A strong advantage to playing online poker is that you can use training aides while you’re playing at the computer. You can have books, charts, tables, and notes in front of you to assist you in making decisions, a practice that is totally legal and ethical in online poker. Having instructional paraphernalia handy is especially useful if you are a novice at poker. For example, you can put a starting-hands chart in front of you and refer to it when making a decision about whether to call or fold from a middle position. Be careful, however, not to slow down the game.

If you are an experienced player and have been keeping notes on your usual opponents, you can drag them out and put them by your computer. Maybe you remember the online name of someone who you’ve played before. Taking a look at your notes, you see that she’s a loose player who might raise with any two cards, or maybe she’s a solid player who will play certain hands in one situation but not in another one. In a sense, you’re “reading” your opponent by reading your notes! Most of the major online poker sites allow you to take notes and keep files on players. You can review your notes by simply placing your mouse over that player at the table and right-clicking it.

You should constantly keep track of everyone’s chip count in the tournament. It’s easier to do in online poker sites than in land-based poker rooms because the exact amount of chips everybody has is on display right in front of them. In a traditional poker rooms, you have to size up the stacks of your opponents. You are allowed to ask your opponent how many chips he has, and he must tell you, but you usually just estimate his stack size visually. Land based poker rooms require you to place all your big-denomination chips in front of your lower-denomination chips because your opponents have the right to know how many chips you have at all times. In online poker tournaments, the graphics are right there on the screen so that you can easily see how many chips the other players have.

Tables are constantly breaking down so that you’re frequently moving to a new table in multi-table tournament play. As soon as you get to a new table, look around to see who is the chip leader at the table and which players have more chips than you do. Recognize which players can break you and those who cannot. Automatically program this concept into your mind when you play a tournament, whether online or in a regular poker room. This is Tournament 101 basic strategy. Make assessing your opponent’s chip stacks something that you automatically do—it is vital to your success.

As soon as you have mastered the basics in free games online, advance to a small buy-in tournament, preferably a single-table tournament in which you will be playing against nine opponents (when playing Hold ‘Em and Omaha). Play in a $5 or $10 buy-in single-table tournament. Once you experience playing for something, you will have a new enthusiasm for the game. I know I’ve said it before, but here it is again: in poker, decisions should matter. You should be rewarded for good decisions and penalized for bad ones. This concept is critical to your success at playing poker for money.

Try small buy-in tournaments when you first start playing for money. In cash games, you might lose more money than you originally wanted to put at risk. Even in the $3-$6 limit games, which are considered to be pretty small games, it’s fairly easy to go through $100. Why not take that $100 and play $5 or $10 buy-in tournaments? That way you can play time and time again on the same bankroll and experience the joy of playing poker for something.

At most sites, single-table tournaments pay three places. Usually, the winner gets 50 percent, second place gets 30 percent, and third place gets 20 percent of the prize pool. (Note that all online poker rooms charge a nominal entry fee, usually about $1, when you sign up to play in a tournament.) If everybody puts up $10 each, for example, the prize pool is $100. The winner at that table receives $50, second place wins $30, and third place receives $20. In other words, you don’t have to take first place to make a profit. As you progress in your poker skills, you will start to win some of those tournaments.

Small online tournaments are fun and exciting, and they give you a big bang for your buck. Play one and you’ll see what I mean.

1:00PM       Isle of Capri        $15
8:30PM       Isle of Capri        $50
1:00PM       Isle of Capri        $70, $20 Boundy
2:00AM      IP                          $50+ $10
6:00PM      IP                          $50+ $10
7:00PM       Isle of Capri        $20, $ 1 ORB, $5 Bounty
1:00PM      Isle of Capri        $50,$ 1 ORB
6:00PM       BeauRivage       $120
6:00PM       IP_____________$50 + $10
12:00PM    BeauRivage      $40, $20 RB 20/40AO
12:00PM    IP                        $50+ $10
3:00PM       Isle of Capri        $25, $5RB
12:00PM    BeauRivage      $120
12:00PM    IP                          $100+ $20
3:00PM       Isle of Capri        $30, $1 ORB, $20 Bounty
12:00PM    BeauRivage      $120
12:00PM    IP                          $50+ $10
3:00PM      Isle of Capri        $15, $1 ORB (Ladies Only)

TUnica, Miss,

4:00AM      Gold Strike         $65
11:00AM    Gold Strike         $40, $20 RB $20 AO
1:00PM      Grand Casino    $65
6:00PM      Gold Strike         $ 1000 + $ 125
7:00PM       Horseshoe          $2000 gauranteed +$65,$40 RB, $40
1:00AM    Gold Strike         $40, $20RB, $20 AO
1:00PM       Grand Casino     $500 + $65_________
4:00AM      Gold Strike          $65
11:00AM    Gold Strike          $40, $20 RB $20 AO
1:00PM      Grand Casino    $65 ($500 added)
1 1:00AM     Gold Strike          $40, $20 RB $20 AO
1:00PM       Grand Casino     $80, $20 Bounty
6:00PM       Gold Strike          $1000+ $125
7:00PM        Horseshoe           $65, $40 RB, $40 AO
1 1:00AM    Gold Strike          $40, $20 RB $20 AO
11:00AM    Sam’s Town        $500 + $50
1:00PM      Grand Casino    $65, $25RB, $50 AO (WSOP Acedemy)
4:00PM       Horseshoe           $65, $40RB, $40AO
6:00PM      Gold Strike          $65, $30RB, $30AO

Every day CarbonPoker gives players the chance to earn themselves an entry into the World Series by playing in the lower buy-in satellite tournaments. There are multi table tournament (MTT) and Sit’n'Go satellites starting from as low as $2 buy-in.

Players may buy in at any level or work their way up to the Grand Final events, where either large guaranteed prize pools or $12,500 real life tournament packages are given away.
World Series Satellite Tournament Schedule

    * Sit’n'Go - $2, $10 & $55 tournaments registering 24/7, visit the Tournaments > Sit’n'Go > Satellite tab of the CarbonPoker software
    * $2 MTT - Every day at 06:30, 09:00, 13:45, 16:00, 20:30 & 00:00 CarbonPoker  time. (GMT-5 / ET-1)

f you’re on a limited time schedule, you can play a sit-and-go tournament. A sit-and-go event is one in which there is no predetermined starting time. Players sit down at a table one by one, and as soon as the table fills up, the tournament begins. You may be the first player at the table, but as soon as the 10th player comes in, bang! The tournament is off and running instantly. (This is how single-table tournaments work, as well as some two- and three-table tournaments.)

In contrast, a multitable tournament is going to have a lot of players in it—and a big prize pool. Multitable events are posted on the site’s tournament schedule, and each has a specific starting time. You must register in advance for these tournaments. Suppose you want to enter a $20 buy-in Hold ‘Em tournament that begins on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. You can register a few days in advance or up to a few minutes prior to the scheduled starting time to play in that event. And you know that if you win that tournament, you’ll be sitting there until midnight (and perhaps partying the rest of the night).

Always choose the type of tournament that will best fit your time schedule.

The Advance Action button is a nice feature in that it speeds up play. If a player knows she’s going to call, she can click the Call tab and instantly be entered into the pot when the action gets to her. (This action is nullified if someone in front of her raises the pot.) She doesn’t have to wait until her turn to make her decision. The same thing applies when she wants to fold or raise. If someone raises in front of you, your Advance Action is no longer in effect. A tab will appear that forces you to wait to act until it’s your turn in the betting sequence, just as you must do in a traditional casino.

There are tells that you should be aware of in online poker. One of the Advance Action tabs reads “Raise Any.” When you’re planning to raise the pot no matter what anybody else does, you can click that tab. Be forewarned, however, that when you click the Raise Any button, observant players will recognize that you have a big hand because you didn’t take any time in making your decision. This is one of the big tells in online poker. Essentially, your opponents can tell that you have a strong hand because the Advance Action tab lit up instantly, telling them that you intended to raise.

You may not be able to see the whites of your opponents’ eyes online, but you can tell something about the strength of their hands by their advanced betting actions. Don’t give your actions away— wait until it’s your turn to act, especially if you have a big hand.

Find a game in which you are satisfied with the people you are playing against, and you’re comfortable with the stakes you are playing for. If you find yourself losing at one limit, drop down to a lower limit until you start winning again and regain your confidence. Remember, too, that you can always practice or get a refresher course at the play-for-free poker tables.
It is easy to change tables online. When you play in a traditional casino, there might be only one or two tables of the game and limits that you want to play, whereas online there may be 100 other tables of your game from which to choose. Having a large number of tables in action is an advantage when you want to shop around to find a better game. You’re always just a click away from another table.

If you would like to check out all the online action available to you at any given moment, visit PokerStars. This site lists the number of people playing online poker in their rooms and the types of games they offer.

Online play has fast action and it’s exciting. It also rewards you in another way: if you play online tournaments two or three times a day for a few months, you will gain the experience of a player who’s been out in the field playing tournaments for five or ten years. Even professional players recognize that dedicated online tournament players can gain as much experience in just a few months as it took the pros years to get. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that you’re going to take more bad beats playing poker online. I’ve heard players complain that they’re unlucky playing online; some of them have even blamed their losses on the online site. But there’s a better explanation than simply bad luck. Since you are dealt at least twice as many hands per hour online as you are dealt in a traditional card room, you’re going to take at least twice as many more beats than you do in a land-based casino.

Whether you took a beat because you were unlucky, or whether it was just the natural result of being dealt so many more hands per hour online, you must maintain your composure when you lose a pot—and that means keeping cool twice as often when you’re playing online. This is not as easy to do as it sounds.

Recognize that luck is the equalizer, the beauty, and the allure of poker. Luck is always a factor in poker, but the best players will get the money in the long run. Luck is the reason that many people play poker: they believe that if they get lucky, they will win. One of the great things about the game is that anyone can get lucky and win one session or one tournament. Even the greenest player can catch cards and win in competition against the greatest players in the world. Of course, if you sit down across the table from great players 365 days a year, you’re probably not going to like your results because, over time, luck is not a factor. In the end, skill prevails in poker.

Here are a few tips that will help you survive and thrive in the low-limit poker games you play online. For starters, if the table is playing loose, you’re better off to be playing tight (and vice versa). You should be selective about the starting hands you play—don’t gamble it up just because everyone else is gambling.

Don’t play past the flop unless you hit something that you think is the best hand or unless you have a good draw with proper odds. Remember the maxim “fit or fold.” If the flop doesn’t fit with your cards, fold your hand. I also recommend that in smaller games you play straightforward poker. Don’t try to get too fancy by slow-playing your hand or trying to over everybody at the table. Sophisticated plays don’t work well in low-limit games.

Don’t call your money off. Being a calling station is a surefire way to poverty on the green felt (or cyber felt). It equates to being a loser. And remember, take bluffing out of your arsenal in the lower-limit games. In the vast majority of pots online, the winner will have to show down the best hand.

Most players like to play low-limit poker online. For the most part, there are no ultrahigh-stakes games. Out of over 1,500 “live” games at PokerStars, for example, there are only two tables with $30-$60 limits, nothing higher, plus a reasonable number of $15-$30 games. Most of the games are $3-$6 because those are the limits that most people like to play. Many players tend to gamble more at lower-limit games. Therefore, expect most of the games you play online to be looser than those in traditional casinos that spread somewhat higher-limit games.

Many first-time money players lose their chips when they start playing for hard cash, and they don’t know why. One reason is because the training you get at the free tables is not conducive to being successful in real-money games. Let me repeat that—the training you get at the free tables is not conducive to being successful in real-money games. Basically, people play very loose poker in free games. If you were playing a little tighter than your loose opponents in those games, you should have been winning. When you move on to real-money games, you will find that people usually play tighter and more solid poker when they are playing for hard cash.

If you want to become a better player, don’t stay in the play-money games for very long because you’ll be tempted to play too loose yourself. My recommendation is that you play in free games until you learn how the game is played, understand how the betting works, and have grasped the basic concepts. Then move along to playing in a small buy-in tournament in which your monetary exposure is limited to the amount of the buy-in.

Paying attention to the game in cyberspace is just as important as it is when you’re playing in a casino. In fact, nothing is more important than observing what’s going on in the game—-it is the most important prerequisite to becoming a winning poker player.

In online poker, you have the option to play two or more games at the same time. I recommend that you play only one game at a time if you are a new poker player and two games maximum if you’re an experienced player. I know some players who play four games simultaneously, and certainly those people are skilled at playing multiple games. Still, I don’t believe that you can give each game enough attention so that you don’t make mistakes. One screen pops up, another one pops up, a third flashes across the screen, and cards keep whizzing by. Online junkies like the fast-paced action, but I don’t recommend it for the vast majority of players.

Many old-time poker players don’t consider online poker to be “real” poker. They think of it as a video game. To them, “poker” means sitting at a green-felt table looking your opponent in the eye.

In reality, online poker is simply a newer, different form of poker—and there’s no question that it is the real deal. Like many other games, poker has graduated with the times into the computer era. At online poker sites, players from all over the world compete with one another in live, real-time games. The only reason online poker works is because it takes place in “real time.” You are actually playing against real people “in the moment.” You may not be able to see your opponents, but the action is real.

The beauty of online poker is multifaceted. Newcomers can learn the basics of poker in free games before advancing to low-stakes tournaments or games. Online card rooms are open around the clock so you can get a lot of experience in a short time. And they provide you the opportunity to gain valuable tournament experience. The World Poker Tour and online card rooms expanded the poker industry by bringing thousands of new players into the game on a daily basis.
You Can Learn How to Play Poker at Online Poker Rooms

Everyone coming out of high school these days is computer literate. Most kids have been playing video games since they were six years old, whereas in my youth there were no computers and no video games. When we played poker years ago, there were no poker books and no online poker rooms. I learned by playing in a live poker game, coming home broke, and scratching my head while asking, “What did I do wrong tonight?” Like everyone else, I had to figure it out for myself.

Today, the WPT and online poker offer a great way to learn how to play poker before you venture into a casino. You can learn how the betting works, the procedures of the game, and how to play new games you haven’t played before, such as No Limit Hold ‘Em or Omaha high-low split or razz. Playing online gives you a feel for the game.

Think of online poker sites as training grounds where you can learn how to play poker without any monetary exposure. That’s right, folks, you can play poker for free online; you don’t have to put up money to play. In a casino, you won’t hear the floor man say, “Hey, come on in here and have a seat. We’ll hire dealers and take up floor space with free tables so that you can get better at the game.” You can also test various poker strategies online. If you usually are a tight player, you might experiment online by playing more aggressively than you usually do. Or you might practice bluffing and so on. (Let me add that attempting to bluff is pretty well useless when you’re playing for free. Trust me, you will be called.)

As the host of PartyPoker, one of the world’s largest online poker sites, I invite you to come online and play some poker. You’ll be amazed at how enjoyable it is! There are three online poker rooms that host WPT tournaments. PartyPoker sponsors the PartyPoker Million. This unique event, the largest on the WPT, is held aboard a luxury cruise ship. UltimateBet is the sponsor of the Aruba Poker Classic in exotic Aruba. PokerStars sponsors the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure held at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. In addition to these sites, the WPT will be hosting an international gaming site in the near future where players outside the United States can practice and play poker online.
You Can Get Years of Experience in a Short Time Playing Online

Another advantage of playing poker online is that it is a viable way for you to get experience quickly. You can play any time of the day or night, and you can play for any length of time you want to. If you feel like playing for 20 minutes while you’re eating a midnight snack, you can do that; or if you choose to play a tournament that lasts six hours, you can.

For poker players who don’t live near a casino, online poker is a savior. Even if you’re fortunate enough to have a poker room in your city, playing online can be more convenient than driving to the casino, putting your name on the list, and waiting for your turn to play. As we say on PartyPoker, “If you can read your e-mail, you can play online poker.”
You Can Win Your Way to a Million Online

The WPT’s televised tournaments and online poker have really captured the nation’s interest in poker. Prior to the WPT, the perception of poker by most was something that took place in the back of a smoke-filled pool room. Today, poker championships for millions of dollars are taking place in the finest casino properties in the world on a regular basis. Because of that, poker is now viewed as a competition/sport rather than gambling per se. Millions of people have embraced poker and now recognize it as a game of skill rather than pure luck.

Many WPT tournament players earn their buy-ins by playing lower-priced satellites in online casinos. Truly it is beneficial to the poker industry, which is thriving again, for players to try to earn their seats in WPT tournaments by playing online. We’ve certainly seen the success that online players have had in the great championship events. In the Season 2 WPT Championship tournament at the BeDagio, two players who qualified online made it to the final table. Matt Matros finished in third place and took home $700,000, while Richard Grijalva placed fourth and earned $450,000. Between the two of them, their seats cost only $200! Russian poker ace Kirill Gerasimov won a seat via a satellite in the Season 1 WPT Championship event and wound up taking second place and winning $506,625.

And then there’s the famous Chris Moneymaker story. Moneymaker qualified for a seat in the 2003 World Series of Poker in an online satellite that cost him $39—and parlayed it into $2.5 million when he won the title. Moneymaker deserves a lot of recognition for bringing poker to the attention of the public—he is the “Average Joe” who believed in his dream and made it happen. Every small-stakes player in the world looks up to him because he did it. Chris gave hope and incentive to millions of people: “If he can do it, I can do it!” I have a plaque on the wall of my office that says, “Those who achieve SUCCESS are those who take a DREAM and make it come true.” Moneymaker certainly did that.

Online poker provides these kinds of opportunities for new players as well as seasoned veterans. At PartyPoker, you can parlay a single-table tournament win into a luxurious cruise for two and play to win $1 million in a WPT tournament. For the price of two movie tickets and a box of popcorn, you literally can win a million bucks. Does life get much sweeter than that?

Now let’s take a look at some tips that will help you get the most benefit from playing poker online. Translated, that means win as much as you possibly can.

Excerp from Shuffle Up and Deal

Be one of the first to win a seat at this year’s WSOP®

It’s every player’s dream to take a shot at the World Series of Poker®. There’s the giant prize pool: Last year’s winner Jerry Yang took home more than $8 million after beating 6,358 other players. Then there’s the chance to join the former WSOP® champions in the poker history books.

And, of course, you’ll love the amazing Las Vegas experience the WSOP® guarantees. It’s simply the nuts!

This year’s WSOP® Main Event is going to be huge: The action’s taking place in the Rio’s gigantic Amazon Room, and the field will be so large that the first day is being split into four starting days! To make sure you’re one of the first to grab a seat, play in the early WSOP® qualifiers, where you could win a package worth $10,000 and up, including:

• Your buy-in to the Main Event, worth $10,000
• $1,000 spending money
• Accommodation in a luxurious five-star Las Vegas
• Access to an exclusive VIP hospitality suite
• Transfers from the hotel to the venue

The qualifiers have started already. You can join the action for as little as $2.

Choose your route to the WSOP® with any qualifier tournament structure.

You could be bringing home a coveted bracelet - and millions of dollars - this July.

Good luck!

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The following online poker sites are offering ALL players (including US players), entries into the 2008 WSOP®:

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Full Tilt Poker (US players allowed)

• $10 Million Main Event Mania

Win the Main Event after winning your tournament entry at Full Tilt Poker and FTP will pay you $10 million in addition to your first-place prize money.

• Race to the Main Event

Lace up your running shoes and get ready to Race to the Main Event because Full Tilt Poker is offering you the chance to win one of 50 completely free seats at the world’s biggest poker tournament.

To claim your free $10,000 tournament entry, just look for one of the Main Event Race – Round 1 SNGs
running around the clock. Win one of these SNGs and you’ll qualify to play in one of the Main Event Race – Round 2 Freerolls running four times each day.

Take either first or second place in one of these daily Preliminary Freerolls to advance to our Main Event Race – Finals Freerolls held each Sunday at 16:30 ET (21:30 GMT). Reach the podium in one of these tournaments by placing first, second or third and they’ll reward your performance by giving you a completely free WSOP* Main Event entry worth $10,000.
Full Tilt Poker’s exclusive Race to the Main Event begins on Saturday, March 1st when they’ll start holding daily Freeroll tournaments that will run through Sunday, June 22nd. By the time the race ends, 50 players will have won free seats at the 2008 WSOP* Main Event.

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Poker Stars (US players allowed)

Poker Stars is giving up to $50,000 to qualifiers who make it to a TV table and…wait for it…up to $1 million bonus cash for players who make the Main Event final table.

Oh, and you get a free shuttle to from the Palms to Rio every day, which isn’t anything to sneeze at.

Of course, getting these packages will take a little work on your part. Poker Stars is running a full compliment of
satellites to suit just about any bankroll. Cash satellites start at $2 and go up to $1,050. You can get in through any of the daily Frequent Player Point satellites, too.

Among the most popular qualifiers for all big events are the PokerStars Steps satellites. For the World Series, the Steps satellites start at $7.50 or 500 Frequent Player Points.

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CarbonPoker (US players allowed)

Every day CarbonPoker gives players the chance to earn themselves an entry into the World Series by playing in the lower buy-in satellite tournaments. There are multi table tournament (MTT) and Sit’n'Go satellites starting from as low as $2 buy-in.

Players may buy in at any level or work their way up to the Grand Final events, where either large guaranteed prize pools or $12,500 real life tournament packages are given away.
World Series Satellite Tournament Schedule

• Sit’n'Go - $2, $10 & $55 tournaments registering 24/7, visit the Tournaments > Sit’n'Go > Satellite tab of the CarbonPoker.com software

• $2 MTT - Every day at 06:30, 09:00, 13:45, 16:00, 20:30 & 00:00 CarbonPoker.com time. (GMT-5 / ET-1)

• $10 MTT - Every day at 10:30, 14:30, 19:00 & 21:30 CarbonPoker time. (GMT-5 / ET-1)

• $55 MTT - Every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 18:00 CarbonPoker time. (GMT-5 / ET-1)

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Ultimate Bet (US players allowed)

Here is your chance to qualify for the WSOP 2008! Blinds escalate every 5 minutes. These events will guarantee one seat into the WSOP 2008 Qualifier running daily at 9:30pm EST. Unlimited rebuys for the first half-hour ($5 each) grant 1500 more chips. Note: You must have 1500 or less chips to rebuy. One optional add-on at the end of the rebuy period gives you 3000 more chips. You may add-on regardless of how many chips you have. To rebuy, click on get chips in the lower-right, or you will automatically be prompted when you lose all of your chips and at the end of the rebuy period. Alternates are allowed up to the end of the rebuy period. Good luck!

11:40am no limit Hold’em
$5+$.5 WSOP Stage1 Qualifier T+R

1:40pm no limit Hold’em
$5+$.5 WSOP Stage1 Qualifier T+R

2:15pm no limit Hold’em
$5+$.5 WSOP Stage1 Qualifier T+R

3:40pm no limit Hold’em
$5+$.5 WSOP Stage1 Qualifier T+R

4:15pm no limit Hold’em
$5+$.5 WSOP Stage1 Qualifier T+R

5:40pm no limit hold’em
$5+$.5 WSOP Stage1 Qualifier T+R

6:15pm no limit Hold’em
$5+$.5 WSOP Stage1 Qualifier T+R

6:40pm no limit Hold’em
$5+$.5 WSOP Stage1 Qualifier T+R

9:30pm no limit Hold’em
$50+$5 WSOP Qualifier

11:40pm no limit Hold’em
$5+$.5 WSOP Stage1 Qualifier T+R

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The following online poker sites are offering players (EXCEPT the US players), main event WSOP® entries:
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Party Poker - World Series of Poker® qualifier structure

Here’s how you can book your seat early for poker’s biggest offline event through the online qualifiers:
MTT Qualifiers

• $1 WSOP Satellite
  Sub Qualifier Speed Rebuy, Daily
  For every $64 in prizepool, 1 player wins entry into daily $64 WSOP Satellite Qualifier.
• $3 WSOP Satellite
  Sub Qualifier Rebuy, Daily
  For every $64 in prizepool, 1 player wins entry into daily $64 WSOP Satellite Qualifier.

STT Qualifiers

• $2 WSOP STT Sub Qualifier
  Available on demand 24/7

• $14 WSOP STT Qualifier
  Available on demand 24/7

Both MTT and STT Qualifiers will bring you to:

• $64 WSOP Satellite Qualifier
  Daily at 15:40 ET
  For every 10 entrants, 1 player receives entry into weekly $580 WSOP Satellite.

• $550 + $30 WSOP Satellite
  Every Friday at 18:00 ET
  For every 20 players a $11,000 package to the 2008 WSOP in Las Vegas is awarded.

• 2 WSOP Packages Guaranteed

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Pokerroom

The $500 + 40 Online Final: Saturdays 22:00 CET
1st Prize Gtd: $17,500 World Series Of Poker* Package
You can buy in directly to the Final or qualify through the following ways:
The Sit & Go Route

Lucky Dollar $1 + 0.10
This is a 20-player turbo tournament with blinds increasing every 3 minutes.
• 1st place - $15 + 1.50 Ticket
• 2nd place - $1 + 0.10 Ticket and $3.40

Stage 1 $15 + 1.50
This is a 10-player turbo tournament with blinds increasing every 6 minutes.
• 1st place - $69 + 6 Ticket
• 2nd place - $69 + 6 Ticket

Stage 2 $69 + 6
This is a 10-player tournament with blinds increasing every 12 minutes.
• 1st place - $500 + 40 Ticket
• 2nd place - $69 + 6 Ticket
• 3rd place - $69 + 6 Ticket

Scheduled Tournaments

Tournaments that pay out $500 + 40 tickets will run with these buy-ins:

$2.00 + $0.20
$5.00 + $0.50
$10.00 + $1.00
$20.00 + $2.00
$30.00 + $3.00
$50.00 + $4.00
$100.00 + $8.00

A ticket to the Final awarded in every single tournament. Please check the lobby for start times. These will be available around the clock.

The ultimate prize package

Since Chris Moneymaker won the Championship in 2003 after qualifying on
PokerStars, they’ve had a proud history of sending more players to the Main Event than any other poker site. In 2008, they’re keeping this tradition alive by offering their best ever prize package, with a range of ways to qualify.

The city that lives and breathes poker

The World Series is held at the Rio Hotel & Casino, at the heart of the glamour and excitement of the Las Vegas Strip. The true home of poker, Vegas is a place where you can find action any time of day, for any stake you care to play. It’s only right that the biggest event on the poker calendar should take place in this town. The
PokerStars dream prize package gives you the chance to see Vegas in all its glory.

Your chance to play in the ‘Big Dance’

Imagine sitting at the green felt, surrounded by the world’s greatest players in the event that everyone wants to win. From the moment the tournament director utters those famous words of “shuffle up and deal”, every player in the room knows they’re taking part in something special. With
PokerStars satellite qualifiers, you have the chance to experience the Main Event for yourself.

For the first time players began each event with double the amount of chips as the buy-in. This means that players in the Main Event started with 20,000 chips. The blind structure has also been increased and some blind levels removed but slowed to allow for more play.

All events were held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, which marked the first time that a casino other than Binion’s Horseshoe (now “Binion’s”) hosted the final table of the main event. Six days reserved for the first two rounds of play for the main event were established by Harrah’s Entertainment, which has run the annual event since its purchase from the Binion family in 2004.

The first prize in the main event was $12 million (US), the richest prize for the winner of any sports or television event in history. The top 12 players became millionaires.

Being a facebook member, I decided to try out facebook poker recently. Obviously facebook’s popularity has drawn a lot of people to try out the texas holdem software. The facebook holdem poker is nowhere near the quality of the many online poker sites. But what they do have to offer is a facebook bonus code. This is free cash to play online poker.

Since facebook poker cannot allow real money poker play, they have offered people to receive a bonus at other sites. As a marketing idea, this is great. Awesome for you and I, because we get the free poker bonus to play online.

If you don’t know what a poker bonus code is, I will explain. Most online poker rooms offer free cash to play on their sites. It is one way they compete with the other poker sites. The better the bonus offer, the more the poker room stands out from the others. It is simple to claim your bonus code, even the facebook poker bonus code. Simple enter the bonus code when you sign up and you will be able to claim your bonus.

Now what I did find out is that the facebook bonus offers are not readily available on any sites, so I did a little research and after some emails and phone calls I came up with a list of poker facebook bonus codes. I decided to post them here.

Below you will find several bonus codes from facebook’s poker application. Simply follow the link beside the bonus code and enter it when you sign up at each poker room. The poker site will then give you their facebook bonus.

I am not sure how long this will last but take it while you can. The following is a list of facebook poker bonus offers:

Facebook Poker Bonus Codes - click the link on the left and then enter the bonus code at signup

Full Tilt Poker Facebook Bonus Code - FACEDOLLARS

Doyle’s Facebook Poker Bonus Code - FACEBONUS

Cake Poker Facebook Bonus Code - FACEBONUS

UltimateBet Facebook Bonus Code - BONUSMONEY

Somethings to consider before you begin your online poker experience

• always enter the poker bonus code when you first sign up at any poker site
• sign up at at least 2 poker sites
• enter freeroll tournaments to win real money
• when you win real money try low limit ring games to build your bankroll
• read poker tournament articles, tips and secrets

I hope you enjoy the bonus offers. I know that my bankroll has benefited from this free cash. It has allowed me win cash in freerolls and multi tournaments. If you want more information on some of the rooms check out this poker site review page.

Good luck!

Erick Mastack

Featuring 55 separate events spread over 7 weeks, last year’s main event made 5 poker millionaires with the winner taking home $8,000,000!

There are several ways you can join the game and earn your free entry into the biggest tournament with the biggest payouts. Just sign up with one of the following online poker sites. Each poker room offers WSOP freerolls or tournaments that can send you to the main event for just a few dollars entry or even free.

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Full Tilt Poker is running the
Main Event Mania promotion:

From now until June 22nd,
Full Tilt Poker is offering you the chance to win your seat at the world’s biggest poker event. There are a variety of ways to win your $12K prize package to Vegas, including:

~ $200 Tuesday Main Event Guarantees every Tuesday at 21:00 ET
~ $300 Wednesday Main Event Guarantees every Wednesday at 16:30 ET
~ $1K Thursday Main Event Guarantees every Thursday at 21:00 ET
~ $500 Sunday Main Event Guarantees every Sunday at 16:30 ET
~ 150 Seat Main Event Guarantee on Sunday, June 15th at 18:00 ET
Satellites to all Main Event qualifiers are now running - get in on the action for as little as $2 + $.25 or 50 Full Tilt Points.

Race to the Main Event and win a completely free seat at this year’s World Series of Poker*. Look for Main Event Race - Round 1 SNG Freerolls running around the clock.

With
$10 Million Main Event Mania, if you win your Main Event Seat through
Full Tilt Poker and go on to win the whole enchilada, you’ll be rewarded with an extra $10 million! Set out on the path to glory and win your seat today.

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Paradise Poker will be running satellites over the coming weeks where you can win a trip to Last Vegas during the WSOP main event. Each Las Vegas package includes:

• €10,000 package for travel, accommodation and spending money.

The WSOP lasts from May 30th – July 20th with the main event beginning on Thu, Jul 3rd.

Harrah’s has explained that they are making the change to the schedule to accommodate ESPN, who will now be able to offer better and more in-depth coverage of the $50,000 HORSE event. The $50,000 HORSE event is now considered te professionals’ game, as players need to be skilled in five different poker games, Holdem, Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud Eights of Better in order to have a shot at winning. The difficulty and large buy-in of the $50,000 HORSE event have made it nearly as prestigious as the Main Event and very popular among poker enthusiasts watching the coverage on ESPN.

FINALLY THE ODDS FAVOUR THE PRESTON PRO

London – 11th February 2008 – The odds have seemed stacked against 45 year-old Nick Slade in recent years but the professional from Preston, Lancashire in the UK took down the biggest title of his career when he scooped $200,000 and the PartyPoker European Open IV title last week.

In 2006, Slade was regarded as one of the rising stars on the European circuit but serious illness to his wife Jane, 43 and a water skiing accident that shattered his neck in May last year meant he quit the game and almost gave up hope of clawing back the prestigious status he once had. He had never played a televised short-handed event before and was regarded as a 100/1 outsider by PartyBets in a top quality 72 runner field.

“This is my biggest cash by quite some way, it’s an amazing feeling,” said Slade. “The money will come in very handy and I intend to take my three kids to Florida on a holiday and get back on the circuit. My wife is over the worst, I just hope this is the start of a new chapter in our lives.”

Slade was heads-up with 45-year-old Worcester internet sports trader Craig Burgess and both were regarded as outsiders on a final table that also included WSOP Europe winner Annette Obrestad, Premier League winner Juha Helppi, former European Open champion Ian Frazer and Josh Tyler. The players carried their chips through from the semi-finals and Slade was fourth at that stage with 124,000. Frazer was the chip leader with 469,000, Tyler had 351,000, Obrestad 235,000, Helppi 114,000 and Burgess 107,000. The balance of power swung dramatically throughout with Tyler, Obrestad and Frazer all appearing to be in the box seat at a point. The defining hand that gave Slade the title saw Burgess go all-in with a pair of queens. Slade held king-three off suit and paired the king on the flop which held up.

“I did a lot of work studying Annette before the tournament because I thought that if I was to get anywhere she would be there or thereabouts. I basically knew that if she got a lot of chips she would continually try and re-raise me with a bag of rubbish and it proved to be right. I knew that Frazer would try and be the table captain, Helppi would be seriously solid and Tyler was a good player after encounters in cash games.”

Slade now has his eye on the PartyPoker European Challenge in Vienna in March and a variety of tournaments. He started his comeback recently and was buoyed by winning a tournament in Luton the week before. His heads-up opponent Burgess was absolutely delighted to finish second. “I was the short stack going into the final so finishing second was the best I could have asked for, especially considering the quality players that made the final table.”

First eliminated in the final was Helppi, whose ace king suited failed to overcome Obrestad’s pocket nines. Next to go was Tyler, whose pocket queens were busted by Slade’s ace eight suited when the eventual champion hit an ace on the turn. Perhaps the major turning point was when Obrestad made a move with jack seven off suit and ran into Slade with ace king. A king on the flop was great for Slade and Obrestad was out. Frazer went out third after his king queen offsuit was beaten by Slade’s ten nine off suit when a nine came on the flop. Slade had some good fortune but showed strength throughout and went into the heads-up with Burgess with well over 90% of the chips on the table.

The Matchroom Sport organised event will be broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK later this year and distributed internationally. The buy-in was $7,000, creating a $504,000 prize fund. The winner of each of the 12 six seater heats progressed to a semi-final stage, and, for the first time in the event’s history, the runners-up battled it out for the remaining two semi-final spots in “last chance” turbo heats. Bookies’ favourite Phil Hellmuth, Juha Helppi, UK Open Champion Andrew Feldman, recent PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship runner-up Michael McCool, Roland de Wolfe, Andy Black, Marty Smith, Roy Brindley , Ian Frazer, Ian Cox, Neil Channing, Surinder Sunar, Austin Healey and star of UK soap Coronation Street, Michael Le Vell, were amongst those who took to the felt. Defending champion Liam Flood was eliminated in his heat while Hellmuth was knocked out in the turbo heat after earlier scrapping with his Premier League foe Helppi. The ‘Poker Brat’ joined Jesse May in the commentary box.

A PartyPoker spokesman said: “There is little doubt that Nick Slade was amongst the outsiders at the start of the tournament and at the start of the final table. We congratulate him on his win and after all he has been through we hope this is a new dawn for him and his family.”

Eddie Hearn, Director of Online Gaming at Matchroom Sport said: “It’s a huge achievement for both Nick and Craig to overcome such a strong field. We saw some of the world’s biggest names fall in the race for the title and it was a thrilling final in which Nick thoroughly deserved his victory.”

PARTYPOKER EUROPEAN OPEN IV – 3 Mills, London 1st-8th February 2008

1st Nick Slade $200,000

2nd Craig Burgess $100,000

3rd Ian Frazer $50,000

4th Annette Obrestad $30,000

5th Josh Tyler $25,000

6th Juha Helppi $20,000

CHIP COUNTS AT THE START OF THE FINAL TABLE

Ian Frazer – 469,000

Josh Tyler – 351,000

Annette Obrestad – 235,000

Nick Slade – 124,000

Juha Helppi – 114,000

Craig Burgess – 107,000

The Bad Beat Jackpot is the best way to win: It gets bigger the more you play.

We collect 50 cents from the pot of every raked hand played on our Bad Beat Jackpot tables, so the jackpot grows the more you play. With more than 100 tables, the jackpot typically increases by $1,000 every hour.

Win on our Bad Beat Jackpot tables if you lose with a hand of Four of a Kind, 8s, or better.

Fund distribution

Every time the jackpot is hit, 70% of the jackpot will be distributed and 20% will be used as a seed for the next jackpot. We will retain 10% as an administrative fee.

Of the distributed amount, 50% will go to the loser of the hand (the Bad Beat), 25% will go to the winner, and the remaining 25% will be split between the other seated players who took part in the hand. Players who sat out of the hand will not receive a portion of the jackpot.

To qualify for the Progressive Bad Beat Jackpot

• The Bad Beat Jackpot is only available on specially designated tables available under the ‘Cash Game’ tab
• Four or more players must be dealt into the hand
• Players sitting out do not qualify for the jackpot
• The losing hand must contain Four of a Kind, 8s, or better to qualify
• The best hand for both the winner and the loser must include their two hole cards, and the hand must go to a showdown
• The hand must be raked and the jackpot contribution must be collected in order for the hand to qualify for a Bad Beat Jackpot
• The two highest hands will be considered for the jackpot if there are two or more hands that qualify for the jackpot, with the highest hand being the winning hand (the winner) and the second highest hand winning the jackpot (the loser of the hand)
• The hand that started first (based on our system clock) will be awarded the jackpot if two qualifying jackpot hands are hit at exactly the same time
• Players must play their hands independently and cannot tell opponents how to act or reveal their hand to other players. Violations will disqualify the hand from the Progressive Bad Beat Jackpot.

Other conditions

• The jackpot contribution will only be collected if the hand is dealt on a jackpot table to four or more players and a rake is collected from the hand.
• The jackpot contribution is collected from the pot as soon as the first rake is collected in the hand·The jackpot contribution of 50 cents is collected only once during the hand.
• The jackpot contribution collected on any jackpot table is displayed to the right-hand side of the dealer·

These contributions are added to the jackpot until it is hit.

So go ahead and hit the Jackpot table.

It is true that with the advent of online poker, more and more people are learning to play poker, and as such it behooves the new player to learn as much online poker strategy as they can. This will not only give them an advantage over the other poker players who don’t use any type of strategy to play, but it also gives you a better starting position, as you will be ready for any contingency.

The main trick to winning at online poker, or indeed any type of poker, is practice and experience. Without either by your side, no amount of knowledge of online poker strategy and game plays will be of help to you.

To that end, it is to your benefit if you spend more time playing the game of poker rather than reading about poker strategies and things. Leave that to a time when you are better able to play poker without having to stop and think about whether or not you have a possible good hand or not!

In short, use online poker strategy and game plays only when you have the knowledge and the know-how to play poker properly.

Another thing that you will want to keep an eye out for when you are looking into these online poker strategy and game plays, is whether or not they are out and out poker cheats, or even whether they are borderline poker cheats.

Either way you will want to be careful when you are dealing with these strategies which fall into gray areas as you could be penalized for having used them, even if you were unaware of what they were to begin with. Remember, ignorance is not an acceptable excuse in most places, and you want to be very careful when dealing with strategies and things which could be construed as cheating.

When all is said and done however, you will find that once you are more conversant with playing the game of poker, using an online poker strategy will be of help to you, but only when you have become conversant with the game.

Until then you might as well be playing blindly for all the good utilizing an online poker strategy will do for you. Learn to play poker first, then go in for the poker strategies. This is the first poker strategy that you should learn.