Introduction

Welcome

Welcome to the Beginners' Guide to Online Poker. You've seen high-stakes poker on TV and heard about the online poker sites. Here you will find step-by-step directions for getting started playing poker online with other people from around the world.

We'll guide you through the steps of choosing a reputable poker site, creating an account for yourself and sitting down in your first play-money game. We explain what's different about online poker from the regular kind. For example, what you need to keep in mind now that you can't see your opponent, or what happens if you lose your internet connection during a hand. You'll learn about some of the dangers unique to online poker and how to protect yourself.

If you're new to poker, we have a quick course in basic strategy. If you're already an experienced player, you'll want to check out our pointers to great resources for refining your game. Online poker offers some unique ways to improve your own play (such as hand history records and tracking databases) and we'll show you how to take advantage of these.

And when you're ready to take the plunge and play for real money, we explain everything you need to know: how to get money into and out of the site, expert techniques to maximize deposit bonuses and minimize transaction fees, legal issues, tax issues and more.

Roadmap

Follow the roadmap below to get started.

• Introduction
  • What is online poker?
• Getting started
  • Choosing a site – how sites differ
  • Downloading the client and signing up
  • Kinds of games – play money vs. real money, ring game vs. tournament
• Basics of online play
  • Using the lobby, sitting down, buying chips
  • Play of the hand – posting, cards, betting, the showdown
  • Other actions – sitting out, chat, display options
  • Online poker etiquette
  • Disconnections – timing out and all-in protection
• Basic poker strategy
  • Betting rules
  • Poker hand rankings
  • Texas holdem rules
  • Poker strategy – a crash course in the basics
• Tournaments
  • Single-table vs. multi-table
  • Sit-and-go vs. scheduled
  • Buyin – play-money vs. freeroll vs. real money
  • Satellite vs. regular events
  • Freezeout vs. rebuy events
• Real money
  • Financial processors – how to move money around
  • Deposit bonuses
  • Deposits – getting money into the poker site
  • Withdrawals – getting money out of the poker site
• Advanced online tools
  • Lobby statistics – profitable game selection
  • Playing multiple tables at a time
  • Keyboard shortcuts for Party Poker (and others)
  • Keeping track of your opponents
  • Keeping track of your own play
• Beyond basic strategy
  • Poker books
  • Online articles and essays about poker
  • Online poker discussion forums
  • Practice software
  • Online schools and tutoring
  • Improving your game by self-analysis
• Advanced real money
  • Rake and tournament fees
  • Reload bonuses
  • Dedicated poker bank account
  • Offshore bank accounts and secrecy
• US Taxes
  • How to compute income – winning and losing sessions
  • Keeping tax records (IRS publication 529)
  • Sharing tournament action (Form 5754 or 1099)
  • Filing as a professional poker player (Schedule C)
  • Declaring foreign accounts (Schedule B and Form 90-22.1)
  • Links to more information about taxes
• Dangers
  • Getting paid – trouble withdrawing your money
  • A fair and random shuffle
  • Conspiracy theories – bad beats, action flops, cash-out curse
  • Site security – internal controls and hacker defenses
  • Player cheating – all-in abuse and collusion
  • Addiction to online poker
  • Legal issues