Play money poker

It has never been easier to learn to play poker than it is nowadays. Ever since online poker took the internet by assault, the game of poker has pretty much crept into our everyday lives. No wonder there are more poker players today then ever before, and no wonder the industry outgrew the wildest expectations.

One of the main poker-teaching tools is play money poker. Every poker room features a play money section, with games exactly like the ones taking place at real money tables, only at these tables you do not risk a cent of hard-earned salary.

If you read around the internet a bit, you'll find all sorts of articles discussing how play money games stink and how they do not contribute at all to the development of a poker player.

Well, in my opinion, free money poker is god's gift for would be poker players. It is funny how, no matter what a company or a person invents, there are always a bunch of skeptics trying to showcase the few negative aspects of that certain invention, and completely ignoring the overwhelmingly good and useful side of it.

Sure, free poker is not something you can build a career on, but if you're all so clever and know what's good for poker players, show me a more effective way to learn poker, tuition-free. Learning to play poker is a long evolutionary process. It doesn't happen in a day, and no, it doesn't happen in a month either. It takes a long time and it takes stamina on the part of the player who is willing to learn. The first time anyone plays poker, he/she will probably get his/her can kicked all around the table. It's only natural. Will a rookie player be better at it the second time around? I don't think so. Learning poker is a long journey, and if you have to pay for every single step of that journey, the bill will run awful high.

Play money poker is there to assist you with the first few miles of that long journey, and most importantly, it's there to do it free of charge.

Players can learn the rules of the game at play money tables, they can get used to playing online, they can get the hang of operating the user interface. They can learn and test-run basic strategy concepts, they can learn the value of a good starting hand, they can find out what this whole game is supposed to be about.

The approach a novice player needs to take towards play money games is different though. The play money that you win here is not what the game is all about. At real money tables, the objective is to win money. I don't see much use in piling up huge stacks of play-money though. At play money tables you're after a different type of currency: experience and learning. As any beginner-aid, play money poker obviously has its limitations. You can't assume that everyone plays his/her best at these tables, and because of the fictitious stakes, people just don't take play as seriously as they should.

One of the biggest dangers in playing too much play-money poker is that you'll pick up anti-skills.

At play money tables you'll come across all sorts of players. As a rookie, you obviously won't be able to tell what's right and what's wrong. If you see that someone plays in a certain way, and is successful there, that doesn't necessarily mean what he's doing is correct.

As soon as you feel you can beat free money games, there's no reason for you to hang around there any longer. Also, if you can't beat play money... you probably shouldn't move on to real money just yet.