Choosing an
Online Poker Site
One of the most
important decisions you will make as a poker
player is which online
poker site you play at. There are hundreds of
online poker sites out
there and the quality of those sites varies by a
wide degree. If you’re going to trust your
bankroll to a single poker site, it’s important
that you take the time to choose the very best
poker site.
1. Safety and Security
There
are several things you can take into
consideration when choosing a poker site but the
most important thing of all is that you play at
a reputable poker site. This is your hard-earned
money we’re talking about here so it’s vital
that you find a site that is well known and has
a rock solid reputation.
Our
list of the best poker sites takes safety and
reputation into account first and foremost. Feel
free to check out our recommended poker rooms to
find the ones that we think are the best for
your money. Alternatively, you can visit a few
online poker forums and see what other players
have to say about each poker site.
2. Number of Players
Once
you find a list of safe online poker rooms, the
next step is to find which of those rooms has
the most player traffic. The number of players
at a site is important because it determines how
many tables you’ll have to choose from. The
largest poker sites have thousands of players
logged in around the clock and hundreds of
tables running at any given moment.
The
more players there are at a poker site, the
better it is for you because it makes it easier
to find fishy tables. If you’re a multi-tabler,
it’s even more important that there are plenty
of tables to choose from. On top of that, the
tournaments tend to be much larger and more
rewarding at poker sites that have lots of
traffic.
3. Tournaments
Tournament players should look for poker sites
that offer large guaranteed prize pool
tournaments. That alone will tell you a lot
about the quality of the poker site. If the best
you can find is a monthly $50,000 guaranteed, it
might be wise to search a little longer for a
better site for your tournament play. Most poker
sites have at least a $200,000 guaranteed
tournament every month. Some even have such a
tournament every week.
Small
poker sites can offer a good value for players
who don’t need to play in large tournaments.
Many times, smaller poker sites have overlays on
their guaranteed tournaments. In other words,
not enough players join the tournament so the
site has to add money to the prize pool. That’s
always a great thing because it means you’re
fighting fewer players for a larger prize pool.
4. Cash Games
Cash
game players should look at the number of tables
available during peak hours. The more cash game
tables there are, the better chances you have of
finding fishy players. If a table goes bad or
you decide to log on at 3 in the morning, you’ll
never have problems finding tables.
If you
don’t mind sacrificing a little table selection,
smaller poker sites tend to have slightly softer
cash games than larger poker sites. The reason
for that is professional poker players tend to
stick with sites where they can run 12 tables at
a time and constantly jump from table to table.
5. Player Rewards
All
poker sites offer sign up bonuses and some sort
of VIP program for their players. These
incentives can be worth thousands of dollars if
you play much poker. Deposit bonuses are always
nice for quick cash while VIP programs bring in
residual benefits that add up over the long run.
As
nice as cash bonuses and VIP programs are, this
category should be considered last. The above
factors have a greater affect on your bottom
line. Deposit bonuses and VIP programs make a
difference, but your poker winnings (or losses)
will almost always outweigh any benefits you
gain from a sign up bonus or VIP program. Use
this category as a tie breaker.
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