Getting started in poker

So, if you're interested in having a crack at generating some income from playing poker online here's my advice on how to go about it. The following guide represents just about the lowest cost and lowest risk approach going IMO.

In the beginning you need to both learn the game and gain experience.

Traditionally the best way to learn was to buy a book. This technique still holds merit, and for the cost of a pretty average dinner out you can buy quality texts such as Phil Gordons Little Green Bookor Colin Moshmans Sit n Go strategyfrom Amazon.

However, most online pro's utilize the training videos provided by sites such as stoxpoker, cardrunners and deucescracked. Subscriptions to these sites don't come cheap - starting at a couple of hundred USD for 6 months, giving access to literally hundreds of hours of video from some of the top online pros out there. Definitely great value for established players looking to improve, but not necessarily great value for someone starting out in the game.

The good news is that new players can 'earn' a free 6 months subscription to stoxpoker simply by signing up at PokerSource.com and completing one of their deals. A couple of the easieast offers include earning 250 FPPs at Poker Stars, or 325 poker points at Hollywood poker. This will gain you a 6 month, or 12 month subscription at stoxpoker respectively....all at no cost to you.

Now comes the gaining experience part - i.e actually putting into practice what you've learned from studying the game. The ideal way is to begin playing for real money using someone elses cash.

Believe it or not this is possible - again PokerSource.com can be used. They currently offer free bankrolls ranging from $50-$150 at five different sites. There are certain requirements before being able to cash out (playing 'x' number of raked hands for e.g, check here for more info) but I wouldn't get too hooked up in the idea of cashing out, rather use their money to gain vital risk-free experience. (Cashing out is certainly a very real possibilty with some application).

Next step is to build a roll - I wrote a piece quite a while back titled earn while you learn which explains my outlook during this phase of a poker career. Basically I advocate signing up at sites like Poker Savvy, which along with PokerSource.com is an extremely reliable 'kickback' site whereby players get paid to complete poker site signup bonuses. Clear as many of these as you can....get that starting roll of $100-$200 upto $1000-$2000 and you can then start generating a decent income.

I think that's enough to get going and I hope this helps any aspiring pro get a foot on the ladder. Any questions just leave a comment, or contact me via email (available under the My Profile page of this blog).