Real Money Vs. Play Money - Making the Transition & What to Keep in Mind
Overview
One of the things that so attractive about online poker is the prevalence of play money. Some casinos have special programs for offering customers free ‘money' to gamble with. Of course, the principle behind these programs, online as well as offline, is that you will get such a thrill gambling with the so called free money, you'll decide to keep it up gambling with real money. The aim of this article is to outline the advantages and disadvantages of real money versus play money.
Playing With Play Money
A "free-roll" tournament is one that doesn't require real money although it pays out real prize money to the winner. Particularly for those who don't have much tournament-playing experience, free-roll tournaments are really a lot of fun and very low-risk. There's no risk of losing any money.
You should certainly use play money if you're a new player or if you're looking to brush up on your poker skills. There is no need to make any kind of purchase or provide credit card information for play money poker.
The most common types of freerolls are "frequent player points", called FPPs. This is the best kind of free because all you need to do to acquire these FPPs is to sign up and play. You can then amass points; earning points as part of the loyalty program. Many sites allow you to earn FPPs by playing in the play money games. Many less experienced players should get started without going to the trouble of depositing real money.
Playing With Real Money
A real money buy-in, as the name suggests, requires you to use real money. Online poker sites require you to deposit real funds into a secure account. In casinos, you generally have to buy chips. If you do a bit of money-management, you can plan ahead enough to make online money transfers in a few seconds without transaction fees.
Once you are confident of your poker skills you can decide to take the plunge. Making a deposit of cash to play online involves using one or more of the following money transfer methods:
1) Credit Card
2) FirePay
3) Neteller
4) Switch/Maestro
5) Bank Draft
6) InstaCash
7) Visa/MasterCard
8) ePassporte
9) Wire Transfer
Things to Consider: Real versus Play
It's increasingly important to consider the legal aspects of online poker playing and online gambling. You need to try and get a handle on the laws that affect online poker play. Unfortunately the laws in most of the countries around the world really are very slow to mature; they're slow to pickup and change their policies and programs. This is equally true of individual companies. Several online poker sites now do not allow US-based players access due to changes in the law that look to outlaw online gambling, apparently including poker.
Although the best advice is to consult with a legal expert if you have specific concerns, it is still challenging for lawyers and other experts to make definitive assessments of what is a lawful activity and what is not. At the time of writing this article, no person in any country has yet been charged as a criminal for playing online poker with real money.
Another thing to consider: negative tilts in poker can be extremely destructive and bankroll management is something you really need to be on top of if you're playing with real money. Everyone goes on a negative tilt every now and again. It's a reality even the best and most experienced players have to deal with; if you make a transition from play money to real money, you must have enough of a bankroll to cover the down tilts and protect your game from your own psychology. Although this is more important when it comes to real money management and it should factor somewhere in your decision-making process about real money versus play money. You should also take into account the kind of game you're involved in and the kind of players you're up against. Just as you should shift tables every now and again, there's nothing stopping you playing with both real and fake money.
Above all, you should remember that poker is a game. If you find yourself playing with real money and being preoccupied about your bankroll in a way that seems at all unhealthy or destructive, you should certainly stop playing with real money and revert to free money.
Whether you play with real or free money you should have fun.
Valentino Viccetzar is well renown article writer. Valentino Viccetzar has been writing for many years about poker related themes. He is currently hosting his articles on play money poker and others at http://www.pokerrouge.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com
