In the last part of this series we looked at poker software tools and what they can do for you. In this article we will examine what the poker sites do with your money and what you can do to improve your game and potentially make some money from poker!
Every poker site makes money from your losses. In No Limit Cash Games (NL-C%) the house takes a rake of around 10% with every pot, this is called the rake. For example the poker room might take $0.05 per $1 bet. For example the rake is $0.50. When you play in a tournament the fee is higher, usually around $3, so the house makes a profit of around $2.
The top poker sites offer a wide range of promotions, deposit bonuses and loyalty incentives. Playing on the Dewagg in a tournament is a great way of making money although many of the stars in low level tournaments are very poor players and the system used for extracting the money from them is generally weak.
Deposit bonuses are generally worthless, bad deals will be offered in any situation. If you deposit you are risking the chance of the site pulling a publicity stunt for their next big winner, the risk is too great!
So what’s the answer? Well, there isn’t one, you need to look at the entire package offered by the various online poker rooms, you need to compare and re-compare the features and the strategy available and you need to ask yourself “would I want this and would I like to play poker in this establishment?” and “will I contribute to a possible loss of $X” The best answer is that you should look at the whole picture, the skill and the experience of the player and internet poker room and make an educated and realistic decision based on this. I wouldn’t want an internet poker room to get in business with me, but I would make it my business to be paid in poker cards online if I found a good one!
Did you win any money in the last hand? Well, some people play every hand, but they play them the wrong way. See the poker quote below:
“The way you win at poker, is by losing more often than you win”
If the poker player did not ask “Why?” realise that he is missing an extremely important detail of the game. If the player has asked “Why?” and you say “Because..”, but you say nothing because you’re not sure yet, then it’s a perfect excuse not to mention that fact to the player. A poker player will hardly forgive you if you refuse to detail what you actually mean.
In the end I’ll leave you with these two quotes, they may help you to decide whether you want to play in an online poker room:
“The Game is betted upon, Not the players”
“The glory of defeat should distract us from our revenge”
If you agree with these two principles, then you can win in internet poker, just play with no deposit bonuses and make the best out of your experience and your fortune!