Winning Online Poker

Online Poker FAQ

Is online poker legal?

Yes. While congress is debating taking some measures to make online gambling illegal, there is currently nothing the government will do to you for playing poker online. You must be 18 to play on Party Poker or its skins, or 21 to play on Paradise Poker , Poker Stars or UltimateBet .

What are some of the advantages to playing online?

Aside from the obvious "you can play in your underwear" line, you can play more hands per hour because the shuffling and dealing is almost instant. You do not have to tip the dealer after you win a pot, which is a significant factor in your profits at low-limit games. The rake is usually somewhat lower, and there is no separate jackpot drop even though there are many online promotions. You can get great sign-up bonuses at most sites. And the convenience of not having to drive to a cardroom is nice, after all.

Doesn't the house always win? How can I win money?

This is not exactly a myth. The house does win. However, you are not playing against the house, you're playing against other players on computers just like you (except hopefully with fewer poker skills.)

How does the server make their money? They take a small cut out of each pot (known as the 'rake'). The rake in most online cardrooms is 5% of the pot, up to a maximum of $3 per pot. This allows them to make a good profit for running the tables, but it does not prevent you from winning consistently online, as long you play well and there are bad players in your game who lose more than their share.

How should I find the best online poker site?

The big poker sites offer different advantages. My advice is to try out different sites and see what you think of each. Poker Stars is the best site for tournaments, Party Poker and Pacific Poker have the loosest games, and UltimateBet and Paradise Poker have excellent software and good game selection. Visit Where Should You Play Online? for a detailed guide on how to choose the best site for you.

Best of all, while you're hopping around, these sites will all offer you deposit bonuses to try out their software! So while you're finding the best place to play regularly, test out each site and get some free money!

Myth: I've heard that these sites are rigged to not deal randomly.

This is actually a concern with some of the small sites. However, all of the big sites use sophisticated random number generators and are backed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, so there is no concern at the big sites like Party , Paradise , Poker Stars , or UltimateBet . Since the site is making money off the rake, not by winning it from players, it has nothing to gain by dealing non-randomly, but risks an expensive lawsuit if it is determined that the deals are non-random. For this reason, the established sites simply don't do it.

Myth: Do these sites used programmed players ("bots")?

Again, this is only a concern with very small new sites. A small number of these sites cannot make enough money off their rakes because they do not have enough user traffic, so they may use bots to help take your money.

To make sure you're not a victim of this, just play at one of the big four established sites: Poker Stars, Party Poker, Paradise Poker, or UltimateBet. They all make very good money on their rake, so they have no need to jeopardize their business by trying to cheat their customers.

Wouldn't it be easy for two players at the same table to exchange information about their hands over the phone or IM?

Despite what you may think, this is less of a concern online than in a brick and mortar cardroom. The reason is that the other players are there to police the game, and if they see suspicious betting patterns between the same two players over and over, they will report them to the site's customer support and the offenders will be banned from playing together and possibly kicked off the site. All the big sites have sophisticated technology, where they can look at what hands the players were dealt and determine how suspicious the play was. In a live cardroom, the cards cannot be checked once they have been shuffled back into the deck.

If you see suspicious behavior at the tables, do your part and send an email to customer support. You may even be able to get your money back if there is reason to believe you have been cheated.

What if I get disconnected during a hand?

The sites have a measure designed for this exact situation, known as "all-in protection". If you are disconnected during a hand, you are considered all-in for whatever chips you have in the pot. You can only win the amount that was in the pot when you were disconnected, but your hand is not folded. Most poker servers will only allow you to go all-in like this once every 24 hours, so if you have a shady connection and you don't have your all-in protection, you may wish not to play.

Now for the ugly side...the biggest form of online cheating is players in pot-limit and no-limit games, or tournaments, who pull their internet plug on purpose in the middle of a hand in order to avoid calling a big bet with a mediocre hand. If you see this behavior, report it to the site's customer support ASAP. All the sites have records on repeat offenders, and if it becomes clear that a player is abusing his all-in privileges, he will be kicked off the server. If your case is blatant enough, you may be able to get the server to give you some money for your trouble. Overall, reporting any 'all-in abuse' is well worth your trouble.

Does WinningOnlinePoker.com get paid to advertise for these sites?

Of course, we need this revenue to cover our costs for hosting the site and keeping it updated. It is our hope that the site's content will keep you coming back here if and when you choose to make accounts at new sites, and telling your friends about us so they can get some free money too.