How to Make Money Playing Online Poker

This article is designed to give tips on how to make money on online poker sites without actually putting any of your money at stake. By this I mean you must start with freerolls, and very SLOWLY build up a bankroll. This is not for the faint of heart.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• patience
• patience
• patience
• luck
• skill

1. Find a site that has good freeroll payouts. Often sites will offer special freeroll incentives to new members, even if you do not make a real money deposit. Obviously two popular poker sites (which in case I am not allowed to endorse openly, will call Riverstars and Full Slant Poker) have pretty good options so I would recommend those. If you do not know which actual sites I'm referring to, then you should just stop here. Obviously there are a few other major sites that you may prefer, which is fine.

2. Set aside enough time to actually make it "in the money." Freerolls are often limited to 900 people which is nice, but often the better payouts are the larger ones with a few thousand people. Making it to the final few tables isn't required, but obviously is helpful to earn a few dollars instead of a few cents. I would say it takes three hours to make the money for the ones 1800 people or larger, and obviously four to five hours if you are trying to make it to the final few tables.

3. The goal is merely to build a few dollars in bankroll to play in 10 cent tourneys for a little bit to try to get it bigger. Obviously 10 cent tourneys have payouts often no better than freerolls, but give you more opportunities to play and make a profit. I would not recommend playing tournaments with more than a 25 cent buyin until you get a bankroll of at least $20.00, as luck is a big factor in tournaments as you will be forced to go all-in a few times in a near 50/50 situation (AK vs 10s for example). Therefore it is not wise to risk more than 5% of your bankroll in any one tournament. Obviously if you want to try to make money quicker, be my guest to play a $1 or $2 tournament but with the extra fee often 10-20% of the base buyin that quickly adds up to taking away a few tournament buy-ins.

4. Do not let previous tournament results affect your current one. This is where even I often mess up and when I get unlucky in one tournament with my pocket aces losing an all-in or something like that I try to make up for it in the next one and make bad moves. Just as with flipping a coin five times, each flip is an INDEPENDENT EVENT. If you lose a hand you were 75% to win, that doesn't mean you are more likely to win the next hand with the same odds just because the overall odds of losing twice is smaller. That's not how it works. Be smart, and let it go. If you had a good tournament then feel free to feel confident for the next one, but don't play reckless either. I think you get my drift.

5. BE PATIENT. You see the requirements I listed? Patience really deserves 10 slots but I thought that would be a little too redundant. Anyway, at low stakes people play very aggressive and you have to know when to make a stand. Obviously your skill in noticing betting patterns of the other players (including how quick they bet or respond to a bet) is very important as well.

6. If you feel you may be giving away tells online, try to always act in the same amount of time regardless of your action (folding, raising, calling, etc). I personally like to purposely do things a certain way to make them think I'm doing the opposite, but that's just me. You have to be comfortable with the stakes and your play style so just trust your instincts and hopefully that works out for you. If not, learn to NOT trust your instincts. Whatever makes you win :)

Tips & Warnings

• If you are serious about poker, feel free to message me as I love to play. I am assuming Texas Hold 'Em or similar variations such as Omaha are what you would be playing, as that is what I find myself most skilled in (Razz can be fun once in awhile as well), but obviously play whatever you feel is your best game, relative to the other players.
• Reading poker books will make you a better player. The professionals may seem to be just trying to make a quick buck writing books about strategy, but if you are a novice to intermediate player there should definitely be something in them that will help you.
• Learn the odds of whatever game you are playing. It is a big advantage if the opponent does not know them. Odds include pot odds, draw odds, every kind of odds you can think of.
• Poker is still a luck game and can also be an addiction for some people. That is why I suggest starting with freerolls so you do not put any of your own money at stake to begin with.

[handyblog]

on 7/14/2009 CHECK OUT THAT SITE!

[handyblog]

on 7/14/2009 POKERSLIST.COM