A few years ago, I remember when the whole poker phenomenon bursted into the “sports” scene when networks like ESPN started airing poker tournaments (like the World Series of Poker (WSOP)) and the no-limit Texas Hold’em format became the game of choice. Then in 2003, the relatively unknown Chris Moneymaker (such an appropriate name!) went all the way and won the World Series of Poker Championship. He became living proof that a regular, average joe can play against professionals and win big tournaments (which in turn means big money).

Then the following year, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer won the WSOP in 2004. What they both had in common was that they were two players who qualified to play in the WSOP through Internet qualifiers, like on sites like PokerStars.com. People young and old started flocking to online poker sites to make money and hopefully get the chance to play at the WSOP. I’ve even seen and heard of people making a living gambling online! I never actually tried playing online since I keep hearing about fraud and rampant cheating, so I kept playing casually amongst my friends.

However, I’ve recently watched a few of my friends play online and it does seem rather interesting. If you aren’t comfortable playing with real money, people can decide to play for fun and get a feel of the game. Although it was interesting to play against live people online, I didn’t feel the same urgency or excitement when there was something of value on the line. After playing awhile, I started to feel the temptation to actually put money into my account and play, but I fought the urge and decided not to.

I could really see how addicting the game could be. Not only do you not notice the amount of money you are spending but you are doing all this in the comfort of your own home! I actually spoke to a friend of mine who became obsessed with playing online and actually won a “couple” of bucks in the process. He actually gave me a couple of tips when playing:

1) Play as much “fun” poker as you can until you feel comfortable to play for money. Start slowly and work your way from there.

2) When playing for money, people won’t make unnecessary risks and go “all-in” when they don’t have a hand. Bide your time and don’t rush because successful players are patient.

3) Try to be conscious of how slow or fast you make a play. Sometimes these minor things can become “tells” which tip-off your opponents on the strength of your hand. No matter what type of hand you have, try to make the plays at a uniform amount of time.

4) Most importantly, play within your budget. The most important rule in gambling is that you should NOT bet what you CAN’T afford to lose. Give yourself like a budget and only play with that. If you are up, just play with your winnings, but if you lose, quit once you reached the limit.

Too often, people dig themselves into a huge hole and then they start panicking and attempting to make bolder and riskier plays in order to recoup their losses as quickly as possible. This become extremely dangerous because it just keeps snowballing to the point where you become obsessed with it (addicted) or possibly lose everything you have! So if people are thinking about playing online poker, I urge you to exercise self-control and play within your limits!

-Stephen