Online Gambling

So you want to learn how to play Texas Holdem? Or even better, learn how to make money playing Texas Holdem? Well, that’s what today’s article is all about. First I’ll show you the easy way to start your poker education for free. Then I’ll go over the basic Texas Holdem rules. Once you know the basic rules, I’ll give you 3 valuable Texas Holdem tips that will put you ahead of other new players. Finally, I’ll show you how that, even as a new player, you can start making money playing poker today!

You’ll hear this saying over and over and it holds true throughout your poker-playing career.

“Texas Holdem takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.”

At the beginning, it shouldn’t take you long to feel comfortable playing Texas Holdem for real money. However, the more you learn about the game’s complexities, the more you will realize that it truly takes “a lifetime to master”.

The fast track to Texas Holdem success

I can type out a huge article on all the small details of playing Texas Holdem for the first time, or I can guide you through the process, which is much more valuable. Online poker sites have made it simple to learn Texas Holdem free.

So before I start teaching you the ins and outs of Texas Holdem go ahead and download Pokerstars free poker software (or other choice from my list of online poker rooms). You’ll get $1,000 in free play money chips to use, plus tons of invaluable experience playing real players without risking any of your own money.

Later, you’ll learn how to turn this experience into cash with the best gambling bonuses that poker sites offer.

Quick and Dirty Texas Holdem Rules

Now that you’ve downloaded and installed Pokerstars, you’re ready to start playing Texas Holdem right?! Well, not exactly. First, I need to cover the most basic principles and Texas Holdem rules and then you will be ready to start practicing.

Before play begins there are two forced bets called the blinds. The player to the immediate left of the dealer is the small blind and the next player to the left is the big blind. The blinds are there to encourage action and rotate around the table with the dealer button.

Everyone gets two cards face down. There is a round of betting where you can raise, call, or fold. This is commonly referred to as preflop.

After all the preflop action is complete, three community cards are dealt in the middle of the table. This is known as the flop. Another round of betting takes place.

Then the fourth community card, called the turn, is dealt. More betting.

Finally, the fifth community card, called the river, is dealt. Last of the betting.

After the action on the river is complete, the remaining players will showdown their hands. You use one or two of your cards together with the community cards to make the best five-card hand.

Ready to play Texas Holdem online? If you haven’t already, sign in to your free Pokerstars account and jump on a play money table. I spent several days learning how to play Texas Holdem at the play money tables.

You can try Limit Texas Holdem, where the bets are fixed, or No Limit Texas Holdem where you can bet all of your chips at any time. Before you get too busy though, read the following tips that will take you a step ahead of other new Texas Holdem players.

Texas Holdem Tips for Beginners

The first two cards are your most important decision. Gamblers will say that any two cards can win, which is technically true. However, you won’t win enough money playing silly hands like 9-2, 8-3, 2-7, and other rags, to justify it. If you get a chance, look over my beginner strategy about the best starting poker hands that will end up making you the most money.

Position, position, position. Perhaps you’ve heard the old real estate adage “location, location, location” to describe the value of picking a certain property. In poker, it’s your position that determines a lot of your hands value. The dealer button is the last to act on the flop, turn, and river. So it’s the most valuable position in Texas Holdem. The reason position is so vital is that you get to see what everyone else does before you act, giving you the chance to maximize your profits. If everyone checks, you might want to bluff at the pot by betting with a bad hand. You can also make plays like raising another player to isolate and for value.

Flop it or fold it. The flop (first three community cards) represents 71% of the hand. So it’s vital that you flop a good hand or a strong draw to continue. No matter how good your first two cards look, if you don’t hit the flop and there’s action, you need to fold. Many new players (myself included) lose (or sometimes win) very quickly because they call too much.

You said something about making money playing Texas Holdem

As you start to master the game of Texas Holdem you’ll make money off your opponents. The cool thing is you can start making money immediately from the bonuses that poker sites offer new players. In a sense, you’ll be getting paid to learn how to play Texas Holdem.

I’ve had you get your first play money account at Pokerstars for a reason. They offer one of the lowest deposit bonus offers, but it’s a good one for new players who may not want to start with $500 like I did. They match 100% of your first deposit up to $50. If you haven’t already signed up you can claim your $50 FREE at Pokerstars by clicking this link and then entering the bonus code First2008 during sign up.

In addition to the Pokerstars bonus, you can check out my list of the best USA online poker rooms for other great bonus offers.

Was I able to help you learn how to play Texas Hold’em? Or do you still have questions? If something is unclear or if I left something out, please let me know in the comments so I can add it to this guide.

I almost titled this article “The Worst Gambling Strategy Advice I Ever Got”, because that’s exactly what it’s about, the worst gambling advice ever! So what is the terrible online gambling strategy that you should avoid like the plague? What is the “GF”? (*hint* it’s NOT short for “girl friend”) You’ll find out soon enough. Just know that by reading this article and applying the advice to your own online gambling strategy, you’ll save potentially thousands of dollars and your sanity along the way.

Long before I learned about correct online gambling strategy, and how to get the top gambling bonuses, I was 21 and stupid. Luckily, I had my (much, much, older) big brother to teach me how to beat the casinos *mild sarcasm*.

I watched him walk by the Roulette table and drop $300+ on black, and casually stroll away regardless of the outcome. I witnessed him play video poker where he would hit three-of-a-kind, double-up and win, double-up and win, and then double-up and LOSE. He would go from $1 to $10 slots and in a matter of minutes lose $1,000+. It was exciting to watch, but not so exciting to practice.

He taught me the basics of Roulette, which would have been fine if he hadn’t revealed his “system”. He told me that you could beat the game by watching for a pattern where the ball landed on either red or black a bunch of times in a row. Then you would bet the opposite. If it hit the same color again, you would continue betting the opposite color, while doubling your bet each time. Eventually, he claimed, it would have to hit your color and you would win your bet plus a little profit.

The GF Revealed

The story I told you about my brother illustrates perfectly the GF or Gambler’s Fallacy. Wikipedia says,

The gambler’s fallacy, also known as the Monte Carlo fallacy or the fallacy of the maturity of chances, is the false belief that the probability of an event in a random sequence is dependent on preceding events, its probability increasing with each successive occasion on which it fails to occur.

So what does that mean exactly? It means that the Roulette wheel doesn’t a memory. It has the same odds of hitting red, black, or double-zero every spin. Therefore, in theory, it could hit red forever.

The most common occurrence of the gambler’s fallacy has to be about slot machines. I hear people say that a slot machine is “due” to pay off if it has been played a lot, or that a machine is less likely to pay off after someone wins. The truth is that each spin is independent. The slot machine has the same odds of hitting every single time.

How I lost nearly $1,000 in 5 minutes playing Roulette

Again, this was back when I was young and dumb. I believed what my brother said about Roulette strategy, and decided months later to give it a shot at Harrah’s in New Orleans. I was having a good time and winning a lot.

Then, the table went cold and I started losing. It kept hitting black so I bet on red, and then doubled my bet on red, and doubled it again! Then I went bust. But I just knew it was going to hit RED, so I ran to the ATM to get money and threw $200 on red in an attempt to get even - BLACK! I actually went back AGAIN and took out $400 to put on red and FINALLY it didn’t hit black — it hit double zero.

I was disgusted with the casino, my brother, and myself. This lesson was a valuable one though. Had I continued to win I probably would have never educated myself on the ins and outs of gambling. I didn’t step back into a casino for a long time. Now, I know about gambling strategy, and how to manage my bankroll to make gambling a fun and rewarding experience.

The big lesson here is that there is no system to beat gambling games. You can choose to learn perfect gambling strategy that will greatly reduce the house edge and win you more money. You can also learn how to play Texas Holdem at one of my recommended internet poker rooms, which is played against other opponents and not the house. Or you may be perfectly content playing penny slots and hoping for a big jackpot.

Whatever you choose to play, by avoiding the gambler’s fallacy you will make money by avoiding silly systems that don’t work.

Do you have any questions or comments about the Gambler’s Fallacy?

To kick off my mission of bringing you the best gambling sites and bonuses, I’m starting with an area I know well, online poker. I’ve been playing online poker since 2004.

Back then the choices for US poker players were nearly unlimited. But these days, if you want to play online poker for real money from the US, there are only a select few US friendly online poker sites that I trust enough to play at.

I have tried the majority of the major internet poker rooms, and a bunch of the not-so-major ones.

I’ve hand-picked the best of the best, so that you can make a wise decision about where you choose to play online poker. With that being said, here is my list of the best USA online poker rooms.

5) Carbon Poker

Bonus Offer: 100% up to $500 + $1000 Freeroll via this download link!
Website: http://www.carbonpoker.com
The first in my list of top 5 US Poker Sites is Carbon Poker. They have a medium-sized room that is experiencing a lot of grow from new poker players. Given that most of their players are new to poker, the games are profitable for more skilled players. Carbon has excellent graphics and some great gambling bonuses for poker players.
Download and try Carbon Poker for FREE

4) Cake Poker

Bonus Offer: 100% up to $500 + $500 Freeroll via this download link!
Website: http://www.cakepoker.com
Cake Poker is another medium-sized site with soft competition. It has a lot of growth potential and a great first time sign up bonus of 100% up to $500. They also have very good looking software which helps make Cake Poker a site you should definitely try out.
Download and try Cake Poker for FREE

3) Bodog Poker

Bonus offer: 110% up to $550 via this download link!
Website: http://poker.bodoglife.com
Bodog is a booming medium-large poker room. They have exceptional graphics, easy games, and great bonuses. In addition to the poker room, they also offer a casino and sportsbook for members. If you like the idea of taking your poker winnings over to casino for some Blackjack or to the sportsbook to bet on the NBA finals, Bodog should be your choice.
Download and try Bodog Poker for FREE

2) Full Tilt Poker

Bonus offer: 100% up to $600 via this download link!
Website: http://www.fulltiltpoker.com

I’ve just recently become a huge fan of Full Tilt Poker. After hearing so many wonderful things about their site I decided to join. I must say, I haven’t been disappointed, especially with their huge sign up bonus. Full Tilt has plenty of quality games 24 hours a day. The FTP motto is “Play poker with the pros”, and they make a goal for you to do just that. At any given time their are dozens of popular pros like Mike Matusow, Phil Ivey, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and many more playing even the lowest stakes. You can easily find out which pros are online since their names are in bright red.
Download and try Full Tilt Poker for FREE

1) PokerStars

Bonus offer: 100% up to $50 via this download link!
Website: http://www.pokerstars.com
The #1 online poker site probably needs little introduction. PokerStars is known as the largest online poker room and has been the lending poker room for US players for years. They have millions of regular players, which lends to plenty of quality games. In addition to the easy cash games and poker tournaments, Pokerstars has one of the best VIP programs I’ve ever seen.
Download and try Poker Stars for FREE

Do you have a favorite USA poker room that didn’t make the list? Or do you have comments about my top 5 US online poker sites? Use the comments to cast your vote for the best US online poker site!

Want to know the secrets that pro gamblers use to get the best gambling bonuses? I put together these 5 tips for getting the best gambling bonuses, based on my own experience and by researching others professional gamblers. Enjoy!

1) Get maximum value for each bonus offer

With all deposit match bonuses you need to have a bankroll big enough to maximize the bonus. For example, Full Tilt Poker has a 100% up to $600 bonus for new players. If you only have $50 to deposit, you will only get a $50 bonus.

You may think, “Hey, $50 free is better than nothing”, which is true. But doesn’t $600 free sound better? It’s like betting less than the maximum on a slot machine with a $1,000,000 jackpot. You’re going to kick yourself in the butt when you hit (what would have been) the jackpot and are paid a few thousand dollars instead of the $1,000,000, because you wanted to play $2 at a time instead of $3. To get the most from online gambling bonuses you need to maximize each one.

2) Avoid being labeled a bonus abuser

Because there are so many great gambling bonuses available, gambling sites are under constant attack from bonus abusers. These people play at a site until they clear the bonus and then cash out and move to another site. In all honesty, I started my bankroll this way. But the more I learn about the problems bonus abusing causes, the more I am against it. Consider these thoughts.

• The more people that sign up for bonuses and immediately cash out, the more restrictions gambling sites place on bonus offers. This hurts everyone, including bonus abusers, since it becomes harder and harder to find a good bonus offer.
• There’s nothing wrong with trying a new site because of a good bonus. But instead of cashing out as soon as you clear the bonus, consider continuing to play at the site, either to avoid being labeled a bonus abuser, or because you enjoy the site. Then, when you decide to cash out, you won’t have any problems and will still qualify for future bonuses.
• The worst case scenario for abusing bonuses is that your account at that gambling site is closed and you lose your winnings and/or bonus.

3) Stay loyal and receive huge rewards

A good example of a loyalty program paying off is PokerStars VIP program. They offer poker players different levels based on their amount of play. The levels go all the way up to Super Nova Elite where you can get comped for almost anything including vacations, large tournament packages, and even a down payment on a house. For just 3,000,000 points you can get a Porsche Cayman. Sound unattainable?

Here are three guys who built up the points necessary to get the Porsche (All in less than a year). In another post, I’ll detail the secrets of the Super Nova Elite, and give you some tricks for getting your own Porsche.

4)Understand the different types of bonuses

There are many different types of online gambling bonuses. There are sign up bonuses, some of which are cashable (meaning you can cash out the bonus and your winnings), and others that are not (known as “sticky” bonuses). Some no deposit bonuses allow you to gamble for free, but require you to deposit before cashing out your winnings. It’s important to understand the differences in how online gambling bonuses work in order to know if the bonus is worth your time and energy.

5) Subscribe to Bonus Hacker

What kind of website would I have without throwing in a shameless plug every now and then. But seriously, you will truly benefit by signing up as a subscriber of Bonus Hacker. In addition to staying up to date on the latest online gambling tips, hacks, and tricks that make you money, you’ll receive updates on the best gambling bonuses and special offers for Bonus Hacker readers only.

To subscribe to Bonus Hacker via RSS click here. Or you can get email updates by using the form on the top of the site. Don’t worry, I hate spam too, so you won’t have to worry about your address being sold or abused by others.

Do you have any killer tips of your own about getting the best gambling bonuses? Share them in comments!

In this article, I’ll show you the ins and outs of online gambling bonus offers. There are several different types of bonuses and each one carries its own degree of risk and reward. But before I get into the different types of bonuses I want to discuss a very basic rule that all potential online gamblers need to know.

The Platinum Rule of Bonus Education (PROBE)

Before you go after the best gambling bonuses you need to understand what I call the Platinum Rule of Bonus Education or PROBE for short. PROBE says,

Online gamblers should always be aware of each gambling site’s Terms and Conditions.

If you’ve ever looked at anyone’s T&Cs, you know that they contain a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo.

The good news is that you don’t need to run out and get a law degree just to gamble online. You just need to be aware of each site’s bonus requirements. What you’re looking for in a site’s T&Cs are the guidelines for receiving and cashing out bonuses.

You can use “ctrl-F” (to pull up the “Find” tool) and then search for “bonus”. Look for details such as the Wagering Requirement (WR) and other text about cashing out. The wagering requirement is something like 10xBonus. Meaning for a $500 bonus you need to wager $5,000 before cashing out.

Online gambling sites (especially online casinos and bingo sites) change their T&C’s on a regular basis because of people abusing bonuses. And while I plan on keeping all my online gambling recommendations up-to-date, you should make it a habit to check the site’s terms and conditions.

Types of online gambling bonuses

Cashable – This is the best type of gambling bonus offer because once you meet the bonus requirements you are able to cash out your winnings. There is very little risk involved with these. All of the best internet poker rooms have cashable bonuses. With online bingo and online casino sites, some are cashable, and others are what’s known as “sticky” bonuses.

Sticky Type I Bonus (Non-cashable) – A sticky type I bonus is one where you get a nice bonus, but you’re unable to cash it out. When you win and decide to cash out, the bonus amount is deducted from your winnings. With these bonuses, you may want to play higher stakes than normal and try to score a big win.

Sticky Type II Bonus (Non-cashable) – A sticky type II bonus is the same as the sticky type I except when you cash out your winnings, the bonus is left in your account to continue gambling. These are fun because you can continue winning without risking your own funds.

No deposit bonuses - Some casinos, bingo sites, and poker rooms lure you with no deposit gambling bonuses. Most sites will only allow you to withdraw winnings once you deposit. These are great for trying out a gambling site for the first time. Also, if you don’t have the bankroll to maximize deposit bonuses, you may wish to start with no deposit offers.

Reload bonuses - These bonuses come from your existing poker, casino, and bingo accounts. They are loyalty bonuses that encourage you to continue to play at their site(s). These are good incentives not to abuse first time bonus offers by immediately cashing out. If you are loyal to your favorite gambling sites, they will reward you with repeated offers for fantastic bonuses.

Do you have any questions or comments about the different types of online gambling bonuses?