For many people, a job consists of working 40 hours a week (or more if you own your own business). However, there is one job you can get that doesn’t work half as much. Online gambling has become a big fad in America these days. No one can possibly complain about sitting at a computer all day and making big money. Web sites such as www.pokerstars.net and www.fulltiltpoker.net offer both free and for money poker rooms.
The average poker player isn’t too great; they understand the rules and basic strategies. However, the players playing for money online are far better than the average. For any person, $500 is a lot of money. If you are playing where blinds are $25 and $50, a $500 pot is fairly common. The web sites that host these poker rooms get a nice cut of the action, up to 5% on some of the pots.
To get new players to play, these web sites also have free play rooms, where you can develop your skills. These free rooms are meant to boost your confidence enough so you go play for money. The other free feature is called a satellite tournament. Up to 25,000 people play in these free tournaments. If you are good enough (or lucky enough) to make it to the top 64, then you get entered into one more free tournament where you are eligible to win some cash prizes.
Maybe you are wondering, how do these web sites make so much money? Their profit does not come from the money roomsn they host, it comes from player sponsorships. Every year roughly 6,000 players from all of the world play in the Main Event at the World Series of Poker. These web sites pay for these players to enter, and then take up to 50% of their winnings. Joe Cada, winner of the 2009 World Series, made $8.5 million in earnings from the tournament, but ended up with $2.8 million after his sponsor taking their cut (50%) and taxes. Even still, both the player and the business benefit.
All of these web sites are based in Puerto Rico or the Bahamas. They do this because online gambling is illegal in all but two states. The other major perk is that there are less taxes overseas and they do not report to the IRS or government. Most of the money made is put back into the company in the form of security. Last year, PokerStars was at the center of controversy when a statistical analysis proved that some tables were set up so that everyone except one person won money. Conveniently, that person also worked for the web site. Security is very important, so it is taken extremely seriously at all levels.
Is it worth it to play online poker? Probably not, unless you are a very experienced amateur. Reading poker books improves your knowledge of the game, but it is the real life situations that make your level of skill truly improve. Those who consistently play online can be found at up to nine or even ten tables on their computer screen. It takes an intense amount of skill and practice to be able to perfect that.
Poker Tables Online
As you can see from the table above, this is what online poker looks like. To view better, right click the picture and bring it to a new window. This may seem very complicated, but the chart is fairly simple. On the left is the username of every player at the table. The next tab says how many hands they have been dealt, followed by the % they have seen the flop. This is a very key statistic; if their percentage is low it means that they are very conservative. If it is very high, they will play almost any hand.
The trick to poker is to play the opponent, not the cards. And while online poker is much harder to read people, numbers do not lie. If they only play 10% of the hands they get, assume they are a tight player. If they raise, the chances are they have a very solid hand. Pokerstars is waiting, so go join now and play for free.
