On-line Poker *( not FFC related, but just wondering........

[stevehawkinslidingtackle]

Does anyone play, and do you honestly make any money, or do you think thats its a rip-off, or a bit of a con ???
Ive been playing a fair bit this last week, and the horrendous calls and bad beats Ive had as a result, stink. Is it a fix ???  Should I just knock it on the head ???  :007:

[mrska]

Id knock it on the head mate..  i had a friend who got in rather deep playing..  a few good early wins then nothing but getting striped up everytime he played. Likewise i had an old girlfriend who played online Bingo.. again she had some amazing early wins.. then once she was hooked.. she won nothing and slipped into dept..

Cut all ties..  and just wait for my occasional tip on the Gee gees...!

[clint23]

Well, I don't play, but I have a friend who played every week, and he lost his girlfriend, his TV and some other things because he had to sell them

[stevehawkinslidingtackle]

I think your right. I had a pal, who believe it or not, played fruit machines on-line !! He was playing 10quid for the press of a wheel. He won a 10 grand jackpot after a few days, and told everyone in the boozer. 6 months later he was 40 grand in debt !!!

I'm a half decent player, when in live tournaments, but I just thought that there would be more skill involved in poker on line.  But now I'm not so sure.

This is quite interesting.

http://www.thedoverpro.com/poker-action-flop.htm

[sipwell]

I have a friend who started to play every morning with 10 cents. He played until he had enough to pay for his lunch (10 euros) and then quit. All the times he played for more, he lost "everything".

[DukeTyrion]

I play Poker online, but I play on the 25c tables (per game). I treat it like putting money in an arcade game, if I win it will just play for the next few games.

The problem as I see it with online poker is, when you start you are playing against other rookies, but as you get better and braver you will get onto the real money tables where the sharks hang out. I think I will remain content with my 25c games.

I have many stories about people with gambling issues, and almost all of them are due to a lucky win early in their career.

[MJG]

played quite a bit online up to a couple of years ago and yes you can make money but know your limits.
I gave up because i reached a level where I was not making or losing money and could not seem to get up to the next level because just not good enough.
tips are ...keep records of how long you play and how much you are up (or down). i used to work out how much per hour I was winning and what type of games i was playing. loads of software to use when playing as well to tell you what other players are like.

like i say loved playing it for maybe 3 years but got bored in the end.

[Fulham_Adam]

Live poker is a lot better than online and the element of luck isn't as big at a real casino.

[HatterDon]

On-line gambling is like casino gambling in one very important way. There is now way on God's green earth that the house is ever going to lose money -- and that's if everything is very much on the up and up. If the house never loses money, the punters have to. If you don't lose early, you'll lose late.

By the way, the only person I ever heard of stupid enough to lose money owning a casino was Donald Trump, a man so intellectually hopeless that he's being considered as a Republican candidate for President of the USA in 2012.

[The Bronsons]

I played poker seriously online for about 5 years, almost entirely in tournaments, averaging five hours a day every day. I won quite a lot - around £60k - which sounds terrific until you work out it's about £12k a year for a 35 hour week...  though it is tax-free in the UK, so that helps. It was a hobby too, so nice to make money at your hobby.

There have been a few cases of games being crooked, in particular a big scandal about superuser accounts on UltimateBet. But most sites are honest.

You see more bad beats and stupid hands online because a) more people play badly (this is less true these days as the standard of play is a bit better than it was) and b) you play way more hands an hour than you would in a live game, so you see more of everything. Human nature says you tend to remember the outrageous losses more than anything else, which makes it seem worse.

There is a big difference between poker (where you play other players and the house takes a cut of the pot or a tournament entry fee) and casino gambling, bingo etc. You can't beat the house long term: there are no professional bingo or roulette players. You can though beat other players: there are professional poker players all over the place.

But if you aren't good at poker - and I mean top 10% good - you could be better off playing bingo. If you are average or a bit better than average you'll lose because you won't beat the rake. And if you're bad and play cash games you can blow off thousands in the blink of an eye.

I don't play much now. I got bored, and stopped concentrating and broke even for six months before I decided I'd had enough.

[JohnKovacs]

I've been playing online for probably 8 years now. At first, it was very addicting. Every waking moment that I wasn't working, I was gambling online. That went on for about 6 months. Now I just play maybe 3 hours a week, occasional cash game, but generally tourney format. I am ahead, but not much. The bad beats have gotten more prevalent in the past few years. I've actually heard that the programs that are used favor the weaker players. It's kind of a deal to try to level the playing field. It keeps the guppies winning occasionally. I don't use it as a means to really try to make money, it's more for entertainment. Don't get me wrong, I have cashed out several times. Once was a portion of the down payment for the house that I currently reside in. But as mentioned, the time that I have spent on online gambling, I could've made way, way more money channeling the time and energy into my day job. My advice would be if you've never gambled online, don't start. Chances are you probably won't even break even.

[stevehawkinslidingtackle]

Some good knowledgeable replies there.
For people who play, this was a fitting end last night. I played my in my final tournament last night. Had AK, and my raise was called pre-flop. Flop came A, 10, 6. After betting back and forward went all in with a guy, who showed 9-2 ??? Fourth street 9, River 2.
And that was a rap for me. Finished 7th, and cashed in my balance of 80 quid. I guess I was down about a hundred in 10 days.

I've now removed the software, and will concentrate on pulling my hair out with football bets !   :wine:

[TheDaddy]

Some good knowledgeable replies there.
For people who play, this was a fitting end last night. I played my in my final tournament last night. Had AK, and my raise was called pre-flop. Flop came A, 10, 6. After betting back and forward went all in with a guy, who showed 9-2 ??? Fourth street 9, River 2.
And that was a rap for me. Finished 7th, and cashed in my balance of 80 quid. I guess I was down about a hundred in 10 days.

I've now removed the software, and will concentrate on pulling my hair out with football bets !   :wine:

Now thats why i stay away from poker You were at no9 fourth street with a river and had a flop "is that like a belly flop"  :57: I have a mate that spends thousands on the on line gambling world however he can afford it , what i earn in a year is his monthly tax deduction ! Tight as a naffs chuff too.

[Burt]

Never done the online stuff.

Play socially / small stake stuff infrequently.

Best was when we went to Vegas and I got to do it for "real" for a week. I didn't lose *too* much  :003:

[HatterDon]

I hate it that "dealer's choice" poker has disapperared in favor of Texas Hold 'em. The only good thing about the game is that it televises well.