• Get $8 for free – no deposit required
• Get 1 StrategyPoint per $1 deposit
• Extremely beginner-friendly, soft competition
• Poker lounges - private poker tables with webcam support

Tips and Tricks for a Successful Start

You can start playing as soon as you have received your $50 starting capital from PokerStrategy.com.

The next steps

• Set up your software
• Find a good table: FL, NL, SnG
• Climb up the limits
• Learn to start playing at multiple tables
• Clear your $50 starting capital and $400 First Deposit Bonus

You can find more tips for getting started at 888poker and talk to experienced players at the 888poker Forum at PokerStrategy.com:

Go to the 888poker discussion forum

Set up your software

There are a number of extras that you can activate in the software. The next section will show you how this works and what you might find helpful while playing.

Save your hand histories
You may wish to use programs to analyse your game and see your opponents' stats, and for this reason you need to save your hand histories to your hard drive.

• Open the Lobby
• Click on Settings and choose Game Settings
  
• Activate Keep My Hand History in option
• Select your Destination Folder

Select buy-in
You can set the amount of money you wish to take to the table in ring games and tournaments.

• Open the Lobby
• Choose on the top My Favorites
• Select your Stakes and Limit in the filter
• Or use the Quick Seat options to go straight to a table
• Once you choose a table, click on the Join button

Find a good Fixed Limit table

Your poker career begins with table selection, and can end because of your table selection if you do a poor job of it. Here is how you can find a profitable table:

Step 1: Find the right limit
In the Lobby select your game from the top-level menu and choose Fixed in the Limit option.

Step 2: Open a table
Once you've selected the Stakes and Size of the table, double-click on your chosen table or click the Join button to open a table.

When you begin playing with your $50 starting capital, you should select the lowest possible stakes.

In the Plrs column you can see the how many seats each table has, as well as how many of those seats are already taken. 0/10, for example, means that all 10 seats are available at the table; Full/6 means that the table of 6 has been filled.



Step 3: Take a seat at the table
An empty seat is easy to spot. Just click on SIT DOWN or click Join waiting list if there are none available.

Select the amount of money to take to the table and join the game. It's that easy.

Finding a table for NL Hold'em

Finding a NL table is just as easy.

Step 1: Find the right limit
In the Lobby select your game and the No limit option in Limit.

Step 2: Open a table
Once you've selected your stake check the list of tables and open a table by double-clicking on it or the Join button.

The limit is shown in the Stakes column.

• For the big stack strategy, choose a table with the stakes 1c/2c.

In the Plrs column you can see the how many seats each table has, as well as how many of those seats are already taken. 9/10, for example, means that there are 10 seats at the table, 9 of which are taken, leaving room for you to take the last spot.



Step 3: Take a seat at the table
An empty seat is easy to spot. Just click on SIT DOWN or click Join waiting list if there are none available.

Select the amount of money to take to the table and join the game. It's that easy.

Finding a Sit and Go

In the Lobby select your game and then Sit & Go. You can then specify the Sit and Go type that you are interested in playing.

Step 1: Find the right limit
Select a low Buy-In Hold’em/Sit & Go, a No limit table and choose a table size of Up to 10.

Step 2: Open a tournament
Double click on a tournament to open the tournament lobby.



Step 3: Register for a tournament
Once in the tournament lobby, click the orange Register Now button in the bottom left-hand corner to join.

A new window will open for you to confirm your buy-in amount.

Now all you have to do is wait. The tournament table will open automatically as soon as registration is closed.

Getting started in Fixed Limit and No-Limit Hold'em

Wait for the Big Blind to come to you
You've made it to the table, but you aren't getting any cards yet. Click on the Post Blinds option on the bottom-left of your screen to join in the next round.

You should only post a big blind if you are in the cut off, meaning the seat directly next to the dealer (or if you are sitting in the Big Blind). If not, be patient and click Wait for Big Blind.

Here's a quick review of the positions at a poker table: A table with 10 players has 10 positions. The four groups of positions are: early, middle, late and the blinds.

Once you're at the table, you can tell the software to automatically post your blinds each round. To do so, simply check the Post Blinds option.

How to leave a table
Once you're ready to stop playing, turn off the Post Blinds function.

You can sit back and wait for the Big Blind to come to you and then simply close the window.

Moving up the limits

Poker is fun; it's even more fun when you make money. This won't happen over night; you have to work your way up the limits. But don't worry, it's not that hard when you follow these tips:

Always play 10 seat tables
The basic strategy you learn at PokerStrategy.com is based on full-ring games. This means the table has either 9 or 10 seats.

There are so many adjustments you have to make to your strategy when you play short-handed games (tables 6 seats), that this strategy no longer works. You will learn how to play in short-handed games later on when you gain access to the advanced articles and videos at PokerStrategy.com.

Play the limit you can afford
It's pretty simple: If you want to be successful, manage your bankroll. This means only playing limits you can afford to play at.

Impatience can kill your poker career. It's only natural to want to progress quickly, but don't lose control. You can find help in the PokerStrategy.com forum and psychology and bankroll management articles:

Go to the Psychology Forum at PokerStrategy.com

Or browse through the Psychology section:

Psychology Articles

Or go over the articles on bankroll management one more time:

Bankroll Management for Fixed Limit

Bankroll Management for No-Limit for the Big Stack Strategy

Bankroll Management for Sit and Gos

Multi-tabling
Once you've gotten used to the software and become comfortable with using the Starting Hands Chart and post-flop play, you are ready to give multi-tabling a try.

This can increase your profit substantially. The operative word here is "can." It might also do the exact opposite. Multi-tabling requires a few adjustments and a bit of practice.

Start by adding just one table. If things go well, you can start playing at 3 or 4 tables simultaneously.

Receive your $50 starting capital and the $400 First Deposit Bonus

A bonus can be like a boost of nitrous gas for your poker career. It's (basically) free money with a single condition - you have to earn it. Here's how:

How to clear the $50 bonus?
Once you've downloaded the software correctly through PokerStrategy.com and entered your username here, you will receive your $50 bonus within 48 hours.

In order to cash out the $50, you need to wager a total of at least $5,000 at the poker tables.

How do you release the $400 First Deposit Bonus?
Once you have received your $50, you can make a deposit in order to activate the $400 First Deposit Bonus.

This bonus is put into a special account by your poker room. At 888poker, you will get a 100% up to $400 bonus if you sign up via our link and made your first deposit. To get the full $400 you need to deposit $400.

In order to get your hands on this money you have to earn 100 Bonus Points for every 10 dollar of the bonus. So for a $400 you would need to earn 40 x 100 = 4,000 Bonus Points..

You have 90 days to clear the entire bonus.

A quick review:

• You collect Bonus Points as you play.
• Collect 100 Bonus Points for every 10 dollar of the bonus
• You have 90 days to clear the bonus.

Use other bonus offers to build up your account
Your profit is two fold: You earn money while playing poker and earn money for playing poker.

Ideally you should always be clearing a bonus when you play poker, in the same way as a land based poker lounge would offer you free drinks or perks.

You can find lucrative bonus offers for all partner rooms in the poker room section:

The most lucrative poker bonuses