There have been online poker sites offering real-money play since the late 1990's, with many coming and going since then. I currently trust around a dozen poker sites for real-money play based on their history, payout consistency, and my personal review of each one. What is the best online poker site? The network which this site is part of includes other potentially rouge sites including Vegas24 and PokerOne – a network to avoid. Dollaro Poker: Another site which is currently in the midst of major complaints from players asking for cash-outs.
If you’re new to the world of online poker or simply enjoy playing within your limits, the concept of a freeroll tournament simplyseems too good to be true.
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And that’s because it is…
For those that don’t know, a freeroll tournament is one which doesn’t require an entry fee of any sort in order to play. That’s right, free poker – so what’s not to love?
Well, poker is a game that fundamentally revolves around the concept of risk and reward. And with no skin the game, as gamblers are prone to say, playing a freeroll tournament is a far cry fromreal poker.
Just ask Chad Holloway, a longtime veteran of the poker media industry who isn’t a slouch on the felt in any respect. Holloway bagged a gold bracelet at the 2013 World Series of Poker (WSOP), andhe’s accumulated more than $163,000 in live tournament earnings – all while playing part-time.
Writing in a guide on how to beat freeroll tournaments, Holloway penned the following passage which speaks to the heart of why these special events aren’t exactly poker as you might know it.
“With many inexperienced players and nothing to lose, the first few minutes sees a large chunk of the field go out with crazy hands and all-in preflop action. So sit tight initially.
That doesn’t mean you can wait too long – we said ‘first few minutes’ not ‘first few levels.’
The all-in craziness isn’t defined by blind levels, but by a lot of players in small poker freerolls who are looking to accumulate a big stack early or just go out.
Don’t bother trying to play ‘real poker’ in the first few minutes; just fold everything bar big pairs, and spring into action when things calm down.”
Just like Holloway says, freeroll poker and real poker are two completely different pursuits. Without their own money on the line, your opponents can simply click buttons and get their chips inholding any two cards, turning the pure strategy game of Texas Hold’em into nothing but a crapshoot.
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You’ll find dozens of daily freeroll tournaments littering the schedules of your favorite online poker rooms, which can make the events seem like an attractive option. And for players who findtheir bankroll tapped out at the moment, getting an hour or two of tournament play in free of charge makesperfect sense – at first glance, anyway.
But in reality, freeroll tournaments just aren’t worth your time or effort. Read on to learn why entering freeroll events is a mistake, complete with advice from successful pros like Chris“Jesus” Ferguson and Chris Moorman, along with Holloway.
Online poker has many great things to offer and is an industry I will always promote. On the individual level, it gives us players not only a great deal of fun, but a way to make some decentmoney right from the comfort of our own living room.
On a grander scale, it can generate tremendous tax revenue depending on the region or country where players are playing and the sites are operating. All of the top sites give players great incentives to keep logging in and taking a seat, without ever giving us the slightest reason to feelhesitant.
Much like with anything in an industry with a lot of competition, not all online poker sites are created equal. There are some amazing online poker sites that create great experiences for theirplayers. On the other side of the coin, there are some sites out there that aren’t so player friendly.
While it’s not my place to bash or speak ill of any poker site, as some are doing the best they can, I can at the very least discuss some of the characteristics that you want to avoid whenchoosing an online poker site to take a seat at.
Keep in mind, you should never go into a poker game online with any sense of trepidation. If you’ve read our section, then you know which sites are the best ones and you can play without anyworries.
With that said, first I’ll tell you about some of the poker rooms you should do everything to avoid under all circumstances. Then, I’ll cover some of the characteristics of those poker rooms, soif you come across some I haven’t mentioned, you know to avoid them as well. New rooms pop up from time to time so it’s important to know what to look for.
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While we all have certain preferences for any given site that we play on, those are not quite the same as faulty characteristics. I said I wouldn’t bash any rooms, but I can still lay out thefacts.