The rise of online gambling has led to the equal rise of the popularity of online poker play, with there being a huge community of players worldwide that play the game.
According to pokerkat.com, over 100 million play poker online across the world, with the United States in itself boasting more than 60 million of that number from players within their own territory.
In the United Kingdom there is also plenty of interest within online poker and there are a vast number of different platforms offering punters the opportunity to play a variety of poker games. These platforms give you the opportunity to test yourself in live games and tournaments, giving you a dynamic online poker experience.
Of course the main motivation for playing poker online for the vast majority will be to win a decent amount of money and profit from the activity. Your success in doing so will ultimately depend on how good you are, how well you can adapt to the online version of the game and the time and effort that you put into it.
It isn’t just about the money though – some punters prefer to play for the fun and enjoyment that comes with a game of poker and will want to play with significantly smaller stakes and for lesser prizes. Thankfully there are poker games and tournaments across the industry that suit both types of player and those that are somewhere in between, allowing you to have a personal experience depending on what you feel comfortable playing with and for.
There is the ability to practise online and play free-to-play games to give you the necessary experience before going into higher stakes tournaments and games. This is also a useful tool if you are beginning to get into poker for the social benefits of in-person games alongside your friends if you are a novice, with there being a variety of different poker formats available online. This includes the most popular version of the game in Texas Hold’em, as well as Omaha High and Seven Card Stud.
By signing up to a new UK bookmaker you will also have the ability to claim one of their new customer offers. The majority of bookmakers who are offering poker games will also have offers relating exclusively to their poker services and allow you to get more bang for your buck when you create an account with them.
If you are interested in learning more about what new customer offers and poker offers are out there then be sure to head over to Max Free Bets first. They specialise in providing you with a huge selection of new customer free bets, existing customer offers and competitions across their site. By checking out Max Free Bets before you begin gambling online, regardless of which sector you are most interested in, you will get the best value and offers possible.
We have had a look at some of the top bookmakers in the UK and there are a number of things that you should look out for to ensure that you are getting the best online poker experience possible. This list of criteria, should it all be checked off with your own poker site that you want to use, will guarantee your own personal enjoyment and give you everything you need to be successful.
Range of Games/Tournaments
The first thing you will be keen to see is what games and tournaments you can play with your poker provider. Having a good selection of games and tournaments is essential, with there being a range of different modes of poker games such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Seven-card stud, Five-card draw and High Low Chicago.
Once you have chosen the type of poker game that you want to play it may then be time to join a competitive tournament if you are feeling confident enough. The best poker sites will have tournaments that vary in the size of the required entry fee and returns for those who perform well. This will allow you to build your confidence with smaller stake games and tournaments as a novice before then stepping up and testing yourself in higher stakes games later on in your time.
New Customer Offer
New customer offers have become part and parcel of the online gambling industry and this is no different within the poker sector. Casinos and bookmakers will regularly push their new customer offers/sign up bonuses on their sites in order to try and entice new players to create an account with them.
These will generally be the best offers that you get when playing online with significant matched bonuses regularly being attached to your first deposits. To find the new customer offer that is attached to your poker site head over to the promotions page and be sure to read the terms and conditions before claiming it to know exactly what you need to do.
Payment Options
This may not be one of the things you initially think of but the payment options that a site has to offer is an important factor to your play with them. You will, of course, be required to make a deposit in order to play poker online for real money and have to make a withdrawal to have your winnings transferred into your bank account. As such, it’s important that your poker site has a variety of available payment options that includes your own personal favourite. Available payment options with online poker sites could include Debit/Credit Card, Bank Transfer, Neteller, PayPal, PaySafeCard, MasterCard, Skrill and Rapid Transfer.
Promotions
It can be easy to lose interest in a poker site once you have played through the new customer offer if the site themselves don’t go out of their way to give you exciting promotions and offers. You can assess how generous your poker site is by checking out their promotions page prior to creating an account with them. Here, you can see if they are packed with offers and promotions that will help retain your custom or if they are pretty bland aside from the welcome bonus.