Taking internet poker seriously. Whats the best software?

[every1getsbeat]

Hi all. I'm not new to poker, but I want to take my internet game seriously because I hate traveling as far as I do to the casinos just to get in a good poker game. Anyhow, I've been doing some research and I always see info on Poker Tracker and how you need it. I know what it does,as I've checked out the website, and I wanted to ask you what other good poker software is out there to help improve my game.

Also, I've been reading that Poker Tracker is used for "multi tabling" with more than 1 table and thats how you maximize it's use. If you're only doing one,maybe 2 tables at a time, is Poker Tracker still as necessary?

LAST QUESTION: Whats the best poker website for getting your winnings the fastest,easiest, and safest way?

Thanks alot guys. I would really appreciate any input.

[janeg]

Hi and welcome every1.

PokerTracker and PAHud are pretty much de rigueur around here if you're serious about improving your game. PT is a great tool for reviewing your hands and scoping out leaks in your game. PAHud is a real time overlay that works with PT to show opponent statistics as you're playing.

I'm not US but my guess is PokerStars and Full Tilt are probably the fastest for cash outs. If I'm wrong I'm sure to be corrected

Good luck at the tables

[every1getsbeat]

Thanks janeg. I really appreciate the info. I'll be sure to use the software you've suggested to better my game.


Any thoughts on what limits I should start off at? I always prefer no limit to limit and seem to play more cash games than tournaments.

[taz115]

Welcome to ITH…if you are serious about improving your game participating in a community of poker players is a great tool to accelerate the process.

Poker Tracker is probably not going to help your game, in real time, at the tables when your starting out. It is simply too much information at the start in my opinion. But it is essential if you want the ability to study your game, find leaks, ask others for feedback, sort through your hand histories, ect. All of that stuff is really important if you want to improve quickly. But some new players just want to get some experience before they pour over their details. Poker Tracker might not be essential for them right off the start.

About the limits you might want to start out at… what limits did you play at the casino? Were you an overall winner in those games? How long/how often did you play?

And most importantly how big is your bankroll that you will be using for online play?

If your starting out I’d personally recommend Cake Poker or Full Tilt Poker to start out. They offer rakeback through ITH and they have deposit bonuses that clear at lower limits. Both have soft low limit NL games.

[every1getsbeat]

I was debating whether I should just start playing without PT first and see how it went. I know it is a ton of info to digest and I'm just a beginner to online play. I think I'll just start playing and see how I do keeping results on a notepad or something similar.

As far as playing limits, I have played 2/4 limit, 1/2 nl at the casinos. I didn't play 2/4 very long because the games were very boring and not profitable. I have played 1/2 the last few times I went to the "neighborhood" casinos as well as the last time I was in Vegas.

My overall results were decent,nothing spectacular. I had a few sessions where I ended up with at least $50 more than I started with. I recall only 1 losing session where I dropped $90. My best session was when I took home a $375 profit. On average I played 2-3 hours,never playing less than 1. Played 3 "turbos"(in vegas) which was a complete waste as you reach the all in phase very quickly. More of a crapshoot than a poker tournament.

My current bankroll that I have set aside for online play is $1300. I had my sights set on playing at full tilt and your suggestion made my decision easier.

Question,you said Full Tilt has rakeback through ITH. I'm not exactly sure what that means. I have an idea but I just want to make sure I have the right definition.
Thanks.

[taz115]

I would not start playing ½ NL online… The comparable online limits are much tougher than the live games. Start off at 0.25/0.50 which has a max buy-in of $50. Maybe even lower. Good NL players typically don’t play shorter than 20 buy-ins of their bank rolls for NL. If your down 6-buy-ins drop down, or maybe just start out at $25 NL (my recommendation) and get your feet under you. If you feel like your playing well you can move up.

Rakeback gives you a % of your rake back. The deal through ITH pays back 27% of your monthly rake generated once a month. 27%is competitive with the best offers I’ve seen at any sites. This won’t seem like much when your playing low limits but rakeback and bonuses can make up a large portion of your overall winnings when you add everything up. Rakeback ends up being very important if you eventually climb up the limits and start generating a lot of rake.

If that interests you, go to the Rakeback forum and click on the thread titles FullTilt rakeback (or something similar) The instructions to sign up will be in that thread.

[every1getsbeat]

Yea I wasn't going to just jump into 1/2. That wouldn't be smart. I'm going to try out the .25/.50 first and see how that goes.
As far as tournaments and sit 'n gos are concerned, what buy ins would be best to start out with?