PokerQueens.co.uk

[hurleyp]

just wondered if any others play online and if so where and what experiences they have had?

i have been playing 888/pacific pretty much exclusively for about 8 months, with occasional forays into betfair. on pacific i usually play a sit-and-go tournament consisting of five players with three paying places (although if you are third you only get your money back). more recently i have been playing a crazy, but highly enjoyable game whereby the blinds go up every hand.

have also delved into multi-table tournaments which take considerable time and brain power.

overall pacific is a bit clunky and not exciting graphics wise, but it always works and pays immediatley (on betfair it takes ages).

[m4rkie]

I use mainly Partypoker though occasionally Pacific as well. Pacific has the benefit of a full screen option, though I have had trouble depositing (probably just as well!). Partypoker has more players and a wider range regular tournaments, though Pacific seems to have a better range of sit and go. Tried Virginpoker but the software wouldnt work on my machine..

Regarding play/real money. The play money tables are good to get the basics, though they are definitely not challenging enough. Big tournaments seem pretty loose as people have paid upfront with nothing more to lose; the ring games are where you need the patience.

[hurleyp]

hey mark

what's your player name on pacific? mine's valley22

[m4rkie]

it's m4rkie

fancy a game tonite then!

[Anton]

I started playing at www.holdempoker.com but moved to Party Poker pretty soon after.

Have also had a look at William Hill but didn't like the graphics much.

Mostly play STTs.

Is anyone planning to have a go at the Paradise Poker Million Dollar Freeroll which is being advertised all over the place?

A

[hurleyp]

mark
i am for the time being to be found playing a five player $10 'single hand' tourney on pacific as valley22. its in the sit&go section coloured in red. quite mad, but also not proving unprofitable if you can ride the swings. i;d advise having a $30-50 bankroll to play as you need a couple fo games to figure it out.

p

[hurleyp]

anton - when is the tourney you are talking about, and do you knwo if they are limiting the number of players?

[Anton]

[m4rkie]

May as well!

I believe you can create private tables on Partypoker. Less sociable, but a possibility if we have no venue?

[m4rkie]

Tried Paradise Poker the other day.

The Million Dollar freeroll has tables on 3 times a day - I think at 9pm, 3am and 6am (I guess to make them convenient for all parts of the world).

The software is similar to Partypoker, and you get little gimmicks like ordering a drink during the game.

They also have miscellaneous games, like Draw, 5 card stud, Pineapple hold'em, etc, and also tables where you can play head-to-head.

[Bennie the Flop]

I have no access to on-line poker. Have a feeling I might get left behind as a result!

[m4rkie]

The US Dollar is now only worth 53p, so any winnings should be worth slightly more!

[m4rkie]

Perhaps bring this one up again.

Everyone knows Partypoker, so won't worry about that one. I like it best for big MTT's, there's almost always something about to start and a good variety of games.

Next one I looked at was Pacific. It's reputed to have poor standards of play; this I don't like as it's frustrating and more tricky to figure out your opponents; I think one is best if you like a gamble. Fast software though.

Paradise next. A few little gimmicks, generally similar-ish to Party; the STTs start was really low blinds for ages before shooting up. Software didn't work well on my machine.

Full Tilt. I like this one (not just cos i doubled my bankroll!). The standard of play is reputed to be better, though still plenty of gamblers at the low stakes. The only site to offer Razz and HORSE i think.

Virgin poker. Don't know because their software just didn't work!

Betfair I've had one game, so no real experience there.

Trouble with non-UK sites is the cashing out, you need neteller (similar to paypal) to go between the site and your bank account. Though unsurprisingly it's dead easy to deposit! UK ones i believe you can cash straight to your account, and I know with ladbrokes you can pay out to your credit card. I'm going to give one of these a go as the exchange rates and commissions going between dollars and pounds seems to be excessive.

This site has reviews for pretty much all of the ones that are around. http://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-room-reviews

[hurleyp]

I have a new tactic online.

It's inspired by pro Chris Ferguson who turned $1 into $20k playing cash games online (there are a couple of mp3s of him talking about how he did this online, I can point you in the right direction if you need it, it;s very interesting).

My strategy is for sit n gos, as opposed to cash games.

Basically I use a ladder system which dictates how much I buy in for.

So , for example, if I have $100 or less in my account I only play $10 buy-ins.

If I have $100-200 I play $20 buy-ins.
$200-300 I play $50 buy-ins.
$300 plus I play $100 buy-ins.

I'm playing on Pacific, usually 5 or 6 handed.

It's a simple idea but does have in-built security: if I have a bad run and drop down then I simply play at a lower level until I have built back up. This is the golden rule which Ferguson says must be adhered to.

I was quite nervous approaching the $50 games, let alone the $100. There's certailny a more aggressive game being played at this level, but I have managed to do ok so far.

What I have found was that playing $20 all the time was a little bit boring and not that profitable. I was for example turning $50 into $200 but then maybe losing $100, and I felt that I was kind of going around in circles. At least now I am playing different games and getting into a higher level. By the way, there is still some extraordinarily bad play at the higher levels.

Be interested in comments or thoughts on this.

[m4rkie]

it is something i've thought about. I play mainly the limit cash games these days, and do a sort of ladder system that ranges from 25¢/50¢ to $1/$2. To be honest it depends more on the time of day because at some times there no-one about - Full Tilt ain't that busy until late at night.

That generally means I'm switching games if i'm not getting anywhere at a table eg constantly outdrawn, an annoying gambler, opponents too tight etc

Anyway I read somewhere that (in cash games) to be *completely* safe from going bust you need 1000 x the big blind to account for a run of bad luck. Hence why I stick to limit games! A short session on PL Omaha saw me go from $30 to $150 and back.

Full Tilt do Capped games which mean that the largest bet is 30x the big blind I think. Mite give one of them a go..

Regarding tourneys, I don't play them as often as I used to.

I'd be interested in reading the Chris Ferguson article, Paul.

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