money

Introduction

When you want to start playing poker with real money, the first question you should ask yourself is how much money you want to put at stake. The answer to this question depends on a number of factors. The first and most obvious factor is the amount of money you have. Another factor is the reason why you want to play poker and how much you're willing to risk in connection to that. For example, if you're a beginner and you just want to play for fun, you should play with an amount that will not matter in case you would lose it. Most starting players choose an amount between $50 and $500. In case they play good and with discipline they can slowly yet steadily build their account towards a larger amount. Some players transfer their initial deposit back on their bank account once it has doubled and then continue playing with the profit made.
For the good and experienced players the situation is different. They know in which poker game and limit they are able to earn the most money and they want to continue doing that. In that case a proper directive for a sufficiently large bank account is approximately two hundred times the big blind of the game they want to play. For example, if you earn the most money on $1/$2 limit Holdem tables, you need approximately 200 x $2 = $400 on your poker account to play smoothly. Everything above that you can cash out. The advantage of such a large bankroll (= amount on your poker account) is that a couple of bad sessions will not cost you your complete bankroll. In other words: You will always have enough money to play with.
Furthermore, it is advised to keep track of the performance of your poker sessions. This will make it possible for you to determine which game and limit, are most profitable for you.

Choosing your limits

It is important to start playing on tables with low limits. For one because when playing at low limits the level of players are lowest, making it the best place to practice and make a little money. You should take into account that normally the higher the limit, the better the players. Another reason is that the required bankroll is smaller. As we have explained in the above text, playing on $1/$2 limit Holdem tables already requires a bankroll of $400. Therefore, if you want to start on, for example, the $5/$10 tables you should already take along $2000 (200x$10)! This is for many beginning players way too much money. Besides that, the chance that a beginner loses all his/her money on these limits is very high, because there are better players at these tables.

If you play successfully on a certain limit and you do not cash out the redundant capital, there will come a moment that your bankroll will be large enough to start playing on a higher limit. For example, imagine you started at the $0.50/$1 (in English the comma is the dot and vice versa with numbers) tables and your bankroll has grown slowly towards $500. Your bankroll is then large enough to shift towards the $1/$2 tables. However, this decision does not solely depend on the required bankroll. What matters even more is that you feel at ease to play with these limits. If you're afraid to lose money we guarantee you that it will actually happen! Playing when frightened = losing money with poker! The reason for this is that when you're afraid you will let go too many opportunities to win. In case you start playing on a higher limit and you lose a big part of your bankroll it is wise to go back to playing on a lower limit. Many players do not do this because they want to win their money back. Those are players that will ultimately lose all their money. On the other hand it is also important to not play on a limit which is too low. When you play with amounts so small that you don't care in case you would lose them, you will start playing too many hands or recklessly and lose your money as well! You need to be motivated to win at any time!

Take a break when things go wrong

No matter how good you are, there will always be days when you lose money. This is not the end of the world. It even happens to the best poker players in the world. You have to remember that it's all about your earnings in the long run. You will sometimes have periods when the cards are constantly against you. In case you have one of those days it is important to know when to stop. In general you should stop the session once you've lost fifty big blinds or more. This is a lot, especially for limit tables. Many players want to earn back their lost money on the same day no matter what. a very likely result is that they will start playing recklessly and in this manner lose their complete bankroll. So just stop playing! Remember that if you're a winning player in the long run, a session in which you lose does not matter!

Tilt

Thinking that your opponents are constantly bluffing, wanting to win back your money lost on the same day no matter what, or wanting to play a hand again as soon as possible are signs that you are most likely on a tilt. To recognize this by yourself and consequently be able to end the session immediately is an essential quality needed in order to become and stay a winning player. An example of how things can go wrong is befriended player rocket_boy: He started with $50 and within a month slowly but steady grew towards $500 on his bankroll by playing good and with discipline. Then in one particular session he was very unlucky because he lost constantly on the river. His reaction was a tilt and, in an effort to win back his money, he almost lost his complete bankroll by playing too recklessly on limits which were way too high. When he eventually stopped, he was back at where he started a month earlier. The earnings of a whole month of good play gone in thirty minutes!

Also never play poker if you are tired or in case you cannot keep your attention. And above all: don't ever play poker when drunk! Might be a funny idea but it's going to cost you! Professional players know that you play the best when you are fit, concentrated and motivated and thus they act accordingly. Don't give them an advantage and do the same!
Winning in the long run

In a short period of time luck is very important to be profitable when playing poker. However, in the long run luck is averaged out, separating the good players (they will win) from the bad ones (they will lose). This is something you should always remember when playing poker. Sometimes it's even stated that one bad player at a table is enough to win money, even when all the others are good players. To determine if you're a winning or a losing player it is important to keep up with data concerning your sessions. Once you played a hundred hours at a certain level, you should have a good idea of your average profit (or loss) per hour. The better you play in proportion to the other players, the sooner your hourly return is positive (perhaps you've even never had a negative return per hour at all. If you haven't made any profit after a hundred hours of playing poker then there's most likely something you're doing wrong. In that case we advice you to study the poker tips on this site once again.

No matter how much money you earn in the long run, there will always be sessions in which you lose money. This is a given fact because of the impact of luck within a short period of time. Don't let this be of any influence to you.

Limit & No-limit

The advantage of playing Limit is that, on the contrary to No-limit, the betting is always relatively low in proportion to the size of the pot. As a result, the fluctuations between plus and minus on your bankroll are in general significantly lower when playing Limit compared to No-limit. When playing No-limit it is not uncommon to lose or double all your money with just one hand, which is practically impossible when playing Limit. This is all especially the case when playing longhand (more than six people at a table). Therefore, we strongly recommend beginning players to start at the longhand Limit Holdem tables. It's more relaxed with regard to your bankroll and moreover, the risk of a tilt is smaller!
To become a successful No-limit player it is important to first gain experience at the Limit tables. Furthermore, if you want to play No-limit, you have to be prepared to bet all your money on one hand, because you think that you have a more than 50% chance to win the pot. You also have to take into account that you sometimes will go all-in on an AA hand before the flop and then a player with an inferior hand will call and eventually win the pot. Because of this you have to arrange a bigger bankroll, enabling you to cover those kinds of losses in case they happen!

Remember to keep in mind that winning or loosing in one particular session does not say anything about how good you are in playing poker. It's all about the long term!

WebMoney is an electronic money and online payment system (transactions are conducted through WebMoney Transfer). WM Transfer Ltd, the owner and administrator of WebMoney Transfer Online Payment System, was founded in 1998 and is a legal corporate entity of Belize, Central America. Originally targeted mainly at Russian clients, it is now used world-wide. The company claims to have more than 2 million users.

Clients can use the system through downloaded software called "WM Keeper" or through a limited web client called "WM Keeper light". Signing up and receiving webmoney (known as "WM units") from other users is free; sending WM units to other accounts incurs a fee of 0.8%. Funds can be deposited into or withdrawn from webmoney accounts by money order, wire transfer, by conversion from other electronic currencies, or by cash transactions at authorized exchange offices; all of these incur various fees. It is also possible to purchase WM cards for $10-$100 in order to fund an account.

WebMoney transactions are safe because they do not require a credit card or bank account and are immune against certain scams because they are final and cannot be retracted; this is similar to e-gold and cash and unlike credit card transactions and PayPal. It is therefore not possible to buy WM units online with a mere credit card or a paypal account.

Every account, known as a "purse", is run in US Dollar-equivalents (WMZ), ruble-equivalents (WMR), euro-equivalents (WME) or hryvnia-equivalents (WMU). Accounts are identified by strings called WM-IDs; account holders can remain completely anonymous towards each other.
WebMoney incorporates an instant messaging system as well as a way to send out bills and to extend credit. It is also possible to protect a payment with a password; the payment is withdrawn from the payer's account and added to the payee's account, but cannot be redeemed unless the password is known. The payer will typically provide the password once the promised goods have been delivered. Some operations require a higher level of user authentication known as a "WM passport" which a user can obtain from authorized parties.

The main address for technical support is given in Moscow; the main proprietor and administrator is located in Belize. Transactions in WMR are underwritten by WMR LLC in Moscow and transactions in WME and WMZ are underwritten by Amstar Holdings Limited in Panama.

All in all Webmoney is an easy and safe way to fund your poker account!

What is PayPal and how does it work?

PayPal is a safer, simpler way to send and receive money online.

You can pay for items you buy on eBay as well as on hundreds of other leading retail websites, or you can use PayPal to send money quickly and safely to anyone with an email address.

You can pay with money held in your PayPal account balance or use another payment method such as a credit card, debit card or your bank account.

Once you sign up for a PayPal account, you just need to select PayPal as your payment method when you shop online. Websites that accept PayPal will show the PayPal logo in their checkout. You will be asked to log in to your account with your email address and password to confirm the payment. PayPal never shares your financial information with sellers or retailers.

If you receive a payment through PayPal, you will receive an email notification and the money will be credited to your PayPal account. You can then use your PayPal balance to make payments, or you can withdraw the funds to your bank account.

It’s free to sign up for a PayPal account. Fees charged are based on who you are sending funds to:

Personal payments: Payments to friends or family are free when funded by bank account or PayPal balance. If the payment is funded by credit or debit card then fee is charged to the recipient, however the sender can choose to pay this instead. Please note you must select the ‘Personal’ payment tab within the ‘Send Money’ payment flow to qualify for this rate.

Purchase payments: For payments made as a purchase of goods or services, the recipient (seller) will be charged a fee. For more information visit www.paypal.com and click on the ‘Fees’ link at the bottom of any page.

To open a PayPal Personal or Premier account, follow these steps:

• Visit the PayPal website at www.paypal.com and Click ‘Sign Up’ at the top of the page
  
• Select your country or region from the drop down menu
  
• Select your preferred account type and click ‘Get Started’
  
• Enter your information, including your full email address and choose a password (it must contain at least 8 characters and is case sensitive). You will need these to log in to your PayPal account
  
• Click 'Agree and create account'
  
  

  To open a PayPal Business account, follow these steps:

• Visit the PayPal website at www.paypal.com
  
• Click ‘Sign Up’ at the top of the page
  
• Select your country or region from the drop down menu
  
• Select Business account and click ‘Get Started’
  
• Select a payment solution from the drop down menu
  
• Enter your business information and click ‘Continue’
  
• Enter your full email address, choose a password (it must contain at least 8 characters and is case-sensitive) and select your two security questions
  
• Accept the PayPal User Agreement and Privacy Policy then click 'Sign up'
  
  

  If you decide to close your PayPal account, you should withdraw any funds in your PayPal balance and then follow these steps:

• Log in to your account at www.paypal.com
  
• Click 'Profile' at the top of the page
  
• Click the 'Close Account' link located under 'Account Information' and follow the instructions
  

What is Moneybookers?

Moneybookers is a tool that allows you to safely send and receive money via email - instantly. You can send money from your credit/debit card, transfer money to and from your bank account. Use Moneybookers whenever you need to send money to someone (settle a debt with a friend, pay for online purchase/auctions...) or when someone needs to send money to you.

What are the benefits of using Moneybookers?

• Secure: with Moneybookers, you will no longer need to expose your credit/debit card information every time you shop online. Moneybookers can process the payments for you securely.
  
• Convenient: with Moneybookers, all you need to execute a payment, is the recipient's email address. This eliminates the hassle of dealing with complicated bank wire forms and the inconvenience of sending and depositing cheques!
  
• Fast: with Moneybookers, you can send and receive payments in Internet time - real-time.
  
• Borderless: as a truly international payment product, Moneybookers is the best and cheapest way to send money cross-border.
  
• It is free of charge!
  
• Has over 15 million account holders (and growing very strong) which makes it one of the largest online payment processors.
  
• Accepted payment option at over 70.000 online merchants.
  

Making deposits at poker rooms or paying at online shops is an instant process with Moneybookers. After depositing at a poker room the money will immediately be available for usage.

Worldwide money sending via email. If for example you want to send money to a friend, you simply need to enter the friend's e-mail address and the amount. The friend will then receive an e-mail and will immediately have access to the money, even if he didn't have a Moneybookers account up until then.

Fees

Depositing to Moneybookers via bank transfer is free of charge in over 30 countries! The cost for depositing with a credit card is a 1,9% charge of the deposited amount. When sending money, a fee of 1% with a maximum of €0.5/$0.8 is taken. (compare that with the fees charged by Neteller!)

Current detailed list of fees

Security: Regulated by the FSA

Moneybookers is regulated by the British Financial Services Authority (FSA) and is therefore subject to the most stringent regulations that exist for licensed financial institutions. Furthermore, Moneybookers is also convenient for protecting your personal data: you can make deposits or payments by simply entering your e-mail address and password and thus circumvent giving your personal bank account data to third parties. As a licensed banking institute Moneybookers takes care of the transfers for you.

More information on FSA regulations

Make up to a $100.000 a year!

Here we'll show you how to make $100.000 in a year, just by playing NL — 6 (No Limit, 6 Players Max).
This only works for the more experienced player, 4 tables at once, NL 100 or higher and at least a couple of hours a day playing.

1. Play tight, aggressive poker! (TAG).

a good TAG player should have a VPIP, between 15 to 25% and a PFR, between 7 to 15%.
You can find that data in your poker tracker database.

2. Make good use of your table position.

Play tight in early position and raise most hands when you're in a late position.

3. re-raise strong hands pre-flop.

Hands to raise are AQ, AK and 1010 trough to AA, when someone raises before you.

4. Make continuous bets.

When you're positioned heads up after the flop and other players check, you should go in at least 85% of the time, make a continuous bet of about ?? of the pot.

5. Fold on a raise on the flop.

When someone raises on the flop, you should fold, unless you have a pretty good lead of at least aces.

6. raise/re-raise two pair + sets + combo draws on the flop.

Don't slow play!

7. In a raised pot, when you can beat a pair of aces, you've got something!

Assume you have the best hand and fold only if you encounter a lot of opposition.

8. Never drop strong hands.

When the times comes, you are sure you've been beaten, your odds will
have improved so much you can't afford to drop. So never drop a set.

If you apply these rules, you could make up to a $100.000 a year playing online poker.