Online Poker

🏅 Best Online Poker Toplist 2021

Top 10 Poker Sites

Online poker is the traditional card game of poker played on the internet. There is a wide range of online poker sites offering different poker games in different limits, including for play money.

Online Poker vs Live Poker

The rules of poker are identical whether you play in a live poker game or against any person on the internet. However, there are some differences.

✅ Online poker is faster, there is less risk as you can play for smaller amounts and it is also more accessible. Wherever you are, you can always find a game.

❌ The downside is that you play against strangers and can’t look someone in the face. It takes some time to get used to this, but there are still several ways to find out if someone isbluffing.

History of Online Poker

For years, poker was mainly played in dark backrooms, bars, and casinos, but this changed completely in the early 21st century when the Internet took on an increasingly important role and a Tennessee accountant made poker famous worldwide. Before the 21st century, most poker on the Internet was played in chat rooms and logically this was mostly recreational. This changed when technology became more sophisticated and safe online poker sites were established that kept players’ money safe and let them play against each other for real money.

The general public took the online poker sites more and more seriously in 2003 when an amateur poker player named Chris Moneymaker managed to qualify online for the World Series of Poker Main Event through a $40 satellite. Moneymaker eventually won the WSOP Main Event for $2.5 million and personally revolutionised the field of poker. It wasn’t long before poker was broadcast on ESPN and hundreds of thousands of players started playing online poker.

Online poker has gained its popularity for the same reasons that people love online poker. It is fun, easy to play and it is an intellectual game that is very exciting. Skills play an important role in poker as opposed to, for example, slot machines and the lottery. Poker is also something you can do at any time for as long as you like, at the limits you want and from the comfort of your own home.

Start Playing Online Poker

What do you need to play poker online? The requirements for online poker are very minimal and there is a good chance that you will be able to play on the same device that you are currently using to read the website. Online poker doesn’t really require much from your computer, so if you have a laptop or a desktop that has been built in the last ten years, this shouldn’t be a problem at all. These days there are even apps, smartphones and tablets, so you can now even play on the go.

🤑 How much money do you need?

Not that much. You even have the opportunity to play for play money at many poker sites. If you want to play for real money then a deposit of $50-$200 will allow you to play with your money for a very long time. The goal is to play games where you don’t risk going broke fast. For example, if you have $50 in your online account it is best to play $1 tournaments until you have more money in your account.

🤷🏻‍♀️ How do you play Poker Online?

The first step is to download the online poker software, which is quite small and shouldn’t take long to download. Once the software has been downloaded you only need to double click to install the software. From this point on you will need to open an account (at some sites this is done before downloading the software). You must be at least 18 years old or the minimum age applicable in your region if it is higher. Age checks are performed, so do not create an account if this is not actually allowed.

Depositing money at an online poker site normally requires a credit card or some kind of prepaid card, but there are some exceptions. Most sites accept large companies such as Visa or MasterCard. However, you should be aware that some online poker sites are only licensed for certain areas, so you won’t be able to play at every online poker site.

🃏 What Poker games can you play?

There are several poker variations and each one has an element of betting, bluffing and hand values. The most popular poker variant is Texas No-Limit Hold’em, also called “The Cadillac of Poker” by Doyle Brunson. In No-Limit Hold’em, everyone is dealt two cards and the intention is to form the best five-card hand. Hold’em is very easy game to learn, but very difficult master to perfection.

Play Poker for Free

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Online Poker Tournaments

At tournament poker you can pay a buy-in and then you will receive a chip-stack. The moment you run out of chips, you are out of the tournament, while the person who manages to win all the chips wins the tournament.

Tournaments are very popular thanks to poker tours such as the World Series of Poker , World Poker Tour and the European Poker Tour . Online poker tournaments are the cheapest way to potentially win a big prize. There are several $10 buy-in online tournaments, where the winner can count on over $200,000. On the weekends, it’s easy to find big online poker tournaments with larger entry fields compared to live poker tournaments.

The famous PokerStars Sunday Million is held every week and the prize pool of this tournament is guaranteed to be $1 million, while the buy-in is just $215.

➡️ Online Poker Sit & Go’s

Sit & Go’s are in fact small tournaments of sometimes only 1 table that start as soon as enough players have registered. Sit & Go’s are always available thanks to the huge number of players playing online. Although Sit & Go’s take much less time than the big multi-table tournaments, the prizes to be won are also smaller. Before you start with Sit & Go’s it is definitely advisable to read through our Sit & Go strategy articles.

➡️ Online Poker Cash Games

Cash games, also called ring games, is the oldest form of poker with which you play with chips that have real value. You can remove your chips from the table at any time, allowing you to decide how long you play. Many poker players find the flexibility of cash games a great advantage over tournaments.

The Best Online Poker Sites

Which online poker site is right for you? Online poker is not exactly a monopoly and there are a lot of poker sites you can play on. Which one is the best? Well, that depends on a lot of factors. The biggest sites often have the most players online and therefore the largest offer in terms of games. On the other hand, the worst players can often be found on the smaller sites and these sites often offer a higher registration bonus (more on this below). Some poker sites also often offer more poker games (such as PLO, Seven-Card Stud, Five-Card Stud, Lowball), while other poker sites only offer Hold’em. Almost all poker sites offer a deposit bonus to attract new players. Normally, players receive a percentage of their first deposit as a bonus.

For example, if you deposit $100 at a poker site, the site will give you a bonus of $100, provided you play enough hands. The deposit bonuses offered can range from $10 (very easy to unlock) to even bonuses of $1,000. (very difficult to unlock).

Beginner Online Poker Strategy

Where can I find good information about poker? The better you are, the more fun poker is. Luckily, there are a lot of free resources available to online poker players these days. Here at TheMatisch.at you have access to a free guide of online poker to learn the game. But remember, this game will take more than just reading the rules to master it. Just start playing, and experience will teach you the real tricks of the game.

It’s best to start with simple information like poker’s ABC or a 10-minute No-Limit Hold’em crash course, but even advanced information like a poker 3-bet is online available. Before you start playing poker, it is of course important that you understand the different poker hand rankings.

📚 Poker Rules & Strategy Books

If you’d rather learn the old-fashioned way, there are plenty of great poker books that will help you work on your poker skills quickly. Harrington on Hold’em, Theory of Poker and Super/Systems are some of the most famous poker books, but if you want to learn the basics first you might as well learn them online as this information is free. If you have a good idea of the basics then it might be a good time to check out Amazon’s top 10 list of poker books.

🌐 Poker Training Websites

There are many poker-training sites, but these can be expensive if you subscribe to one of the elite training sites. But again, for the basics, you should make better use of the free online resources. Once you have mastered the basics, you can improve your poker skills by subscribing to sites such as CardRunners, IveyLeague and RunItOnce. These training sites have a huge database of videos of different limits, made by the most famous poker pros. As poker strategy often changes, online videos of the pro’s are seen as one of the best ways to work on your game.

Secrets of Online Poker

Free-rolls are free tournaments that offer online poker sites. They are often organised for new customers. Participation in these free-rolls is free, so you don’t have to worry about losing money. On the other hand, you can win money with these tournaments! There are a lot of free-rolls you can play and when you open an account at a poker site through TheMatisch.at you also get access to free tournaments every week.

There are many free-rolls for different regions, clubs or groups. Free-rolls are basically a free reward for visitors to online poker sites. If you like to play free-rolls then it’s worth checking out the free-rolls on offer.

🤫 How to Unlock a Poker Bonus

There’s one thing you need to know about online poker bonuses . Most deposit bonuses are not deposited directly into the player’s account. This is because often one has to play a number of hands on the site before the bonus is deposited into the account. In general, parts of bonuses are unlocked based on the number of frequent player points earned. For this reason, it’s a good idea to try to play as many hands as possible in the first few weeks after opening an account at an online poker site. Once you’ve unlocked part of the online poker bonus, you’ll be able to relax a bit more.

🤫 Navigating the poker room lobby

In the online poker lobby, you can find the games you want to play and at some online poker rooms the lobby can seem intimidating because of the many options. Most online poker sites offer a quick start option, which is very useful for new players. In fact, you have to choose the poker variant you want to play, the limit and the number of players at the table. Then you need to click on “play”. At that point, you will automatically be placed at a table that matches your preferences. If you take a closer look at the lobby, you will often see that it is divided into Cash Games, Tournaments, Sit & Go’s and possibly other poker games offered by the poker site. The Tournaments tab is normally overloaded with different events, but you also have the option to apply a filter with your preferences. Beginner tables Most online poker sites do offer beginner tables and especially for beginners it is very smart to play at these tables first. The level of these tables is generally a lot lower.

🤫 Keeping track of your Online Poker results

It is important that you always keep track of your results. This way you get a good idea of what works and what doesn’t work. Fortunately, most online poker sites also offer this option. Be sure to check the stats after a session to see how you did it. Pay particular attention to your win ratio, the number of flops you’ve watched and the times you’ve seen a showdown.

🤫 Qualifying Online for a Live Poker Tournament

For many players it is the ultimate dream to pull a stunt like Chris Moneymaker. That is to qualify online for a tournament like the World Series of Poker and then win millions. Luckily, these days it’s easier than ever to qualify for a major tournament. Almost every poker site does offer a series of steps tournaments that start at $1 and eventually lead to big events like the $10k WSOP Main Event. Steps work like this: When you win a $1 Sit & Go, you gain access to the next level, let’s say a $10 Sit & Go. This continues until you qualify for a Sit & Go in which you can win a package for a live poker tournament.

🤫 Playing Multi-Table Poker

One of the most important differences between online poker and live poker is the ability to play more than one table at a time. Although this may seem intimidating at first glance, in practice it’s quite easy when you’re just waiting for good tables. For example, when you open two tables, you can put them side by side and simply fold your bad hands. When you have a good hand, you play it and basically double your winnings. Trained pros are known to play more than eight tables at once and although we don’t recommend that, multi-tabling is one of the biggest advantages of online poker.

🤫 Frequent Poker Player Point Programs

A lot of players don’t know this, but every time you play a hand for real money you frequently earn player points that you can exchange for money and other prizes. Frequent player points are a reward for loyal customers and can be used for many purposes, including free tournament buy-ins, free stuff, but also often for free money. Do not underestimate the value of frequent player points! Some players don’t do anything with their frequent player points, but these are valuable rewards when you accumulate enough points, so always make sure you know how many points you have!

Online Poker FAQ