Author: horse-racing-free-tips

Online poker has become incredibly popular over the past several years and it looks as if it will continue to do so. However, despite its worldwide popularity there are a lot of questions people have about online poker and would like to know the answers before they start betting their hard earned money online. Fortunately, there are answers to these questions. Just continue to read and you should find the answer to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding online poker and gambling on the Internet.

FAQ #1 What is Online Poker?
First and foremost, individuals are unsure what online poker actually is. Basically, online poker is just like playing poker with your friends or at a casino and the cards are dealt automatically by the computer. This means no dealer mistakes! You must download software from a gambling site to play online poker and most of them have the appearance of a virtual room of gamblers playing poker. Each person’s screen name is denoted on their seat or at the table. So, it is as if you are playing with a group of friends, but on your computer screen. You can also place bets and pay in or receive payments through a variety of payment options available.

FAQ#2 Is online poker safe?
People distrust the Internet and don’t like giving a website their banking information or other personal information due to the high increase in identity theft and other similar crimes. However, the majority of online poker sites are incredibly safe and use the same type of security software that online banks use. As a result, if you feel comfortable banking online, managing your stocks, or shopping on your favorite website, then playing poker online won’t prove any riskier and your information won’t be at risk.

FAQ #3 How do you know if a site is legitimate?
There are many online poker sites out there and while many of them are legitimate and will pay out as they claim, there are always a few cheaters in the mix that simply want to take your money. So, like anything, take caution and pay attention to the site you are considering gambling with. Look for security measures, seals from Internet organizations, or Visa verified, things of that nature. Also, check out the years of operation, amount of players, and read the internet for a variety of reviews about the website. Any website that has been around for a while, is a member of Internet organizations, and provides strong security measures is safe to play. Others that do not should be avoided.

FAQ #4 Is online gambling legal?
Online gambling is neither legal or illegal, so to speak. This also depends on where you live, but in general gambling online has no precedent in the United States that says it is illegal. However, there are no gambling websites registered in the United States either. So, gambling online is up to you and you should realize that technology is way ahead of legislation, but if you hear about any laws being worked out regarding the illegality of poker online you might consider clearing out your account instead of getting caught up in a bad situation. However, at the moment, millions of Americans play online every day and there are no laws as such at the moment that prove online gambling is illegal.

FAQ #5 How do I receive my winnings?
A favorite question regarding online poker is how an individual collects their winnings. Typically, when signing up each player must choose payment options. This means ways to pay money in and a way to receive winnings. Many times it is through a bank account or an intermediary. Options like PayPal, American Express and the like do not work with online poker sites in case the sites turn out to be illegal and they are fined with aiding and abetting fines. Each website pays out at a different rate, so make sure you read about that before signing up with a particular gambling site.

FAQ #6 What if something goes wrong?
Since you are playing online in real time you can expect that at some point something will go wrong. This might be with your computer, the server, the website, or any number of things. The best thing to do is immediately contact customer service and they will help you solve whatever problem to the best of their ability.

FAQ #7 Is it easy to cheat?
Cheating at anything is possible if you are determined to do it, even online poker. However, for those individuals who choose to collude they are risking being found out. The reason for this is online gambling websites have high tech tracking software that keeps up with each player and every game they have ever played, as well as all the other players in the room. So, if you believe a player is guilty of collusion and you report them then an investigation will take place to figure it out.

There are many questions that individuals want to know before they begin playing their first online hand of poker, however these are a few of the more popular ones. If you have any questions about online poker or gambling then make sure you know the answers before playing. A great resource is the gambling website you are interested in as all information will be laid out for your perusal and you can decide if the gambling website meets your standards or not. Regardless, once you have found a good online poker site simply enjoy playing the game you love at any time of the day or night.

Almost every poker player has run into a cheater at one time or another. Cheaters usually have little or no skill at the game, but are very good at manipulating the cards to their advantage, and at giving themselves unfair advantages over honest players. Where honest players spend their time learning all they can about the game, cheaters spend their time honing their cheating skills, and looking for new cheats to learn. They make minimal effort to advance their game in honest ways.

The method that is easiest for the cheater is collusion. It is very hard to catch a player in the cheat of collusion, and it is next to impossible to prove. Collusion occurs when two or more poker players will secretly work together at the same poker table. They usually plan to merge and split their winnings once the game is over, thereby often enabling them to double their winnings. There is little skill necessary on the part of the cheater to be able to pull this off. Collusion does pose a large threat to the other players at the table.

Players that are in collusion may do several different things to help each other during the game. They may get together beforehand and decide that one of them will distract the other players at the table, so that the other, who will probably be the next dealer, may stack the deck in their favor.

When players are acting together in collusion, one player may flash their hand so that the other player can see it. This lets the other player know what cards that player has, so that they can help them in anyway possible to win the hand.

Occasionally, the players in collusion may speak a different language than the other players at the table. They will use this to their advantage, as they can discuss the game without the other players becoming too suspicious of their actions. This may also be used as a method of distraction, getting the other players to lose focus on their games, in turn giving the players in collusion further advantage.

Sometimes, players that are in collusion will have signals they secretly give each other during the game. Other players most likely will not recognize the signals for what they are. They may use signals to let the other player know how strong their hand is, or they may also use signals when placing bets.

Sandwiching occurs when the only players left at the table are the two that are in collusion, and one presumably honest player. It is to the benefit of the cheaters to bet back and forth with each other, which will force the other player to see their bets or fold. Cheaters will use this to make their pot bigger, so that they will have more earnings to split at the end of the game. If the colluders place maximum bets, the other player will usually be bullied out of the game.

A sad and little know part of online poker is cheating.

Collusion: Think of 2 people chatting via aim or on the phone telling each other what cards they have. Then betting or raising to map larger pots. The player with a good hand now has a chance to win a much larger pot and the player with the bad hand just folds. Sure that could lose to a better hand, but if done right they could walk away with alot of your money.

Poker Bots: Here are some of the bot programs I have found. I do not recomend that you use a bot, infact I implore you not to, but you should know that they are being used and what they can do.

WinHoldem, Holdem Memory, PokerBot plus, and PokerBot Pro.

Here is some info on WinHoldEm, one of the most popular bots.

WinHoldEm
The WinHoldEm site does warn potential users that a stealth mode should be and must be used at many of the most popular Online Poker rooms. They also gove detailed instructions on how to do this.

You should also know, that just because someone is using a bot, even the same bot program you’ve played against before, it does not mean that this bot will play the same. The WinHoldEm bot forum has a section devodted to tweaking the formula used by the bot.

Imagine one bot playing at four tables. A bot that knows all the odds, and never makes a mistake. Sure, a live player could trick the bot, but he’d have to know it was a bot he was playing. The poker rooms do not want these bots used and do all they can to keep them off their tables, but bot users just keep changing the way the bots work.

Another type of cheating is the tracker. Poker trackers track your play as well as the play of everyone at the table. Is this cheating? Well….Not if you go by the poker rooms. many of the poker rooms allow this type of program. So maybe its not cheating, but it does give a huge advantage to the players using the prgrom.

These program show the user how often each player sees the flop. How agrressive they are. How often the go to a showdown and how often they win. In the end the player using a tracker still has to decide to bet, bet, raise, call, or fold, but the program gives them a lot of information to base their decission on.

Cheat is a part of online poker that I wish did not exist, but I wated everyone to know what they are up against when they do decide to play.