Play Money

Absolute poker, like many online poker sites, offers a play money option. It's all free and there are always hundreds of people online playing twenty four hours a day. This is a wonderful way to beef up on your skills without going broke. But there is a danger to this. Especially now that you can make real money from it. You can not ever go into the real money room expecting things to go anywhere near as well as they did in the free room. For one, the amount of all ins (though terribly high in all online poker rooms in my opinion) will be somewhat less. People will be more careful about what they bet on. In free games, losing 100,000 on one hand isn't a big deal at all. So you'll find yourself winning big hands on some pretty crappy deals. Don't under any circumstances count on this as a method of gambling. It is not by any means a wise decision.

When switching from the play money to the real money, try to imagine that you've been invited to an an acquaintance's house for some buy in poker. You assume since your rivals are invited as well that they must be good. I know it sounds silly but it works. Now if you're not playing for a lot online, chances are if you keep your head you'll do fine. But do yourself a favor and don't go running into the high stakes rooms straight out of the free games. Otherwise you will most likely land yourself in the divorce court, with half your stuff, and no life savings. Prudence is key.

It all comes down to this. Technology will constantly change the way we play poker. Every year, new advancements twist all levels of playing, but one thing will always stay the same. Remember when you're at the PC gambling, you don't necessarily want to play as would in live poker, but you need to ease yourself into that transition.