Finding the Right Poker Site

Playing poker online is an enjoyable experience. We all love playing poker in a casino, but it’s hard to beat the convenience of playing online. Think about it. To play in a casino, you have to get dressed, hop in your car to head to the nearest casino. You then have to hope you get into a game straight away, which doesn’t always happen. And that’s assuming you live close enough to a casino.

When you play online, you don’t have to worry about the logistics. You can play from the comfort of your own home and hop into a game within a matter of seconds. But before you get started playing, we want to make you aware of the things you should look for in a poker site.

Qualities of Top UK Poker Sites

Poker players in the UK, or anywhere, have high standards for poker sites. There are hundreds of places to play poker online. However, not every site is worth your time or should be trusted. What you should look for is a site that has a lot of positive reviews, the games you love to play, fast payouts, and quality software. Anything less really isn’t worth your time and money.

As a customer, you deserve to play at a quality poker site. You’re a customer of a business, so you shouldn’t feel bad about expecting the best. Look for sites that have a solid reputation. Every poker site, like every business, will have some haters. But the top ones are those that have far more positive reviews than negative reviews.

Another quality in poker sites, UK and other players desire is fast payouts. When you’re ready to cash out, you won’t want to wait weeks to get your money. That’s why the sites we recommend have a strong history of paying players quickly.

The most important quality you should seek is the site offers plenty of the games you play. Don’t play at a poker site that doesn’t have the poker games at the levels you play. If you’re strictly a £1–£2 no limit hold’em player and the site you’re interested in doesn’t appear to have many £1–£2 games running throughout the day, you should look elsewhere.

Why Play Online?

Online poker is fun. Most poker pros got their start playing online. In fact, many of the players you see on TV competing in the World Series of Poker and other major international events began playing online and still do. There are more opportunities to make money online than in a land-based casinos, regardless of where you live.

You can play more games online than in a casino and can get by on a smaller bankroll. Land-based casinos don’t offer micro stakes games or low-limit sit 'n' go’s like you’ll find online. For example, £100 online will get you much further than £100 in a casino.

Another benefit of playing poker online is getting to play multiple games at a time. Some poker players play up to 12 games at once, although you should probably stick to one or two at first until you become more experienced. But the main benefit of playing online is the convenience factor. It’s just so easy and convenient, and that’s why so many love it.

About the Best Poker Sites

When you start looking for an online poker site, you will have many options. We’ve already discussed the main qualities you should look for, but now we are going to dig deeper. The top sites have the best games. That goes for micro stakes, low-limit, mid-stakes, and high-stakes poker players.

Bonuses

When you first sign up, you will receive a bonus. Every poker site offers a different bonus. Check to see which bonuses are offered before joining. Usually, you will get a match bonus on your initial deposit, at the very least. How this works is you make a deposit, say £200, and then earn another £200 of free money after playing for a while.

Deposits

These bonuses are great, so please take advantage of them. Once you sign up, you will then enter the cashier and be given options to make your first deposit. The top sites offer multiple deposit methods such as credit card, e-wallet, and possibly even bank transfer or e-cheques.

Withdrawals

After you’ve won some money, you may be ready to cash out at least part of your bankroll. This is another area where the top sites excel. On most sites, you’ll get a couple of choices for how you want to receive the funds (i.e. paper cheque posted to you, bank transfer, etc.). It’s great if they have the payout method you want, but what’s most important is the delivery time. Some of the old poker sites would take months to send players their money. In fact, there still are some of those sites, but not any that we recommend.

Games Offered at Online Poker Sites

If you got your start playing poker in a casino, to get you prepared for playing online, we want to make you aware of the games offered. Some of the games you find in land-based poker rooms are the same as you’ll find online, but some are different online. Let’s take a look at the games:

Freeroll tournaments

These are tournaments that don’t cost anything to play. Most payout in the form of real cash or a buy-in to a real money poker tournament.

Cash games

There are plenty of cash games online just like in a live casino. However, you can get by with a smaller bankroll because there are micro-stakes cash games available online that can’t be found in a land-based casino.

Sit 'n' go

A sit 'n' go is just like a tournament except there is a limit on the number of players. Sit n go’s are usually 2, 6, or 9-player games. In some cases, you may find a larger sit n go.

Multi-table tournaments

Online poker sites offer some great tournaments. Many times you can buy in for a small amount and win a large sum if you have a bit of good luck.