A great quote from Texas Dolly himself is “Texas Hold’em takes a minute to learn but a lifetime to master”, and how very true it is. You can play hours upon hours of poker and learn something new every time you play. If you are starting out playing online poker acquire some information first by reading articles and posts and then start out playing at small stakes levels.
We are in process of building a poker strategy section here to our website with this being the first article. Before you even sit down at a real money table read some strategy articles on poker either in print or online. There is a great wealth of free information available to new poker players and it can be invaluable. There are also several great books written by poker pros like Phil Gordon, Doyle Brunson and Annie Duke to just name a few. Make an investment in yourself and take the time to read some pages and learn from the best in poker.
When you are ready to start out playing online, many think that free games are the best way to go (or people have been playing free games and winning and think they are ready for real money games) but avoid these tables at all costs. When you are ready to play poker skip the free tables because the play is entirely different. People play differently when they have real money on the line. Think about it, playing at free tables there is no repercussions for chasing an inside straight or bluffing and going all in. If you lose your stack you simply reload your free chips and keep on playing. Make the same mistakes for real money and you will go broke quick!
Find an online poker site that offers either low stakes ring games and/or low buy-in tournaments. Even at these levels people will play differently than sitting at a table where they don’t put up any real money. As you get some time under your belt you can slowly start to increase the stakes levels. As the more experience you gain and become successful at the levels slowly increase the stakes. Even jumping from a $.25/.$50 table to a $1$2 table you will find a lot of difference in the play and style players use.
So take the time and read some lessons on playing poker and start small. You will thank yourself in the long run as you gain skills and start playing for higher stakes. We even suggest avoiding free rolls offered by different poker sites. These are fun to play in and worth it if you have some time to waste or just want some entertainment, but again the play is entirely different than when playing for real money.
Once you are ready to play for real money see all the USA online poker sites we recommend and be sure to claim your bonus. Poker bonuses are free money and used correctly can add hundreds to your bankroll monthly. Some sites require poker bonuscodes while other do not. So good luck at the tables and be sure to do your homework before playing for real money.
As we add more poker strategy articles we post here in our news section so keep watch as they will be coming soon.