Online Games

There are a great variety of sites that offer online poker opportunities. There are so many on the internet that it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between those that add value to our playing experience and those that detract from the overall experience.

It is true that all online poker rooms are equal; however, some are more equal than others, to paraphrase George Orwell. There will always be that one special place where you enjoy playing online poker. Here is how to find it before everyone else and their mother does.

The criteria you use should be consistent, ie, don’t overlook some things in one place just because you feel enraptured by something else that they’re getting right. Apply the same rules to all the places you’re scouting out and you may just find the one place that will have to happily playing online poker for hours every week.

The players matter

You probably think that the [other] people who play at your future online poker site do not need to be looked at; however, this should be one of the key factors when you’re trying to find a site that is worthy of your time and money.

Do not let bonuses dictate your custom

Bonuses and other such tempting offers should not determine where you decide to park off. A bonus is just that and should be something on top of other excellent criteria, such as the ones we are busy discussing.

How good is the customer support?

You want to know that you’ll be able to find an answer to that pressing question you have. You also want to know that you will definitely get an answer to it before the next century. How much do they value a good relationship with their players?

How easy is it to use?

Do you need to go back to school for that PhD or will a high school education be sufficient to operate the site? Try to stay away from sites that want to appear smarter than what they really are – this will make it difficult to understand how to use them.

Think about what makes it all worthwhile for you

While we can pontificate about the big things that should matter to you, chances are that there will always be some little thing that attracts you to a particular site. Frequent tournaments, table limits and multi-table play may be just some of these that will impel you to using a particular place that specialises in online poker.

Author bio:

Piggs Peak Poker wrote this article on the number of things that all aspirant online poker players should look out for.

Poker tournaments have been around for a long time, almost as long as the game of poker itself. Serious poker players revel in the chance to play in a poker tournament, with several casinos around the world hosting tournaments a few times a year, drawing poker players the world over.

Recently, several online poker rooms have been cashing in on the poker tournament craze by hosting them as well. These tournaments are similar to traditional brick-and-mortar tournaments. Players will compete against each other for cash prizes in the same games they would at a standard casino. However, on the plus side, online tournaments usually have fewer restrictions, making them more appealing to some poker players.

How do online poker tournaments work?

Online tournaments work similar to traditional tournaments held in brick-and-mortar casinos. Do your research and you will find online tournaments of most of the popular poker games. Online poker rooms usually run its tournaments on a first come first served basis. It will also feature a maximum number of players for each game.  You can sign up for the online tournament on the casino website. During the tournament, standard poker tournament rules apply. Poker playing etiquette may be a little lax during an online tournament. That being said, most of the players will still maintain a certain level of professionalism that is expected at a live tournament.

There are three advantages of online poker tournaments when compared to its live counterpart. Firstly, online tournaments give the player the option to play against almost anyone in the world.  Secondly, online tournaments are easier to compete in as they are played at home, offering a more relaxed atmosphere. Finally, online tournaments offer players more options.

What kinds of poker tournaments are available online?

Online poker rooms offer several tournaments running throughout the year.  Some online poker rooms feature monthly, weekly or even daily tournaments. Bounty tournaments are popular online tournaments. In Bounty Tournaments the aim is to eliminate other players and get their bounty. For every player you eliminate from the tournament, you collect the bounty of that player. If you make it to the end of the tournament, you collect the prize pot as well.

For the more competitive players, Shootout Tournaments may be just up your alley. Shootout Tournaments work similar to Bounty Tournaments where the goal is to eliminate players. The difference is that players are eliminated quicker at single hand tables.

Author bio

This article was written by Piggs Peak Poker and offers tips on online poker tournaments at online poker rooms.

Progressive slots are slot games that offer a progressive jackpot. A progressive jackpot is the highest payout which grows with every game that is played. That being said, it comes as no surprise that progressive jackpots are the main targets of any casino player.

A progressive jackpot will grow with every bet that is played at the slot machine. This basically means that for every coin you put into the progressive machine, a portion is kept by the casino, a portion is given out as payouts, and the smallest portion gets contributed to the progressive jackpot. This will continue until the jackpot is won, then the jackpot will start from the bottom again. Players can track the growth of the jackpot in a special window at the front of the slot machine.

The odds of winning a progressive jackpot are quite slim, therefore, when someone does win, the winnings is usually quite big. Casinos usually have a list of recent winners who have won the jackpot for each game.

Online casinos have many options for progressive slots. In addition to the regular progressives, the players can also try their hand and their luck at games with random jackpots.

A random progressive jackpot is similar to a traditional one. The difference is that the starting amount is chosen randomly every time you load an online slot game. This random jackpot also grows while you are playing, and can potentially reach high amounts.

Types of Progressive Slots

Not all online progressive slots are the same. Sometimes there are different types of jackpots. Here we take a look at the two most basic types of progressive slot machines.

Linked Progressives

Linked progressive slots are groups of slot machines are connected electronically to each other to make a common jackpot that may grow to huge amounts. Every slot machine from this connected group contributes to the total jackpot that can be hit at any of these machines. There is also so-called multi-location progressives that are situated in different casinos but are linked to each other. This then provides a common progressive jackpot. Multi-Location Progressives are progressive slot machines located at many casinos. There could be hundreds of slot machines connected to form one massive jackpot. The first person to win this jackpot blocks it for the others.

Individual Progressives

These are slot machines that provide separate, stand-alone jackpots. This jackpot is for single machines only, with no contributions from other machines. The jackpot amount at an individual slot machine is usually not as large compared to linked progressive machines. After being hit the individual progressive jackpot drops to a small amount once again.

Author bio

This article was written by Volcanic Gold and offers advice on online progressive slot machines.

This is a surprising story that not too many people know about: the first people to play online poker games were mathematicians, engineers and programmers. These people created the online world that we know today.

The reason they did this is because they found themselves on IRC, which was a haven for anyone who was even slightly inclined towards technology. This programme was available to use in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This allowed people to create their own chat rooms and a few of these people decided that they’re interested in playing poker. This eventually, over the years, evolved into the industry that we know today.

None of the people who played the earliest online poker games played for real money; this only started once various governments allowed their citizens to gamble online. This means that the people who played the earliest online poker games were able, same as with some of the more highly esteemed poker sites today, to play for free and hone their skills in poker.

The people who played there were proud of their ability to play online poker games with a wide variety of people, some of whom they’d never meet. This was the precursor to the types of sites that we have become familiar with since the early 2000s. The main difference, however, is that the type of games they played were not played for financial gain; they played for the love of the game and no money was ever involved in any of the games in any of the channels in the 1980s and 1990s.

The people who were interested in playing poker on one of these channels needed few things to be able to do so – a connection to the internet and a membership to one of the channels. An interest in the game also helped.

The beginnings of playing online poker games for real money became a reality in the early 1990s when one site stepped up to the challenge. This eventually became de facto and many of us have come to expect to play in this manner whenever we contemplate playing poker.

The big online poker surge happened because of a couple of people who wanted to find a way for more people to enjoy the good game without having too many things stand in their way – travelling costs being chief among them.

Author bio:

Piggs Peak Poker wrote this article about our love of  online poker games.

There are many ways in which even the most honourable person can cheat, and online poker is one of them. Many poker players resort to deviously cheating their opponents at the table. Various ways of cheating have been devised over the years, giving online poker cheats an unfair advantage over their unsuspecting opponents.

Some poker cheats may try to ‘hard much’ or make a quick switch of the cards in their hand with another set of cards that they have hidden in secret. This is possible at live poker tables. This act requires a certain amount of skill that can only be perfected over time. It is not a simple task and needs to be performed by a cheater who is skilled with hard mucking. This player may also be skillful enough to be able to deal a second card; or a bottom card and so on. This is to allow the player to search for the card/s that he needs and place them where he wants in order to gain the advantage.

Sometimes there may be a pair of cheating partners. This is called a double duke, where cheaters pair up to increase their chances of winning. They will then help each other cheat the rest of the players at the table. The main cheater in the poker game would try to stack 2 hands as the other cheater would get a strong hand. The main cheater would possess an even stronger hand as compared to his partner.

There are numerous other ways to skillfully cheat at poker. Some cheaters make a false shuffle by using sleight of hand and collusion. This skill would involve trying to convince other poker players that the certain shuffle that has been done is legitimate and try to entice other players to play because of the fairly good hands.

Other cheaters, on the other hand, make use of marked cards which have been printed and altered in order to help the cheater win the game. The cards will be marked in such a way that the cheater will be able to figure out the value of the cards just by looking at the back of the cards. There are numerous ways for a card to be marked. The more commonly used method would be to make a circular design on the cards that can be read like one was reading the time. Another common method is putting a card in the sun to make a shade or by getting the surface scratched with a razor in order to mark a deck of cards which have already been printed.

Both online poker cheaters and live poker cheaters are pretty skilled at their attempts to cheat the game. Most cheaters have been doing this for a long time. Be alert when playing both online poker and live poker to avoid being cheated.

Author bio

This article was written for Piggs Peak Poker and offers tips on how to spot a online poker cheater.