How to Choose an Online Poker Site
Free Poker - If you're seeking to play online poker for pure recreation, and not for the money, make certain that the website you're enthusiastic about accommodates "free" players. Most online poker sites do cater to free players.
Software Download vs. Web-based - Most, if not absolutely all, online poker sites need you to download their poker client software onto your computer system to run. If you're adverse to downloading such software onto your system, you then might want to check to see if the poker site alternatively features a web-based poker interface, which enables you to play poker on the site from within your browser. Software installs run the potential danger of viruses and/or adware being loaded onto your system (although all the reputable firms would never do that), but software installs on your computer generally run much faster than web-based sessions. Software installations harness the ability of the local PC's CPU, whereas web-based interfaces depend on downloading any screen property updates over the Internet during play. This can be slow, particularly, if you should be running over a slow net connection (e.g., a dialup line). Hence, if you should be after speed, select local software installations; if you should be concerned with your computer's safety or cannot spend the money for space employed by a computer software installation, select a web-based poker site.
Ways of Deposit/Withdrawal - If you're planning to play poker for the money over the Internet, it is vital to take into account the techniques of deposit and withdrawal that the poker site supports. A number of these sites permit major credit cards to be properly used, which be seemingly the universal deposit mechanism of choice. Others permit the use of bank transfer, ACH transfer, checks, and wire transfer from banks. Most poker sites also support some kind of third party eWallets, which offer an intermediary between banking institutions and the poker site itself. The main criteria to check out are: 1) What methods of deposit/withdrawal are supported by the situs judi qq and how several methods are supported by the locale that you reside in ?; 2) Can it be legal to fund/withdraw to/from a poker site, from the jurisdiction that you are playing in ?; 3) What are the fees connected with the 3rd party eWallet firms that you can use, and how reliable are they (this latter question can be researched on a number of the poker message forum boards) ?
Locale Restrictions - Some poker sites restrict the playing for the money (and even free play sometimes), based in your locale, and the laws governing gambling in your locale. You should talk with the laws of the local jurisdiction and talk with the poker site, to see if you can find any imposed restrictions on play, based in your locale.
Support - You should truly look at the methods of support that the poker site offers. Poker sites generally provide one (or more) methods of support including: telephone support, fax support, Email support, and live chat support. The more of the that the poker site offers, the better. For telephone support, check and see if the poker site offers toll-free support from your playing jurisdiction or not.
Game Variety - Depending in your level of poker playing expertise and your curiosity about variety, it is essential to ascertain which game types the poker site supports. The majority of the sites offer Texas Holdem, but depending in your level of interest, you should check to see if they offer games like Five and Seven Card Stud, Omaha Poker (and every one of its variations), Blackjack (not poker, but often included as a game title option), Stud (and its variations), Draw poker, Tournament support, and limit and pot limit games. Tournaments in particular are extremely well-liked by online poker sites, and some site tournaments offer huge prize pools.
Bonuses - Most, but not absolutely all, of the poker sites offer some kind of bonus to the player, once you initially register with the site. Each site's bonus is somewhat different, but of the one's offering first time bonus, it's usually predicated on a minimum initial deposit. Many bonuses will also be calculated based on the amount of money deposited and allocated to the site. Additionally, many sites offer reload bonuses, which are bonuses which can be agreed to existing customers, beyond their initial deposit bonus, and being an incentive to stop you as a customer.
Graphics and Useability - This is a very important consideration. Every poker site features a different look and feel to it. In the event that you will be playing poker for the money, it's important that you feel comfortable with the screen graphics and your ability to navigate (via mouse or keyboard clicks) through the poker program. If you feel uncomfortable at all with the poker site, you should truly not consider playing at it for money. You should always test a poker site out in "free" mode first, before actually considering it for real-money wagering.
Game Features - You should always consider the game features which can be available with confirmed poker site. Game features such as hand history, multiple simultaneous playing windows, player notes, audible and visual indicators, player statistics, connection status indicator, player chat, turbo games, and screen options should continually be considered.
Rake - Rake is the amount of the pot that the poker site takes (as part of its fee for doing business), from each hand. You should always be familiar with simply how much rake a poker site takes (compared to some other site).
Poker sites usually make use of a Weighted Contribution rake method or an Average Contribution method, when calculating rake. Obviously, the lower the rake, the additional money you will collect readily available wins, but this criteria by itself shouldn't dictate which poker site you use, since most of the above factors have to be taken under consideration as well. To sum up, these criteria should continually be used, when deciding which Poker site is better for you. Depending in your preferences, some of those criteria should be given more weight than others. Happy Poker site hunting.
