Make Money Playing Online Poker. Are You Ready For The Next Poker Boom?
The next poker boom is imminent! Do you want to be primed to take advantage of it? Do you want to make money playing an extremely interesting game? Are you ready to take advantage of the flood of people looking for a quick buck? There has never been a better time to do it. First, it's important to understand the poker boom, and understand the truths and myths about online poker. Then you are ready to learn the skills needed to make money online playing poker.
Online poker is a relatively new industry with a fascinating back story. The first site (PlanetPoker) opened its virtual doors in 1997. Due to its success, other sites followed, but still the amount of players plying their trade online was small. In 2003, that all changed. The aptly named Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker for $2,500,000. The buy in (amount to enter) this tournament was $10,000. Moneymaker didn't pay this, instead he won his ticket online for $39 dollars. He turned a $39 investment into $2,500,000 with a bit of work and a lot of luck.
This lead to the "poker boom". Millions fled to the internet poker sites to emulate his success. A lot failed. The smart people with the knowledge, skill, and assistance of poker software didn't. The elite: Tom "Durr" Dwan, Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond and others made millions. A swarm of other players also made online poker their job with a steady income they could never achieve in other lines of work.
This heyday lasted until 2006, when the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was introduced. Poker was an unfortunate casualty in the attempts to shut down blackjack sites, slot sites etc. Poker was not illegal, but getting the funds online to play was very difficult. Due to these difficulties the American "fish" (weaker, recreational players) stopped playing. European and Asian fish were still there, but the sites were now mostly populated by highly skilled players. The strategic side of the game improved vastly. The game is now almost unrecognisable to the game played in 2003. The players have improved that much!
Finally, this year a disaster struck the online poker world- Black Friday. On The 15th of April, the 3 biggest sites were seized by the Department of Justice. Not because online poker was illegal, but because the sites committed the federal crimes of money laundering in order to circumvent the restrictions placed by the UIGEA.
However, things are now looking up. The Super Committee charged with finding $1.5 trillion to cover shortages in the US economy are looking at providing legislation for online poker. This is an industry that could provide money to the government without government spending or increasing taxes. The money is there at no cost to anyone and all sides will be happy. Online poker will soon be unstigmatised, legal (as always) and have the government seal of approval. Conservative estimates believe this will happen as soon as January 2012. When this happens, poker advertising will be all over TV and the internet. Millions will swarm and try to make a quick buck. The smart will be ready to pounce!
Why get ready now? Firstly, because of the confusion around the industry. Most tools to assist you are vastly reduced. Sometimes by as much as 75%. Secondly, because information about how to improve and master the game is readily available for a price, the learning curve will be fast. You need to be a step ahead of the pack. Now to uncover some myths about poker.
Myth- Poker is gambling. You can't win.
Most gambling games you play against the casino. You can't win. Each game has its engineered edge for the casino. Slots only pay out a certain percent of what they take. The green zero in roulette. The blackjack dealer acting after you, thus you don't know if he busts or not and have to show up with a good hand.
Online poker you play other people. The casino or online sites only charge rake (a fee to play the game). Other people are beatable. With the right knowledge and skills, you can be the dealer. Acting after your opponent with an edge against him. With the right knowledge and skills, you can recognize when the odds are in your favor. If you have to bet $50 to win $150, you need to be at least a 33% favourite to win. With a bit of tuition you can effortlessly and quickly calculate your chances of wining. This is not card counting or against the rules! You can consistently make the correct bets and you will win.
Myth - Online poker is illegal
If you investigate the UIGEA, you will find this is not the case. The UIGEA does not prohibit poker. There are still many sites where Americans can play, and after January, there will be a lot more with government backing. Cake poker, Chilli poker and Bodog are just a few of the options available to you. Cake is currently the biggest provider for US players.
So how can you prepare yourself to take advantage of this second boom? I will give you 3 basic pieces of advice:
Aggression is everything
When you are faced with a decision it is best to take the most aggressive action. That is bet or raise. In poker you only have 3 options: bet (or raise if someone bet before you), call or fold. Sometimes you have to fold when you know you have the worst hand. Calling is for emergencies only. It is for the times you are really unsure. If you study the game these occasions will be rare. When you call, you have to have the best cards to win. When you bet or raise, you will win more with the best hands and sometimes make players fold the better hands.
Aggression also saves you money when you have the worst hand. If you raise someone because you think you have the best hand, and he re-raises you, he is telling you his hand is better. Players rarely bluff in these spots so you can fold quite happily. If you just call, you will often have to call three bets to find out his hand is better. In short, betting or raising lets you know quickly when you are behind and gives you two ways to win a pot.
Position is everything
In poker, there is a sequence to which players act first. The blinds (the players who put money in the pot before they see their hands act first) and the dealer acts last. Play pots when you are the dealer or close to the dealer. You have the benefit of seeing other players act, so you can form a good idea of the cards they hold. Don't play when you are one of the blinds. Other players have this dealer advantage advantage over you, similar to blackjack, over you, and you are likely to lose.
Old information is nothing
As I previously stated, the game of poker has changed dramatically. Old strategy doesn't work any more. You can find this strategy all over the internet for free because it is worthless. The old poker bible Doyle Brunson's "The Super System 2" does not work any more. Most of the poker books in print are written by old professionals with old, useless systems and strategic ideas. The players of the poker boom are writing their own books, but as they are more technologically informed, they write e-books to save costs. The best on the market is "Let their be range" by Cole South and Tri Nguyen. However, it costs $1,850. I have read this book and, believe it or not, the information in there is worth it.
Luckily there are cheaper alternatives. My favorite is Kill No Limit by SmackinYaUp [http://dcbbfi-krkuevxilmze09s4z3c.hop.clickbank.net/](his online alias). This successful high stakes professional gives you a lot of advice on subjects such as: position, aggression, playing styles, calculating odds and many more. With his book he also provides videos of players using his techniques to win at the high stake tables. This book helped me get ready for the second poker boom. You should take advantage of it too.
Another alternative that requires less effort is software such as Lord of Poker [http://27167j0fpu0ex0dewhjl0fucet.hop.clickbank.net/]. Reading Kill No Limit will improve your game, but you have to study it and understand the theory. Lord of Poker [http://27167j0fpu0ex0dewhjl0fucet.hop.clickbank.net/] is a program that advises you on whether to raise, fold or call in a given situation. It is foolproof and you don't even have to understand the game. This is not to be confused with bots (computer programs that actually play your cards). These are illegal. Players use them and they will play poker online with no human input. Eventually players using these bots are caught and penalised. Lord of Poker is simply a program that advises you in real time, so it is not illegal and used by many professionals online. The only down side to this program is it struggles with players at the higher stakes. If you want to grind out a living at the smaller stakes with no effort, this is for you. If you want to win a lot of money at the medium and high stakes, Kill No Limit will give you the tools.
Online poker is a relatively new industry with a fascinating back story. The first site (PlanetPoker) opened its virtual doors in 1997. Due to its success, other sites followed, but still the amount of players plying their trade online was small. In 2003, that all changed. The aptly named Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker for $2,500,000. The buy in (amount to enter) this tournament was $10,000. Moneymaker didn't pay this, instead he won his ticket online for $39 dollars. He turned a $39 investment into $2,500,000 with a bit of work and a lot of luck.
This lead to the "poker boom". Millions fled to the internet poker sites to emulate his success. A lot failed. The smart people with the knowledge, skill, and assistance of poker software didn't. The elite: Tom "Durr" Dwan, Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond and others made millions. A swarm of other players also made online poker their job with a steady income they could never achieve in other lines of work.
This heyday lasted until 2006, when the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was introduced. Poker was an unfortunate casualty in the attempts to shut down blackjack sites, slot sites etc. Poker was not illegal, but getting the funds online to play was very difficult. Due to these difficulties the American "fish" (weaker, recreational players) stopped playing. European and Asian fish were still there, but the sites were now mostly populated by highly skilled players. The strategic side of the game improved vastly. The game is now almost unrecognisable to the game played in 2003. The players have improved that much!
Finally, this year a disaster struck the online poker world- Black Friday. On The 15th of April, the 3 biggest sites were seized by the Department of Justice. Not because online poker was illegal, but because the sites committed the federal crimes of money laundering in order to circumvent the restrictions placed by the UIGEA.
However, things are now looking up. The Super Committee charged with finding $1.5 trillion to cover shortages in the US economy are looking at providing legislation for online poker. This is an industry that could provide money to the government without government spending or increasing taxes. The money is there at no cost to anyone and all sides will be happy. Online poker will soon be unstigmatised, legal (as always) and have the government seal of approval. Conservative estimates believe this will happen as soon as January 2012. When this happens, poker advertising will be all over TV and the internet. Millions will swarm and try to make a quick buck. The smart will be ready to pounce!
Why get ready now? Firstly, because of the confusion around the industry. Most tools to assist you are vastly reduced. Sometimes by as much as 75%. Secondly, because information about how to improve and master the game is readily available for a price, the learning curve will be fast. You need to be a step ahead of the pack. Now to uncover some myths about poker.
Myth- Poker is gambling. You can't win.
Most gambling games you play against the casino. You can't win. Each game has its engineered edge for the casino. Slots only pay out a certain percent of what they take. The green zero in roulette. The blackjack dealer acting after you, thus you don't know if he busts or not and have to show up with a good hand.
Online poker you play other people. The casino or online sites only charge rake (a fee to play the game). Other people are beatable. With the right knowledge and skills, you can be the dealer. Acting after your opponent with an edge against him. With the right knowledge and skills, you can recognize when the odds are in your favor. If you have to bet $50 to win $150, you need to be at least a 33% favourite to win. With a bit of tuition you can effortlessly and quickly calculate your chances of wining. This is not card counting or against the rules! You can consistently make the correct bets and you will win.
Myth - Online poker is illegal
If you investigate the UIGEA, you will find this is not the case. The UIGEA does not prohibit poker. There are still many sites where Americans can play, and after January, there will be a lot more with government backing. Cake poker, Chilli poker and Bodog are just a few of the options available to you. Cake is currently the biggest provider for US players.
So how can you prepare yourself to take advantage of this second boom? I will give you 3 basic pieces of advice:
Aggression is everything
When you are faced with a decision it is best to take the most aggressive action. That is bet or raise. In poker you only have 3 options: bet (or raise if someone bet before you), call or fold. Sometimes you have to fold when you know you have the worst hand. Calling is for emergencies only. It is for the times you are really unsure. If you study the game these occasions will be rare. When you call, you have to have the best cards to win. When you bet or raise, you will win more with the best hands and sometimes make players fold the better hands.
Aggression also saves you money when you have the worst hand. If you raise someone because you think you have the best hand, and he re-raises you, he is telling you his hand is better. Players rarely bluff in these spots so you can fold quite happily. If you just call, you will often have to call three bets to find out his hand is better. In short, betting or raising lets you know quickly when you are behind and gives you two ways to win a pot.
Position is everything
In poker, there is a sequence to which players act first. The blinds (the players who put money in the pot before they see their hands act first) and the dealer acts last. Play pots when you are the dealer or close to the dealer. You have the benefit of seeing other players act, so you can form a good idea of the cards they hold. Don't play when you are one of the blinds. Other players have this dealer advantage advantage over you, similar to blackjack, over you, and you are likely to lose.
Old information is nothing
As I previously stated, the game of poker has changed dramatically. Old strategy doesn't work any more. You can find this strategy all over the internet for free because it is worthless. The old poker bible Doyle Brunson's "The Super System 2" does not work any more. Most of the poker books in print are written by old professionals with old, useless systems and strategic ideas. The players of the poker boom are writing their own books, but as they are more technologically informed, they write e-books to save costs. The best on the market is "Let their be range" by Cole South and Tri Nguyen. However, it costs $1,850. I have read this book and, believe it or not, the information in there is worth it.
Luckily there are cheaper alternatives. My favorite is Kill No Limit by SmackinYaUp [http://dcbbfi-krkuevxilmze09s4z3c.hop.clickbank.net/](his online alias). This successful high stakes professional gives you a lot of advice on subjects such as: position, aggression, playing styles, calculating odds and many more. With his book he also provides videos of players using his techniques to win at the high stake tables. This book helped me get ready for the second poker boom. You should take advantage of it too.
Another alternative that requires less effort is software such as Lord of Poker [http://27167j0fpu0ex0dewhjl0fucet.hop.clickbank.net/]. Reading Kill No Limit will improve your game, but you have to study it and understand the theory. Lord of Poker [http://27167j0fpu0ex0dewhjl0fucet.hop.clickbank.net/] is a program that advises you on whether to raise, fold or call in a given situation. It is foolproof and you don't even have to understand the game. This is not to be confused with bots (computer programs that actually play your cards). These are illegal. Players use them and they will play poker online with no human input. Eventually players using these bots are caught and penalised. Lord of Poker is simply a program that advises you in real time, so it is not illegal and used by many professionals online. The only down side to this program is it struggles with players at the higher stakes. If you want to grind out a living at the smaller stakes with no effort, this is for you. If you want to win a lot of money at the medium and high stakes, Kill No Limit will give you the tools.
