Online Poker Guide - OLBG Poker  
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History of Poker Online

Planet Poker, the first ever real money online cardroom was opened for business in 1998, this signified a new era for poker and was arguably the biggest evolution in the history of the game. Despite plenty of resistance initially, Planet Poker worked extremely hard with their client base to ensure online poker gaming was successful by providing a transparent service where many details were published for integrity purposes. One such area was their shuffling algorithm; unfortunately a flaw in the algorithm was exposed, plunging online poker back into the realms of untrustworthy once more.

In retrospect, it can be argued that the flaw in Planet Pokers shuffling algorithm paved the way for the rest of the industry; collectively they learned from Planet pokers mistakes, which allowed huge advancements in security to be made and nowadays we enjoy a much more secure and risk free poker experience.

Texas Holdem has grown enormoulsy and the market is now saturated with virtual cardrooms, with revenues totalling billions of dollars annually and integrity like never before, online poker is well and truly here to stay.

Online Poker Advantages

With twice as many hands being dealt per hour online than in a bricks & mortar cardroom, the speed of play is a huge advantage to online poker; the opportunity to see more cards per session provides a greater chance to profit. Another similar advantage is your ability to be playing mutiple games of poker online; by playing a few tables at a time and seeing twice as many cards per hour as offline poker, it's fair to say an online poker player could see 8 times as many cards as an offline player. It took the now seasoned pro poker players like Doyle Brunson 40 years to learn the game, the learning curve is significantly quicker nowadays, it might only take a few years to see as many cards as the veterans saw in a decade.

The old time players had to travel for miles to find a worthy game of Texas Holdem, nowadays the right game is just a double click away; it only takes a few minutes to find a game that's suitable for your skill level and bankroll. Waiting times are greatly reduced because of the abundance of games to choose from; if you can't find a game to sit straight into, it only takes a matter of minutes to sign up to join 10 or 20 tables and usually a few minutes more before the invites come flooding back.

Travel costs are a thing of the past, it costs nothing to fire up your PC and load the cardroom of your choice. An offline player might have to travel for miles, incurring petrol, parking, eating and drinking expenses in the process; all this before a penny has been wagered. An offline player is literally committing themselves to playing poker, they would'nt make such efforts only to change their mind as they step into the cardroom; an online player has much greater control over their time, they can choose to play as little or as much as they like. An offline player might have to drive for miles to find another game if the waiting list is too long at the cardroom he frequents, an online poker player simply logs out of one site and onto another in the time it takes to click a mouse.

The poker room rake is much lower online than in bricks & mortar cardrooms making it easier to profit from your hard work, you don't have to tip the dealer everytime you win a pot, infact you don't even have to thank cyber dealers despite the fact they will never misdeal to you nor miscalculate the rake.

You don't have to dress up in order to play online, whereas you may have to adhere to a stringent dress code at your local casino poker room. Add to that, there are no time limits imposed on you online, no matter what the time is, there will always be a well populated game just round the corner at all hours of the day. You have much greater control over your environment when playing online too; it does'nt matter if the player seated next to you has'nt bathed in days, whether they smoke or simply look funny, your environment does not change. On the flip side, you are free to wear what you like, smell how you like and literally do what you like in the comfort of your own home.

A beginner may be conscious of giving away tells or making mecanical mistakes such as acting out of turn in an offline poker game, the online game treats novice players much more fairly. Physical tells are'nt even a consideration when playing online and the poker software minimises the chance of you ever making a mistake by dealing with most processes, such as posting the blinds, on your behalf.

With technology on your side, online poker can be enjoyed via mobile phones and PDA's, your online poker options are likely to grow as further technological advancements are made.

Online Poker Integrity

Some players argue that it is impossible to prove the integrity of online poker and that offline poker is a safer option. The reality of the situation is that while cheating occurs in both formats, it's much harder to cheat in an online environment than offline; there are many reasons why this is the case.

The data that travels between the poker servers and our PC's uses a high level of encryption, typically between 128-bit and 1024-bit encryption which is virtually impossible to crack within any reasonable timeframe.

Online, the cards are shuffled and dealt using cryptographic algorithms, random number generators, entropy pool technology and secure socket layer technology to ensure that the cards are shuffled in a totally random and unpredictable way.

Another factor worthy of consideration is that the online cardrooms use sophisticated methods of collusion detection on their site, making collusion easier to detect as they can see everybodies folded hands, their hand history, their IP addresses aswell as a number of other techniques that make spotting patterns in peoples play considerably easier and much more accurate. Bricks & mortar cardrooms just don't have the same capability in ensuring the integrity of their games.
Our poker room reviews are written by experienced poker players who have spent HOURS playing poker at the room which they are reviewing. Read our detailed poker reviews by clicking on the links on the left of this page.
Poker Bonuses

BlueSq Poker
$500 sign up bonus and £500 New Player Freeroll!

VC Poker
Choose from two fantastic OLBG exclusive offers of $25 or $600 when you sign up with VC Poker.

Paddy Power Poker
150% Deposit Bonus up to $600

Betfair Poker
You get up to $500 Free and 30-40% Rakeback

Ladbrokes Poker
Welcome Bonus - Sign up & get up to £600 Free!

Sky Poker
Up To £1000 Welcome Bonus

Bet 365 Poker
You can get $500 as a new player with bet365’s fantastic bonus offer.

William Hill Poker
Earn a £400 bonus now!

888 Poker
100% Bonus on your first deposit up to £200. Unlike some sites you get 25% of it straight away!

Party Poker
Up to £250 Free

Circus Poker
200% bonus on your first deposit from £5 to £300!

Centrebet Poker
100% up to $600

Boylepoker
200% Up to $600 First Time Deposit Bonus

Betfred Poker
100% match bonus on your first deposit, all the way up to a massive $600.

Canbet Poker
$200 up to $200

Paradise Poker
€1,000 Sign Up Bonus

Littlewoods Poker
A 100% Bonus up to £200!

Stan James Poker
$20 - $500 Sign Up Bonus

Poker Stars
100% up to $600.

Full Tilt
Get a 100% first deposit bonus.
 
Poker Nights
Come and join us in a friendly game of Poker every Monday and Thursday evening.

Just $5+$0.50 buy-in and whoever tops the table at the end of the month wins a $100 buy in at Ladbrokes Poker!

See the Poker Nights Forum for more details.

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Poker Room Reviews
BlueSq Poker Review
VC Poker Review
Paddy Power Poker Review
Betfair Poker Review
Ladbrokes Poker Review
Sky Poker Review
Bet 365 Poker Review
William Hill Poker Review
888 Poker Review
Party Poker Review
Circus Poker Review
Centrebet Poker Review
Boylepoker Review
Betfred Poker Review
Canbet Poker Review
Paradise Poker Review
Littlewoods Poker Review
Stan James Poker Review
Poker Stars Review
Full Tilt Review
 
Poker Chat
cheltenham freeroll
MIXED GAME TOURNEY
Freerolls
Rush Poker - What do you think?
pokerstars freeroll
Best/Worst poker site
Online Poker Chat
NOT ONLINE POKER - Live Poker in Liverpool
Free Rolls. Now got to pay for them
money in account or not is the question
 
Poker Examples
Work through a real example to get a basic understanding of how to play poker

Poker Tutorial Example
Poker Tutorial Analysis
 
Poker Rules
Click on a poker game below to learn the rules.

Each article also has a step by step guide which shows you how to play the game.

Texas Holdem Poker Rules
Omaha Poker Rules
Five Card Draw Poker Rules
Rules for 7 Card Stud Poker
 
Learn To Play Poker
All your questions answered here!

Read each of these guides to learn the basics of poker.

Learn Poker Before You Play
Free Play Poker
Poker Etiquette
Poker Betting Options
Poker Hand Rankings
Poker Room Rake
Poker Terminology
Poker Hands Slang
Pro Poker Players
Poker Starting Hands Selection
History of Poker Online
Watch Sky Poker
 
Poker Variations
History, explantions and top tips for each of the major forms of poker.

Different Types of Poker Games
Texas Holdem
Omaha Poker
Five Card Draw
7 Card Stud
 
Online Poker Tournaments
Guides to the different types of online poker tournaments.

Detailed explanations of how each poker format is played.

Online Poker Tournaments Explained
Poker Sit and Go
Ring Games
Satellite Tournaments
Multi Table Tournaments
 
Poker Tips
Great tips for improving your poker.

Click on a guide and give yourself a better chance of winning at Poker.

Styles of Poker Play
Bankroll Management and Poker
How to Choose An Online Poker Room
Poker Room Player Stats
How To Read The Poker Game
Player Note Taking In Poker
Poker Table Position
Poker Table Selection
Keeping Poker Records
Poker Money Management
Poker Software and Tools
Preaction Checkboxes in Poker
Poker Angles
Poker Books
 
Poker Strategy
Advanced guides for players wanting to improve their poker strategy.

Multi Table Tournament Strategy
Sit and Go Strategy
Heads Up Poker Strategy
Shortstack Play
Deepstack Play
Bluffing in Poker
Changing Gears Poker Strategy
Special Poker Moves
Short Handed Play - 3 to 4 Players
Playing Short Handed - 5 to 6 Players
10 Handed Play
Poker Cash Game Strategy
Playing Multiple Games of Poker
Final Table Deal Making
 
Poker Odds
The mathematics of poker is commonly known as poker odds.

Learn more about the odds and improve your game.

Poker Odds
Poker Probabilities
Pot Odds
Effective Odds
Implied Odds
Reverse Implied Odds
Poker Blinds
Poker Equity and The Pot
Poker and Expectation
Poker Bankroll Variance
Using Percentage Play in Poker
Randomising Your Poker Play
Pre Flop Hand Percentages
Magriels M and Harringtons Q
 
Poker Psychology
Keep losing those head to heads?

Not sure when to bluff?

Get your head round some of this and your oponents wont know what you are thinking!

Poker Table Image
Online Poker Tells
Luck In Poker
Multiple Level Thinking
The Gap Concept
Poker Temperament and How To Mange It
Manipulating Your Poker Opponents
Bad Beats
Poker Myths Explained
Fundamental Theorem of Poker
Responsible Poker Playing

 
Poker Terms
A glossary of poker terms. Have we missed any?

Glossary A to B
Glossary C to D
Glossary E to F
Glossary G to H
Glossary K to L
Glossary I to J
Glossary M to N
Glossary O to P
Glossary Q to R
Glossary S to T
Glossary U to V
Glossary U to Z