New guy naive questions

Hello, I am new on this site which looks absolutely wonderful.
So I am expecting smart answers to my naive questions (assuming they deserve it).

OK, I want to go on a site and play money. I am in the US, but it looks like I will have no problems with a number of good sites.

Now there is a tremendous choice, and I need advice.
I do not like playing "regular" tables,
I like to play tourneys and sit and go Holdem no limits.
I assume I am an average player for whatever that means. I would like to play so that at the very least I have fun and do not loose money. If my game improves with more experience, I may become more ambitious.
I see two extremes, like bodog and pokerstars.
Now on Bodog they advertise that there are lots of loose players.
That does not attract me too much because I do not like to be at a table where 7 guys go all in with hands like 2/8 unsuited. This is roulette not poker.
Then reviews of pokerstars say that it is filled with pros and interesting games can be quite tough.

Any advice regarding these sites or any other is most welcome,
Thanks
jl:afraid:

why not try to experiment both "extremes"
(naive answer! ) )

Try some room from cake network, for example Doyles Room has some great promotions and 33% dealt rakeback also.

Why not Full Tilt?

It's awesome!

More regulars on FTP. Cake network has weaker players.

Where does it say pokerstars are full of pros?? they are lieing!! lol. Yes lot of pros play there but when your playing for fun and not to loose money your going to be playing micro stakes. and Trust me i play there they are far away from being a pro as my dog is. Pokerstars isnt great but its not full of pros. Im the only micro stake pro But ill be on the horse, 8 game and razz tables mostly

Cant say that pokerstars is full of loose players. As I realized, there are many good players on the lower stakes also. And basically not the best bonus what they are offering, no rakeback, only reloads 1 time a year.

I, and many others round here, play at Full Tilt and poker stars.
They both have there +/-'s

If you don't have a Full Tilt account already, make sure you go and sign up for rakeback.
This enables you to receive 27% back from your rake at the tables.
This is a great boost to your BR.

Poker Stars doesn't do rakeback but they have a better point system for regular returning players.

As for the play on both sites, I find the SnG's on FT better (meaning profitable) and the cash tables (micro stakes) on PS better.

Either way your mileage may vary.

I recommend sticking with the 'brand name' sites so you can feel comfortable with your money being in their hands.

Ok, plenty of food for thought. I will check FTP anyway,
Thanks to all of you guys

Personally don't care for Bodog, but it is soft, people tend to chase draws & call value bets with any pair & such rather than all allin every hand. So solid play can exploit them. Try some single table SNG's or Beginners SNG's to build up your bankroll & get used to the site & players. Multi table SNG's tend to fill up very slowly so would consider Stars or Tilt if & when you want to try them. Good luck.

Play Full Tilt if you like bad beats regularly. Play Poker Stars if you like bad beats less regulary, but still like bad beats. Otherwise play other sites. (facebook for example..)

More players=More fish. Play FullTilt or PokerStars. Probably FullTilt.

If you only like tournaments, you might want to look into a subscription site like Spade Club, it's a bit of a grind, but good place if you are learning and looking to minimize a hit to your bankroll.

I prefer Full Tilt, but it depends on the money level you want to play at.

I would start at Pokerstars playing the 1 table sit and gos, once you have good results, for a year move to two tables and so on, once you have good results then play the larger tour fields, at this point you may jump to bodog as most of there low buyin mtt run 130 to 230 people a tour, and have some soft comptition.

Been on poker stars for a while and i really like it! Seems like they have some of the best promotions along with best point system for avid players.

i probably prefer full tilt, the interface is definitely nicer than what other rooms can offer

I can make the most money and get closest to wins in tournies on Bodog but when you goto to other sites you can really tell that stuff you win with on Bodog wont fly on other sites.

I know you said you like MTTS best but I found out quickest playing ring games, BOdog I could make money almost everytime out. THe merge and Cake sites were a lot harder for me to make money but was able to make a profit more than loses, UB was usually a break even event for me as that site seemed harder than the others and then PS and FT better have your A game on for even the lowest stakes as people play very smart on these sites. I alway feel like if I can start winning on PS or FT then my play must really be getting better, but right now, those two sites seem to be the measuring sticks. Its like I only want to play on those sites but all I can seeis my BR dropping lower and lower so I have to spread the love and play the other sites just to see some success

FOr the lower buy ins or free rolls I CANT STAND FT or PS its like going to Walmart to shop as opposed to a local store. Meaning the fields are so ultra large that I feel you need as much luck as skill to avoid all the pitfalls when you going against 8000 or more people. Where as if you can get smaller fields you can use your skills and rely on luck much less, so if your just starting, try one of the other sites just to get your feet wet (Id stay away from Bodog cause it looks and feels horrible)

ALso join many forums and play in those games as its like you have eliminated all the bad players already and all you have are good people so if your able to get by some of them, if keeps you on your game. But depending on the forums, they have games spread out over a lot of different sites. I just put the minimum on many sites and see if I can make it work or not.

Sixes Full said:

Play Full Tilt if you like bad beats regularly. Play Poker Stars if you like bad beats less regulary, but still like bad beats. Otherwise play other sites. (facebook for example..)

Click to expand...

Did you really just recommend facebook poker to someone on here? REALLY??? I guess it would satisfy is unwant to lose money LOL.

All the sites have their good points and their bad points

If you have a minimal BR the double or nothings on bodog and pokerstars are a good way to build

FullTilt is also another site you might want to play I know a lot of people have a downer about the bad beats on there but to be honest I have seen awful beats on every site out there

Good luck in whatever u decide to do

inti

I think your best bet would be to stick with one of the larger sites like full tilt or pokerstars.

How about Absolute Poker or Ultimate Bet or MERGE network? Lot of overlayed MTT on these sites.

Thanks

to everybody who commented on my message. I have started at Full Tilt and am quite happy with the sit and go and the tournaments. The first one I went on kept me awake for like six hours. I ended up 30th out of 2500, made $30. I had a lot of fun, better than flipping hamburgers. Of course if I had kept up for another hour or so I could have made big bucks . Anyway I feel I have a good start, even though I am disappointed by their bonus, you have to play heaps and heaps of hands before you get a meager part of the bonus. Also their avatars are junky clip art, I would prefer to put my own picure
Still overall I am quite happy, so thanks again for the info
jl

That wasn't a sit and go, that was a full on tournament. You can always turn the avatars off; that's what I did. And I think you'll find that most, if not all sites require you to play "heaps and heaps" of hands to clear your bonus. Which is fine if you multi-table cash games, but playing exclusively sng's or mtts probably won't get you there.

First off WELCOME and it looks like your getting a lot of great advice so I'll just say gl gl gl

Sixes Full said:

Play Full Tilt if you like bad beats regularly. Play Poker Stars if you like bad beats less regulary, but still like bad beats. Otherwise play other sites. (facebook for example..)

Click to expand...

Listen to this guy if you want to hear crap. Listen to anyone else if you don't.


At low stakes while there will be regulars, they will be bad - just because someone plays a lot of tables or makes a little bit of money or plays 13/10 preflop doesn't mean they are any good In fact, I find it more fun taking their money, weee