Play Money Poker
You can play poker for play money online. This is a great way to get used to playing poker online, as you do not risk real money. Most poker sites offer you to play online poker at dedicated play money tables.
In this poker article, we will discuss the advantages of playing poker for play money online, the disadvantages of playing poker for play money on the Internet and we will recommend you the best poker sites to play poker for play money online.
Where to play online poker with play money
PokerStars: Largest online poker room, accepting US players.
Betsson Poker: Part of the very well known UK gambling and sportsbook provider Betsson, not accepting US players.
Advantages of Play Money Poker
No risk to lose real money: This is the biggest advantage of playing for play money chips and not for real money: you cannot lose your money. As most players, an estimated 80 to 95%, are losing players, playing for play money would be the best option for the vast majority of all online poker players.
Learning the rules of poker: For beginners, its best to start playing for play money when they initiate their online poker career. It’s like throwing money out of the window if you play for real money without knowing the poker rules, hand rankings and the basic strategic concepts such as pot odds and probabilities by heart. By playing for play money against other human players, you have both fun and don’t risk any real dollars.
Getting used to play online poker: Playing online poker is different to playing poker in a home game or in a brick and mortar casino. The main differences are that you cannot see your opponents (and get reads on them) and that online poker is much faster than live poker. You usually only have 10 to 20 seconds to act. It’s therefore a good idea to start practicing at the play money tables first if you have never played poker online.
Playing online poker for fun for free: Some poker players love the game of poker without wanting to risk any real money. Instead of playing an online video game, they just love to play online poker against human opponents. For those, pure recreational players who do not invest much time in working on their game, learning new strategies or discussing handhistories with friends, play money poker tables are a great choice.
Disadvantages of Play Money Poker
Huge difference between play money poker and real money poker: Poker games at the play money tables are different to the games on real money poker tables. At play money tables, no one is risking his own money. For that reason, most players at the play money tables play more hands than what is profitable at real money tables. Be careful if you choose to switch from play money to real money tables. You will have to significantly tighten up your game if you want to make any profits. Playing at the play money tables therefore only adds limited experience and skills that you can use at the real money tables.
Win only play money: As you play only for play money, you cannot win any real dollars. In the long run, this will probably affect your motivation to play poker. One option to overcome this drawback is to play freerolls. Freerolls are multi table tournaments (MTT) where the buy-in (the entry ticket) is free but where you can win real money. Visit the site freemoney-poker.com to see a table of freerolls starting within the next few minutes.
Summary Play Money Poker
Playing at the play money tables is a great way to get accustomed to online poker. If you enjoy the game and think that you are a winning player, you always have the option to switch to real money poker tables. So why not starting to play online poker now?
Recommended Poker Sites for Play Money Poker
There are hundreds of online poker rooms available to play poker for play money. We recommend you to play for play money in one of the three largest poker rooms in the world. There is a reason why these three rooms became the biggest online poker rooms: They have reliable software and great customer service and are therefore our recommendations if you wish to start playing poker without risking own money.
The best poker rooms where you can play for play (and also for real) money are:
PokerStars: Largest online poker room with a global market share of 40%, accepting US players.
Betsson Poker: Betsson Poker is part of Betsson, a very well known UK gambling and sportsbook provider. Betsson Poker does not accept US players because they run games of luck on their websites (Roulette, Black Jack).