which online site to choose?

willietherock

Hi,
I've never registered on an online pokersite before. Which sites would people recommend for a beginner to internet poker?Preferably plenty of freerolls. Which sites offer the best incentives to sign up?
Any advice appreciated.

pokypoky

Pokerstars is great for creating the impression that its easy peasy to freeroll into the major poker events online, I'd go for them.

I'm not sure the sign up bonus is hugely important. I'd say most beginners lose their sign up bonuses trying to qualify for them, the full tilt one is a nightmare.

jacQues

willietherock wrote:

Hi,
I've never registered on an online pokersite before. Which sites would people recommend for a beginner to internet poker?Preferably plenty of freerolls. Which sites offer the best incentives to sign up?
Any advice appreciated.

I advice Ladbrokes (see my sign below) and PokerStars. Those two sites are honoust towards their customers as opposed to some sites who just want your money (through rake).

Ladbrokes has the best bonus structure and a very good daily freeroll, where rebuys are $1. This adds to the $500 pot they put in at the start. Its usually full (5,000 players), great craic and top 50 are paid. No raked hands required! They also have raked hands freerolls with $2,500 added money and good leaderboard freerolls.

PokerStars have the best playmoney tournaments. All other sites I have seen half the table (if not more) just goes all-in every hand, which sucks. On PokerStars you can actually get good play even though there's nothing to win. Also one thing I like is that you don't have to worry about codes and such when they have a deposit bonus. Everyone simply gets it, the way it should be, but try telling that to the other 99% of the sites.

jacQues

Lafortezza

www.pokerlistings.com gives a pretty good run down of what the major sites offer, and the list decent sign up bonuses too.

I'd disagree with jacQues about ladbrokes being the best for bonuses (he's probably saying it since he gets paid if you sign up via the link in his sig).
Each site's bonuses depend on how much you are depositing and what games you typically play.

http://www.pokerlistings.com/free-roll-poker gives a list of sites rated on the freerolls they offer.

If you can tell us more about your playing habits (stts/mtts/holdem cash/etc) and the amount of money you have to deposit we can probably help you a bit more.

Ste05

another good site with info abour bonuses is www.bonuswhores.com

EDIT: http://www.bonuswhores.com/bonus-whoring-101.php = a good guide about how to start out

Hawk Eye

I've only been playing online several months but think party is your best bet.
Go through Ste05 link first and get a feel for site. There's been a few f***ups since the updated software came to pass but party seem to be sorting it out. Think more are turning to stars but I feel theres far to many suckouts in comparison to party.
I like to win(lose) money quickly and find stars far to slow especially with 1-2 tables opened. The lobby is much more user friendly on party too but one thing about stars is them $16 double shootouts are the softest tournaments online for sure.
Can't really comment on any other sites but thats just my 2cents on the two big ones.

willietherock

lafortezza wrote:

If you can tell us more about your playing habits (stts/mtts/holdem cash/etc) and the amount of money you have to deposit we can probably help you a bit more.

I'm new to the game and have no playing habits as such. Have read Lee Jones, sites such as this and the like. The plan is to play freerolls, cheap entry level sng,mtts and find my feet.
Would this seem like the correct way to gain experience to those of ye who have travelled this path already?
Is there an easy path to follow i.e. snt onto mtt onto low limit cash games ect or would I better of tring each varient of the game and seeing which I fair better at?

How would I manage a bankroll at the learning stage? ( circa 50-100£ start off)

Any advice appreciated.

Ste05

Have a read of Musician's sticky at the top of this forum first, most questions are answered there.

Basically though, FreeRolls etc. aren't real Poker, I'd try some small buy-in STT's to begin with and see how you go from there. Keep the money at a level you can afford to lose to begin with. Except for luck boxes, very few players pick up the game and make money at it, but you seem to have made a great start, reading books and forums such as these will radically improve your game.

GL at the tables and welcome to the Poker Forum.

Lafortezza

Deposit $100 and play several hundred $5 STT's. Enjoy!

Drakar

I'd highly recommend STTs too. If you are going to play the $5 ones though, do play on a site where the fee is $0.50 rather than $1 (PokerStars do $0.50 fee ones for example). Otherwise play with a larger bankroll and play the $10 ones methinks.

jacQues

lafortezza wrote:

I'd disagree with jacQues about ladbrokes being the best for bonuses (he's probably saying it since he gets paid if you sign up via the link in his sig).

Ladbrokes is by far the best site for bonuses. With Ladbrokes, your initial deposit bonus is easy. Whereas on some sites it will take you a whole week playing. I challenge you to find a site that has less raked-hands requirements to clear a bonus and/or a site with better freerolls that don't require raked hands at all. And if you do play raked hands, with only 100 you can play the $2,500 freeroll. There are no silly playing points to collect, those things are simply available to all players.

jacQues

ArmaniJeanss

jacQues wrote:

Ladbrokes is by far the best site for bonuses. With Ladbrokes, your initial deposit bonus is easy. Whereas on some sites it will take you a whole week playing. I challenge you to find a site that has less raked-hands requirements to clear a bonus and/or a site with better freerolls that don't require raked hands at all. And if you do play raked hands, with only 100 you can play the $2,500 freeroll. There are no silly playing points to collect, those things are simply available to all players.

jacQues

How easy will it be to clear bonuses if he starts off (as recommended here) in STTs ???

Ste05

jacQues, don't get too excited there. It's only a 25% deposit bonus. So for our Hero to earn it he has to firstly deposit $400, which I don't think he's planning on doing, secondly what actually are the raked hands requirements, I only see "Stake the TOTAL value of your initial poker chip purchase within 14 days" as the requirements to get the bonus. What does that mean? Basically pay $400 in rake to get back your $100?? And to do that in 14 days ... for a newbie, LOL!!!

Although the $25 Free for completing your profile is a good idea and if I hadn't already done so, I'd do it. However, this great deposit bonus isn't all that. If you have $400 use the bonuswhoring101 guide as linked above in my post 5 for where to go.

P.S. I'm not affiliated in anyway to bonuswhores.com but it's a good site for information.

EDIT: LOL just read the BW review that laf linked and didn't realise you couldn't fill in your profile until you had wagered $200. Ah well, I must have played there more than I thought in the past.

Lafortezza

jacQues wrote:

Ladbrokes is by far the best site for bonuses.

Can you give us more details in that case.

With Ladbrokes, your initial deposit bonus is easy.

So is PPP/Party and the vast majority of sites, just use your credit card,how is Ladbrokes any different/easier?

Whereas on some sites it will take you a whole week playing. I challenge you to find a site that has less raked-hands requirements to clear a bonus and/or a site with better freerolls that don't require raked hands at all.

Party signup bonuses generally take an evening at the 10c/25c tables in my experience. They don't come much easier than that. If you do a bit of research around the net you'll find plenty of sites that give lots of freerolls.

More info on Ladbrokes from an unbiased reviewer here http://www.bonuswhores.com/ladbrokes-poker.php

patmac

I started with €100 on Paddy Power in january playing €1,€3 sometimes €8 MTT's and €5 STT's signed up for the GODPOKER bonus(€101) which I got have withdrawn €100 and have a balance of €113 have moved up to €10 STT's so not winning a lot but not losing. Best win was €183 for 1st in €3 MTT which was a buzz. Play better weekend mornings than I do weekday evenings as I'm on a computer all day at work. Play roughly 15 hours a week I think my game is improving but I will not move up untill my bankroll improves. Once I got the GODPOKER bonus it doesn't look like there is anything left on this site bonus wise so maybe I'll start playing somewhere else.

ArmaniJeanss

patmac wrote:

Once I got the GODPOKER bonus it doesn't look like there is anything left on this site bonus wise so maybe I'll start playing somewhere else.

Pat, if you are happy with the games but want more bonuses, you can sign up for VCPoker and get monthly bonuses for action (paddy) points. Paddypower and VCPoker are different skins of the same poker company, therefore you will be playing the same games/players etc. (Apols if this is patronising, some players don't know the skin system).
And to the original poster, I would recommend starting with paddypowerpoker and doing the godpoker bonus pat refers too, see their homepage for details.
AJ

patmac

Ta AJ don't worry about being patronising I find a lot of stuff on boards passes me by especially the techno stuff, what does UTG mean?

Ste05

UTG = Under The Gun, i.e. first to act Pre-Flop after the Blinds have been posted and cards dealt

patmac

Does everyone use Neteller, are there any fees? Is it safe?

Hawk Eye

patmac wrote:

Does everyone use Neteller, are there any fees? Is it safe?

I've been using Neteller a bit seems safe enough the only thing is when you sign up you need to give a copy of your passpot and a utility bill. Make sure when your subscribing that the currency is in dollars if your sole purpose is for poker.

Lafortezza

patmac wrote:

Does everyone use Neteller, are there any fees? Is it safe?

A huge amount of frequent players use Neteller, it's as safe as you can get for moving money between poker sites. Very good customer service too.
I didn't need a utility bill or passport when I was signing up, a few phonecalls to verify who I was was enough. It takes about a week to ten days to get it set up and you can deposit to it with a credit card or else you have to go into your bank branch to make a wire deposit.

5starpool

I'm obviously more trustworthy than the rest of you lot as Neteller didn't ask for utility/passport of even phone calls to verify myself.

This was about 2 months ago or so. As for depositing to it, if you use a credit card they charge 5% (I think) fee for this. The way i did my initial deposit to Neteller was to deposit to an online site with my CC and then withdrwa to Neteller. Bank wire seemed like too much trouble to me, being the lazt fecker that I am. If you have it linked to your bank account it only takes around 3 days to deposit to it.

patmac

Do you need Neteller(are they any relation to Nutella) for every site like VC or can you get bonuses without it, and can you make $113,000 in rakebacks alone?

5starpool

patmac wrote:

Do you need Neteller(are they any relation to Nutella) for every site like VC or can you get bonuses without it, and can you make $113,000 in rakebacks alone?

There endeth any more sensible replies.

ArmaniJeanss

patmac wrote:

Do you need Neteller(are they any relation to Nutella) for every site like VC or can you get bonuses without it, and can you make $113,000 in rakebacks alone?

You don't need Neteller for VC, a credit card has worked fine. I have already made over $400 bonus in 12 months of playing on VC, so yes $113,000 is certainly possible*.
AJ

* Your definition of 'possible' may differ from that of Globex Corporation, its subsiduaries and shareholders.


edit: Agree with 5starpool

patmac

5starpool wrote:

There endeth any more sensible replies.

Sorry I was reading bonuswhores.com and they claim at the end that this is possible if you were to play multiple sites and multiple tables.

iBoT

hi lads i find it very handy to use my netteller account with my ladbrokes account to cash out and desposit quickly without a credit card or bank transfers which can take up to 3 days.

a nice tip for ya's
and oh yea you might need to ask them in laddies to unblock your instant withdraw with netteller when they are on the phone to customer service

jacQues

lafortezza wrote:

Can you give us more details in that case.
So is PPP/Party and the vast majority of sites, just use your credit card,how is Ladbrokes any different/easier?
Party signup bonuses generally take an evening at the 10c/25c tables in my experience. They don't come much easier than that. If you do a bit of research around the net you'll find plenty of sites that give lots of freerolls.

Yes, with Ladbrokes its roughly the same (an evening, maybe two evenings of play). It can be read on the web site:

Step 3 – Make an initial poker chip purchase of between $50 and $400 of dollar chips from your bank card.
Step 4 – Stake the TOTAL value of your initial poker chip purchase within 14 days.
Step 5 – Once you have completed Step 4 and fulfilled your wagering requirement, submit your claim by clicking the button below.

Note that "stake" is not the same as "rake". In theory you could get it in one hand by going all-in with your full bankroll and being called (uncalled bets don't contribute). Though I would advice against this method. I also find it easy to deposit / cash out since you can do so with cash in the booking office. I'm not 100% sure but assume that for single table tournaments this "stake" is also used (i.e. the buy-in should be taken as "stake").

Cons would be that their credit card system doesn't always work as smooth as with other sites. Probably because they use some weird bank system. It still confuses me since you have to transfer money from your betting account to your poker account and vice versa. One is in euro and the other in US$. Also their software uses Internet Exploder plugins, which I don't like (it doesn't always work properly).

I like it that the daily freeroll doesn't require you to be 'active'. No raked hands to play, no points to collect etc. I also like the fact that you can choose your favorite seat in their software.

Other things I like / dislike about Ladbrokes are:
+ No USA players; true European site with normal times for tourneys.
- Why US$ if you don't allow USA players, why not euro? ffs!
+ The client is customizable and clean, not cludged up like Tribeca sites.
- The client is not 100% reliable.
+ Friendly atmosphere; hardly any abuse.

The same list for PokerStars:
- Awkward times for the bigger tourneys.
+ Always games on, even during (for the USA) quiet periods.
- The client is not customizable.
+ The client is 100% reliable and very clean (the best client around IMO).
+ REAL avatars; I love this!
O Okay atmosphere.

jacQues

patmac

Thinking of having a go at boylesports poker any good?

Táck

i'm planning a game 2nite, my first on-line game. after reading this thread it looks lilke i'll have to spend most of the time searching for the right site and feicin registering!!!

i play hold 'em with friends quite a bit. i just want to go to a site 2nite and play a game or two. i probably wont play on-line again regularly enough to avail of some of the sites offer.

my friend recomended bet365.com and says its better then ladbrokes? any recomendations please? somewhere i can just register, enter my buy-in (btween €10-€30 for now) and play.

all help greatly appreciated!

Culchie

Táck .... just throw in that $30 into any site you want and enjoy !

Táck

bet365?

if thats the case, what are all you lot talking about then? or are you regulars? i literally just want to play for the night. but i will play again. when, i dont know!

Culchie

You've nothing to compare it against ...Bet365 is fine, as are loads of other sites.

It's your first night playing online, so they will all appear great.

Táck

he also said vegas baby too.

jusging from you sig, was he right?

Culchie

I own the site skin, hence the sig.

Is it the best poker software site....no.

Is it full of yellow bellied Canadians who go running for their mammy on a regular basis , full of 'Ned Flanders' as some Dublin person (who thinks Maynooth and Leixlip is in Dublin said) ...well, why..... yes it is:)

Be Lucky, I'm off to the pub:)

cardshark202

If you're gonna pick any site put $30 on pokerstars, its much much much better than any other site imo in terms of voulme of good tourneys. Good luck and enjoy.

tribulus

id recommend Vegas Baby especially if you haven't played online, as Culchie will readily admit, the players for the most part aren't the best!! Also I like the site layout, easy to find your way around

Gavan

patmac wrote:

Thinking of having a go at boylesports poker any good?

I spent a while on there but didn't really like the blind structure - starts off slow but before you know it you are just getting blinded out of the game

Táck

well i went on-line on friday and could not, for the life of me, remember the 3-digit code off the back of my credit card so i couldn't play for real money. i opted for play money instead and lost it all, playing very badly. leaving me thinking it was probably for the best.

however, last night i logged onto paddypowerpoker.com and played a no limit game for play money. started with 500 chips and logged off 2 hours later (sleepy, losing concentration) with just over 3000 chips. not a bad return imo. i am NEVER playing limited poker again.

so THIS weekend coming, i am going to go for cash. vegasbaby sounds the most appealing.

Drakar

The problem with vegasbaby is that there aren't a huge number of players so depending on the level you play it may be slow to find games during sensible hours for Irish people. Nothing wrong with downloading it to have a look though!

Dub13

T&#225 wrote: »

so THIS weekend coming, i am going to go for cash. vegasbaby sounds the most appealing.

I would recommend the $7 shorthanded STT on vegasbaby,they fill up fast and the structure is very good for a low buy in.

Táck

is it a tournament? or just games?

Dub13

T&#225 wrote: »

is it a tournament? or just games?

Its a Single Table Tournament sometimes called a Sit & Go,shorthanded meaning 6 players with two being played.The thing about playing on line is you have to find a game (or better still a few) that you can beat,this will stop up from having to keep reloading.

So my advice to you would be to pick a game and only play this on till you can beat it,then you can use any profit for other games such as MTTs.The biggest mistake new players make IMO is playing everywhere and anything they may play a MTT then a bit of cash then a few $5 Stts then some more cash.Then they wounder why they have nothing left in there account.

So pick a game and play it,then play it some more and again just keep playing it on till you master it.

ArmaniJeanss

T&#225 wrote: »

is it a tournament? or just games?

STT = Single Table Tournament. Generally 10, 9, or 6 players who play until there is one left. Generally takes between 30-70 mins. Prizemoney is usually 1st,2nd,3rd if 9 or 10 people, 1st and 2nd if 6 people.
I'd recommend that you (or anyone starting off) begins in STTs.
However I'd reckon that $7 STTs is a bit steep to start with, $2 much better for a beginner.
Beat the $2 games consistently for a while, then move up.
Also I'd disagree with Dub13, and start off in 9/10 people games rather than 6 handed.

Dub13

ArmaniJeanss wrote:

Also I'd disagree with Dub13, and start off in 9/10 people games rather than 6 handed.

I did not mean in general start of playing shorthanded,I was talking about a specific game on vegasbaby that is particular soft.

Táck

thanks a million for the info

STT sounds like what im looking for. obviously i'll start off on the minimum cash entry fee for the time being until im confident enough i'm not gonna lose!

Linford

T&#225 wrote: »

well i went on-line on friday and could not, for the life of me, remember the 3-digit code off the back of my credit card so i couldn't play for real money. i opted for play money instead and lost it all, playing very badly. leaving me thinking it was probably for the best.

You can enter any 3 digits you want - they can't verify it. I had this problem with my laser card and betfair - I just entered some random number - a few months later betfair acknowledged that Laser card users don't have a three digit number at the back of the card and to just enter any three digits until they change their software.

Linford

lafortezza wrote:

I'd disagree with jacQues about ladbrokes being the best for bonuses (he's probably saying it since he gets paid if you sign up via the link in his sig).
Each site's bonuses depend on how much you are depositing and what games you typically play.

Ladbrokes do however offer a good bonus for submitting your profile with a picture ($25) I don't think there are any requirements for clearing this bonus.

Drakar

Linford wrote:

Ladbrokes do however offer a good bonus for submitting your profile with a picture ($25) I don't think there are any requirements for clearing this bonus.

You need 200 cash game hands to clear this. (linky)

Linford

Drakar wrote:

You need 200 cash game hands to clear this. (linky)

It was two years ago since I put my profile up - guess they changed it, appologies for the miss info.

Táck

maybe my bank have stopped my credit card then...DOH