Getting Started In Online Poker

Without a doubt, the best way to get started in online poker for real money is to sign up for a poker room through Poker Source Online (PSO). I first heard about PSO from the forums at RedFlagDeals, a hot deals website for Canadians that I visit frequently. After reading nothing but positive comments about PSO, I decided to check them out before signing up for any poker rooms.

PSO is a poker portal website which gets paid by the various poker rooms to sign up new players. When you sign up through them, PSO shares with you some of the money they get paid by giving you a free gift (such as poker chips, poker tabletops, poker books, etc), or PSO points which you can use to purchase a gift, after you fulfill some minimum play requirements. I strongly recommend, for various reasons, that anyone who wants to start playing poker for real money online, should first sign up for an account at PSO.

First, you will get the most value for your online play this way. There are basically three ways to make money while playing poker online.

1) Win at the tables.
2) Earn a bonus from the poker room. A bonus is money that a poker room pays you for making a real money deposit, and then fulfilling some play requirements.
3) Earn a free gift promo (or rakeback - I'll explain this one at a later date) by signing up for the poker room through PSO. If you choose PSO points, you can redeem them for PartyPoker or AbsolutePoker gift certificates, which are essentially real money in your account. Depending on the specific poker room, gifts from PSO will range in value from $60 to about $150.

So as you can see, if you don't sign up through PSO, you will be missing a good source of revenue. This is particularly important for beginners, who are still learning the game and may not necessarily show a profit at the tables. The bonus money and the PSO promos, then, will serve to buffer any losses you incur at the poker tables as you struggle to improve your game.

Second, PSO has some of the best customer service I've ever encountered. Their support is second-to-none, and they have an excellent website which provides fantastic resources for the novice poker player. Some of these resources include articles on playing poker, reviews of many poker rooms, poker news, and bios on some of the poker pros. They also have a great forum where you can obtain support, learn about the PSO promos and the various poker rooms, read about other people's experiences, get advice on playing poker, vent about your bad beats, and in general interact with a nice community of fellow poker players. In addition, they have regular freeroll tournaments where you can hone your tournament skills and have a chance to win great cash and prizes, all without having to pay anything to buy into the tournament.

Finally, PSO is a great way to meet and interact with other poker players. Poker is a lot of fun, but being a social game, it can be much more enjoyable when playing with people you know. As well, your fellow players can also be a great resource when it comes to learning how to improve your game. I have learned a lot just by watching their game, reading their posts on the PSO forums, and following their blogs on poker.

Today, I signed up for an account at PSO. They have an excellent referral program as well, so I used my friend Eagle2727 as the person who referred me, so that he can make some referral money every time I complete a PSO promo. I also opened a Neteller account, which is the best way to transfer money in and out of the various poker rooms. Neteller is basically an ewallet similar to Paypal, and is used by virtually all the online poker rooms for cash transactions. Transactions are quick, easy, and free of charge (as long as you don't use InstaCash).

To get started, I am transferring $500 from my bank account to my Neteller account, and will be using that money to start a PSO promo at PartyPoker. It will take a few days for this transaction to clear.