Q&A about online poker, and where to play.

Online Poker

Unless you have been living on another planet for the last few years, you must have heard of online poker: the possibility to play poker on your computer against real opponents, through the Internet.

This offers some advantages, and raises some questions as well.

Can You Really Play Poker Through The Internet?

Online poker is somewhat different than live poker, since you cannot see your opponents, and some tells or mannerisms are obviously not available. This is arguably more difficult to intimidate opponents too, but you may score this as a plus.

However, this does not prevent at all players to play a full-blown poker game, since tells are actually not as important as people generally think, compared to other skills - like reading the betting patterns. Besides, you can chat with your opponents via the software, so you can socialize, congratulate an opponent, or guess who is steaming from the chat.

What Are The Advantages?

The advantages are that you can play against players from all over the world, at any time, from your home. This is a big plus, since you don’t have to seat at a very tight table because there is no other game available in your area. You can also play when you have some time to kill with something else to do aftewards.

Another great advantage is the pace of the games. Since cards are shuffled and dealt electronically, so to speak, it goes much faster than in brick-and-mortars cardrooms. Consequently, you see more hands per hour, and the action is faster: the games are generally more lively.

Can You Play For Real Money?

Yes, you can. Play money games are also available, but you know what generally happens when people play poker with no stake…

The online poker rooms require you to open an account, and you can transfer cash on this account to play for real money. You can also deposit money directly from you credit card.

The servers of the room manage the tables, and your balance is automatically updated as you win or lose at the tables.

Is It Safe To Play Online?

This is the big question, and it can confidently be said that it is reasonably safe to play on the major online poker rooms. The biggest poker rooms are companies quoted on the stock market, and they must comply with strict financial and accounting rules to do so. There is few risks that the biggest rooms would suddenly go bankrupt - so your money is pretty safe on your room account.

However, you entail the same risks when you play online as when you connect to your online bank (if you do): if you are not careful with security, your computer may be compromised and critical information (like account numbers, passwords and codes) may be stolen. Do not infer that anything computer-related involves huge risks though: it is not that difficult to protect yourself. See the computer security article for more information.

Can People Cheat?

They can try, to some extent. The most they can do is to collude: that is, several players at the same table sharing their hands and their bankroll. However, the online poker room monitor action to identify suspect bets. Since the room staff can see all the hands, it is easy to identify the blatant collusion. Even the smarter cheats have good chances to get caught. You can also report strange actions to support, for investigation.

Since this is a very sensitive topic, the poker room support is generally very reactive and really investigate when you ask. When cheats are caught, their account is closed and a part of their money goes to the players they abused.

Quite recently, a player won $140,000 in an online tournament, and it was susbsequently found out that he used two accounts in the same event. His accounts have been closed and the cash has been redistributed to the players of the tournament. They are not kidding!

Some Precautions

Online gambling is worth a lot of money today - this is were the big money is. Therefore, this attracts all the scam artists. Do not believe everything you read (ads and emails), and remember to protect your computer.

Since the market boomed some years ago, many small rooms have tried their chance. Many are honest, but the smaller they are, the less you know about them.

As a conclusion, another word of caution: poker is an addictive game, and being able to play it online make it easy to overindulge your appetite. This is your life, but we strongly invite you to play reasonably.

Related Items:

• Online Poker Room Selection