Your Poker Buddy

Before playing online poker you have to choose the best online poker room that will give you the satisfaction while playing and of course can give you more chances of winning.

With all the online poker rooms in the internet today, here are some guides on what to consider in choosing online poker room.

Bonuses
There are more than enough sites offering a 100% bonus on your 1st deposit to be able to have a wide variety of venue and still cash in on these 'free money' deals, with many sites offering up to at least $200 and a number of them offering up to $500 and $1000.

There are plenty of other rewards for shrewd poker players willing to do a little investigating, most sites run daily freeroll tournaments with $500 or $1000 prize pools; there are player points schemes where players earn points while they play which can be redeemed for cash, free entry into special tournaments or prizes like baseball caps and MP3 players.

Financial Security
Again, it's worth checking the website of the poker room for details, the most reputable cardrooms provide all the relevant details about this on their website. There are a multitude of banking options available, arguably the most secure methods are credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard or by e-payment via Paypal and Neteller.

Rake
Although the unofficial industry standard rakes are 5-10% for ring games and 10% for tournaments, it is worth checking out the website of the poker room you're interested in signing up with to see how competitive their rake structure is for the specific level(s) you wish to play. Some online cardrooms charge more rake than others, especially at the lower limits, make sure you are'nt being overcharged.

Financial Security
Again, it's worth checking the website of the poker room for details, the most reputable cardrooms provide all the relevant details about this on their website. There are a multitude of banking options available, arguably the most secure methods are credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard or by e-payment via Paypal and Neteller.

Opposition
This is often one of the most overlooked areas when it comes to choosing a site. It really depends on what you hope to achieve; there are sites that pride themselves on having the best quality players and there are sites that are known for having loose players and excellent earning potential. A good rule of thumb, if you are more interested in playing quality opposition then choose a site which is purely a poker operation i.e. they don't have a sportsbook or casino side to the company. If your primary goal is to make money from playing poker then choose a site which also has casino and/or sportsbook customers as the standard of poker play will invariably be a lot lower and therefore easier to profit from.

Table Traffic
Site traffic is divided up into 2 categories; ring game traffic and tournament traffic. Whichever game type you prefer to play, make sure there is enough traffic on the site for the times of day that you are most likely to play at. During offpeak hours, on some sites, it's commonplace to wait 15-20 minutes for a 10 seater Sit & Go to fill, whereas on other sites it takes only a few minutes. If you only have a limited amount of time to apportion to poker every day, this can be an important factor.

If you are a beginner it is advisable that you get yourself familiar with different terms in casino. And by doing this it will be much easier for you to understand the game and get a long with the players.

So for everyone's reference here are the casino term you need to know...

Action
The amount of money a person is wagering is their action.

Add-On
In poker tournaments which are classified as re-buy tournaments, players will add-on more money to their bankroll.

All-In
In poker, moving all your chips in on the wager is going all-in with all of your money on the call or raise.

Ante
In poker and other table games, the amount of money wagered at the start of the game.

Arm
The casino player who plays craps and can control the outcome of the dice is said to be the arm.

Baccarat
This game is called Punto Banco by some players. The game is a card game where players bet on the player, the banker or a tie hand.

Banker
The dealer in table games.

Bankroll
Amount of money a player has budgeted for their gambling fun.

Bet
How much the player is wagering is called a bet.

Betting Limits
Table limits are called betting limits. Betting limits are minimum and maximum bets allowed at the table.

Blinds
The forced bet in poker's game of Texas Hold'em.

Bump
To Raise

Burn Cards
Cards the dealer burns before starting the deal.

Buy-In
The pre-determined amount of money required to buy-in at any table.

Call
In order to stay in the game of poker, you have to match the current bet played with a call.

Card Counting
Ken Uston made this little trick famous. There's a way to count cards which can determine the probable outcome in blackjack. Card counting is varied and players can count an entire shoe or they can simply count fives and aces.

Casino Advantage
House Edge the casino has over the players of the game which is usually calculated by a certain percentage.

Chips
Casino's answer to money so players don't view their money in cash, but instead only see chips on the table.

Cold
A player on a losing streak or a cold table means everyone (for the most part) appears to be losing.

Color Up
Exchanging smaller chips for larger denomination chips is called coloring up and is usually done at the end of a gaming session.

Comps
Casino freebies

Craps
A casino table game which involves shooting two dice and players winning big money or going for broke unless they have some money management control; craps is a fast-paced game.

Croupier
The dealer of a roulette or baccarat game is called a croupier.

Cut Card
The plastic card used to cut the cards fairly.

Deal
When the cards are dealt to the player, it is called the deal.

Deuce
The "2" card.

Dice
The two little box-like cubes used in sic-bo and craps

Doubling Down
A blackjack betting option usually only offered on 9, 10, and 11 in standard variation games of blackjack.

Down Card
The card dealt face down which you can not see the value of at the time.

Draw
Many different meanings for poker is said to be the draw. The most common use of the word is when you "draw" cards in the game and you can be "drawing" on a straight which means you need to draw a card to complete your straight.

Edge
An advantage over an opponent or the house's advantage over you.

Encryption
The software used to keep money transfers safe online.

Even Money Bet
A wager which pays players even money means the bet pays 1 to 1

Eye in the Sky
Surveillance cameras in the casino

Face Card
Jacks, Queens, Kings, Aces

Fifth Street
In seven card stud, the third round of betting.

Fish
In cards, an easy player to beat.

Flop
The first three community cards dealt in Texas Hold'em.

Fourth Street
In seven card stud, the second round of betting.

Hand
The cards you are dealt become your hand.

Hard way Bet
Betting on the hard ways in craps means you place a bet for the dice to be thrown with matching faces. There are 4 ways this can happen. Fives, fours, threes and twos.

High Roller
Someone who spends a lot of money in the casinos.

Hole Card
The facedown card of the dealer in blackjack.

Hot
A player who is untouchable by the casino because of their winning streak or a "hot" table is a table which is paying off for the players.

House Edge
This is the casino's advantage over players.

Inside Bets
In roulette, bets on the numbers inside on the board. The inside bets can be any inside bet combination.

Insurance
A bet for dummies in blackjack.

Jackpot
Large or the largest payout on a slot machine

Juice
Commission added for the house. Often used in sportsbetting more than anything else.

Kicker
Usually a high card in poker which makes the hand a winning hand.

Loose
Slots which are paying out.

Martingale
A betting strategy which encourages players to double up after a loss.

Maximum Bet
The most you can bet on any one hand.

Natural
A dealer's blackjack.

Negative Expectation Game
A game which is expected to give the player a loss each and every hour they play because the house's edge is so high.

Net Winnings
Total winnings after you take out the amount of money you risked.

Odds
What the chance is you will win.

Payline
The line which indicates where the reels must stop for a player to win on a slot machine.

Payout
The amount a player is paid out.

Pigeon
A player who doesn't know how to play the games they play.

Pit
Where the employees of the casino gather to talk and rate players!

Pit Boss
The boss of the employees who are standing in the pit rating the players!

Point
In craps, the point is the number rolled first which is what the player must roll again before the number 7 appears.

Poker
A card game with great history.

Pot
The money wagered on each hand in poker which the winning player of each hand will win.

Pressing
To add to your wager.

Progressive
A progressive machine is a slot machine with a large jackpot. The jackpot increases as the machine is played.

Push
A tie hand.

Quads
Four of a kind in poker.

Rake
The house commission.

Rated
A player who turns in a player's card is rated and this is a system which is used to help the casino decide how much RFB they receive.

RFB
In casino comps, this means room, food, board

Session
Time spent at the table or playing.

Seventh Street
In Seven card stud, the fifth and final round of betting.

Shark
A skilled player.

Shill
A player who plays in the game for the house.

Shoe
The shoe is what holds the cards for the dealer. It is usually a plastic or wooden box which sets on the table.

Showdown
In poker, the last hand, if any players are left to the end, they all must show their hands in a showdown.

Sixth Street
In seven card stud, the fourth round of betting.

Skin
A dollar.

Snake Eyes
On the dice, when one shows up on each dice for a total of two is called snake eyes in craps.

Soft Hand
A hand in blackjack where an ace is calculated as one or an eleven.

Stiff
A hand in blackjack which could be a bust hand if dealt one more card.

Surrender
To forfeit half your bet to protect your bankroll from further loss.

Tapped Out
Busted, broke, out of money.

Tilt
Poker players who are dealt a bad beat hand are said to go on tilt after the bad beat trying to make up for lost hands won and salvage their playing position.

Third Street
In seven card stud, the first round of betting.

Trips
Three cards ranked the same, three of a kind.

VIP
Same as a whale, very important person to the casino.

Wager
The money you bet.

Whale
High rollers bet £100 hands, whales bet thousands per hand.

White Meat
When you are in the profit.

Wild Royal Flush
A royal flush which is only accomplished by the wild cards.


Happy learning Casino lingo and be ready to play real money at online casino rooms

Texas Hold ‘em is considered as one of the most popular poker game offline and online and the best game for beginners. Not unlike other poker games it can be learned in a few minutes by anyone, and you can be playing fairly well with a few hours practice. And in order to learn the game, however, you must play and you must play fairly often.

A Texas Hold'em poker game goes as follows:

1. The betting structure can vary. Sometimes antes are used, but most games start with two players to the left of the dealer placing out a predetermined amount of money so there is an initial amount to get things started. This is called posting the blinds. Check out our page on blinds and antes.
2. The dealer shuffles up a standard deck of 52 playing cards.
3. Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are called your hole or pocket cards.
4. Then there is a round of betting starting with the guy to the left of the two who posted the blinds. This round is usually referred to by the term pre-flop.
5. The amount a player can bet depends on what kind of game it is.
6. Much like most games of poker, players can call, raise, or fold.
7. After the betting round ends, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a burn card. This is done to prevent cheating.
8. The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the flop. These are communal cards that anyone can use in combination with their two pocket cards to form a poker hand.
9. There is another round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
10. After the betting concludes, the dealer burns another card and flips one more onto the table. This is called the turn card. Players can use this sixth card now to form a five card poker hand.
11. The player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. In many types of games, this is where the bet size doubles.
12. Finally, the dealer burns a card and places a final card face up on the table. This is called the river. Players can now use any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in their pocket to form a five card poker hand.
13. There is one final round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
14. After that, all of the players remaining in the game begin to reveal their hands. This begins with the player to the left of the last player to call. It's called the showdown. Players use a combination of their pocket cards and the community cards to form a poker hand. For more about that, go to our forming a five card hand page.
15. The player who shows the best hand wins! There are cases where players with equal hands share the winnings. Go to our page about split pots for more info about who wins.
    

After knowing the basic structure you can now play Texas holdem and other variants. Texas Hold’em is easy to learn but mastering the game is a different story. And the only way for you to master the game is to play the game either offline or playing it in online poker rooms.