I have like 50 bucks on stars. whats the best way to build a BR? I've been playin the 3.40 turbos some and also some 2NL. but 2NL tends to be extremely frustrating. thanks

I like the micro limit cash games. I started with $24 and managed to roll it up to well over $100 by playing the 2NL cash games, it can be frustrating when people suck out on you, but if you keep playing solid ABC poker then in the long run you will be taking their money so don't.

But if you prefer the SNGs you could try playing the $1 ones to get your feet wet.

And dont forget to play to your bankroll so you can survive the bad patches!

The $2.20 sats into the Sunday 100K are nice if you don't mind playing tournaments and winning T$. Just remember to unregister after you win.

all right thanks for the replies

I started out similarly with $50 on Stars and went to $5NL to test the waters, and then went to $10NL. I've gotten my BR to about 200 in 10k hands and plan on staying at $10NL until I get to $300. Playing cash vs tourneys is really a preference, but if you're gonna do tourneys, I agree with sopo about the $2.20's. Best of luck!!

Here is an oldie, but goodie.

This is a total newb question as well, but can anyone explain what one means by "bonus whoring." I have an idea, but I thought you could only receive one bonus per poker site? Do they offer "better" bonuses the more money you make and or deposit?

The most confusing thing about poker to me is the depositing money aspect. Many of these how to posts are very confusing. Someone will say they have $50 at Stars, just put in $30 to Neteller and transfered it to AP, then cashed out Full Tilt and got a new bonus at Party Poker etc.. this stuff is extremely confusing. Can anyone clarify?

AFAIK you can only have 1 bonus at a site, but you can get reload bonuses which allow you to deposit again and get another bonus. And bonus whoring is just moving from site to site, depositing and cashin in on all the bonuses. But I've never done it so i might be wrong

Bonus whoring is depositing money into a site to get the deposit bonus. As soon as you clear the bonus you move on to the next site. For example, Stars has/had one where you deposit $50 and they give you $50 after you get so many FPPs. FullTilt has a 100 percent bonus up to $600. Not sure about clearing requirements. Some sites have reload bonuses.

Bonus whoring is very difficult if you're in the US now, since the UIGEA came out. Most sites won't accept us. But it was really nice while it lasted...

Thanks Indyfish.

Off topic a bit here, but why did some sites take heed of the UIGEA and others did not? Is it that some sites are based in the USA and the ones that accept US players are not?

All of the publicly held sites closed in the us, but some the privet ones stayed open.

I don't know if turbos are the best for building a bankroll because I feel like they are crapshoots since the blinds go up so fast. I may be wrong though. But what I did was played 1.20 18 and 45 man sng's. If you can get a string of 2 or 3 top three finishes in those it helps out a lot. Also play .02/.05 full ring games. Just play ABC poker there and you should do fine. It also helps get fpp's faster to play cash there and get your bonus money. I went from 60 to about 150 in a month or two doing this.

Almost all sites have some kind of first deposit bonus.

Many sites periodically offer reload bonuses. Where they will offer you a bonus if you deposit more often. Some sites do this all the time, others only rarely.

Bonus whoring is jumping from site to site chasing these bonuses and only playing at a site while clearing bonus. You can spend a long, long time just jumping from one site to another getting new bonuses.

This is a lot harder now for an American given the more limited number of sites and the difficulties getting funds on and off sites. With Neteller you could bounce around from site to site on a daily basis knocking down new bonuses for weeks or even months.


No sites have ever been based in the USA.

The sites which left the USA were all sites publicly traded on stock markets (or their parent companies are), particularly the British stock market. They did this because shareholders and stock market regulators gets ansty if your company is involved in activities which may run afowl of the law.

The ones that stayed are privately held and don't face that kind of pressure or oversight.

Thanks, Cry Me A River.

The weird thing about the whole legal thing is that no one knows whether online poker is illegal in the USA or not. I have googled to my hearts desire on this subject (as well as reading the FAQ's here) and the final answer every lawyer I have read gives is "I don't know if online poker is illegal or not."

Why the confusion?

They're so confused because they're ignoring the subject of the UIGEA, which isn't "poker" or "gambling" but banking.

Internet poker's legal status has not changed as a result of the UIGEA. For that matter, neither has the legal status of real gambling, like casino games.

The act prohibited banking institutions from conducting business with "gambling" sites. Unfortunately, the only unclear thing is whether or not poker is a game of skill or a game of chance. Presently, it's considered a game of chance, and hence even those sites offering only poker are the subject of the prohibition.

So, if before the UIGEA you weren't in jeopardy of breaking any law (and some folks were, due to state or local laws), you aren't now.

Check out this cardplayer article for more details. Also, I'm fairly sure there's something in these forums, too, but you'll have to find it.