Real Money Poker

You can play poker for real money online. In this poker article, we will discuss the advantages of playing poker for real money online, the disadvantages of playing poker for real money on the Internet and we will recommend you the most trusted poker sites to play poker for real money online.

Where to play online poker for real money:

PokerStars: Largest online poker room with a global market share of 40%, accepting US players.

Full Tilt Poker: Second largest online poker room with a global market share of 20%, accepting US players.

PartyPoker: Third largest online poker room and largest poker site that is run by a company that is listed on a stock exchange (PartyGaming). Not accepting US players.

Advantages of Real Money Poker

Win real money: The biggest advantage of playing poker for real money is of course that you can win real money. On high stakes, you can even make a living from playing poker online. As poker is a game of skill (and not a game of luck), strong players can make huge profits in the long run. There are even poker players who quit their job in order to become full time poker pros.

Motivation by winning real money: Your long-term motivation will be much higher if you play for real money than if you play for play money. There are some recreational players who just enjoy the game by playing for play money. But most people are more motivated when they play for real money. This is especially true in the long run. Imagine a hobby that is fun and that earns you some money. Well, poker is such a hobby for many real money players.

Measurement of success: In poker, the only measure for success you have is money. The more money you win the better poker player you are. Your friends won’t be impressed if you tell them that you won 3,000 play money chips. But if you tell them that you just cashed out 3,000 dollars of your online poker profits, they will be impressed for sure.

Taking the game serious: There is a huge difference in playing poker for play money or for real money. When you play for your own money, you will only take those risks that are profitable in the long run. You will play much more seriously when your own money is at risk than if you can just click a button “refill play money chips” at the play money tables. And taking the game serious is one important step to increase your skills in online poker.

Style of playing poker: The style of playing with play money is different to the style of playing poker for real money. Play money games are usually very loose and very aggressive. Because no one risks his own money, players usually play almost all starting hands and play very aggressively. There is a huge difference between play money tables and even the micro stakes at the real money tables.

Improve poker skills: The two facts mentioned above, playing seriously and the style of playing poker, will make it difficult to improve your poker skills if you only play for play money. Your learning curve will be much steeper if you play for real money.

Disadvantages of Real Money Poker

Risk of losing real money: As opposed to the main advantage of playing for real money (making real profits), the biggest disadvantage is that you are risking real money at the poker tables. And honestly, most people who play poker for real money are long-term losing players. If you decided to play poker for real money, you have to be aware of this fact. The best advice is to play only for low stakes and to move up slowly in limits once you are convinced that you are a winning player.

Getting addicted to the game: This is the second big drawback of playing poker for real money. Some poker players get addicted to the game. This does not necessarily mean that they lose money at the poker tables. But being addicted means that they are putting too much importance on poker, disregarding their families, friends or their job.

Summary Real Money Poker

From our point of view, the advantages of playing poker for real money are bigger than its disadvantages, provided that you are a winning player and that you are not addicted to the game. Playing poker for real money is both a challenging and fun hobby and can earn you some extra money each month if you master the game.

Recommended Poker Sites for Real Money Poker

There are hundreds of online poker rooms available to play poker for real money. We recommend you to play for real money in one of the three largest poker rooms in the world. There is a reason why these three rooms became the biggest online poker rooms: They have reliable software, good customer service and offer a high level of security for your online money funds.

The three largest and most trusted poker rooms in the world are: