makes it easier to join games. If you are into cash games, you can consider the smaller rooms, Betsafe and rooms from the Microgaming network (Ladbrokes). I find the players softer there, more beatable.

2) Most rooms offer a 100-200% bonus on your deposit. U can't access it right off the bat though, you have to unlock it through playing and accumulating points that's derived from how much rake you give. If u are a winning player, it's an additional incentive. Takes pretty long to unlock the entire bonus when u play micro stakes though.

3) There are some affiliates out there that offer no deposit bonuses to certain sites. Go google them, I believe Winner Poker is running a nice $200 no deposit bonus that's tiered so you receive $10-$20 up front and then get to unlock the other stages the more u play.

4) Read 1).

[martijn]

Hi martijn. This is more of a sports betting forum so if you are serious about poker, probably better forums out there that can provide more info for you. But I'll try to help you out a little with what I know.

1) It depends on which country u're from. Most poker rooms have exclusions to specific countries and regions. If you are from outside the US, Pokerstars/Full Tilt and the Ipoker network (Betfair, Titan, Paddy, WilliamHill) attract the most traffic. The games are not easy at low stakes though, heaps of grinders who know what they're doing. If you are into SNGs and tournaments, stick with the big boys as the traffic there makes it easier to join games. If you are into cash games, you can consider the smaller rooms, Betsafe and rooms from the Microgaming network (Ladbrokes). I find the players softer there, more beatable.

2) Most rooms offer a 100-200% bonus on your deposit. U can't access it right off the bat though, you have to unlock it through playing and accumulating points that's derived from how much rake you give. If u are a winning player, it's an additional incentive. Takes pretty long to unlock the entire bonus when u play micro stakes though.

3) There are some affiliates out there that offer no deposit bonuses to certain sites. Go google them, I believe Winner Poker is running a nice $200 no deposit bonus that's tiered so you receive $10-$20 up front and then get to unlock the other stages the more u play.

4) Read 1).

Thanks Theballsflop for your reply, You actually pushed me pretty good in the right direction :-). No I am curious about the deposit bonuses, are they just like the online slots bonuses, that have a playthrough on both your (own) money deposit as the bonus? Because I had some bad experiences with this in the past, were I think deposit bonuses on online slot games should be forbidden as they are misleading..... Need some help on this :-)

[theballsflop]

Hey martin. Np.. ive been in your shoes so i know how u feel. Pretty confusing n not sure if the sites are a hustle.

Poker bonuses are different from casino and sportsbook bonuses. For example... if u deposit 100bucks and receive a 100% bonus on that... u will not receive an extra 100 at the start. Instead, u will need to accumulate points to unlock the bonus 100 which is usually given out in tranches of 10bucks in this example aka 10%. U accumulate points by playing poker... whether its cash games or tournaments... cos when u play, u pay rake aka commission to the site with every cash pot or tournament fees. Once u unlock the bonus... its cold hard cash that u can withdraw anytime.

As for no deposit bonuses... there are requirements that u accumulate a certain lvl of pts before the site allows u to withdraw any amount as cash.

Hope u ustand... if anything just post here.

[tigertom]

good info. thanks.

[martijn]

Hey martin. Np.. ive been in your shoes so i know how u feel. Pretty confusing n not sure if the sites are a hustle.

Poker bonuses are different from casino and sportsbook bonuses. For example... if u deposit 100bucks and receive a 100% bonus on that... u will not receive an extra 100 at the start. Instead, u will need to accumulate points to unlock the bonus 100 which is usually given out in tranches of 10bucks in this example aka 10%. U accumulate points by playing poker... whether its cash games or tournaments... cos when u play, u pay rake aka commission to the site with every cash pot or tournament fees. Once u unlock the bonus... its cold hard cash that u can withdraw anytime.

As for no deposit bonuses... there are requirements that u accumulate a certain lvl of pts before the site allows u to withdraw any amount as cash.

Hope u ustand... if anything just post here.

Thanks theballsflow, So going for a deposit bonus in poker is a good thing to do, but if you want to play casino slots you should leave it aside (in my opinion). Oke ive made my decision to start on Pokerstars, they seem to have 100% bonus of up to 600 dollar, so that looks pretty good :-). Also while googling i came accros, What is that all about, i see there i can get up tot 80% rakeback, does this mean that if you loose you get 80% back?