One of the biggest challenges facing Holdem Manager is its lack of a version compatible with Mac.  While still a small market share when compared to that represented by the PC, Apple products are gaining in popularity.  While still relatively small, percentage-wise, Mac users are on the rise and are fervently loyal to the platform, meaning that Holdem Manager can’t ignore this segment of the market forever lest it lose out on an ever-increasing potential customer base.

While Mac might not be explosive in its popularity, its mobile devices such as the iPhone and the iPad certainly are, with other products in the mobile device business enjoying surging popularity as well.  Unfortunately for Holdem Manager, at the present time its mobile version is fairly limited.  Can Holdem Manager really afford to continue to lag behind competitors when it comes to developing an intensive, highly functional mobile presence?

Despite its limitations as far as Mac and mobile devices are concerned, one upside to the software is its country-independence.  No matter in which country a user is located, the software is functional unlike say, DVDs, which are typically formatted to be country-specific and therefore are universally functional.  Additionally, Holdem Manager offers support in a wide variety of languages (including instruction support in languages such as Russian), allowing it to service a customer base scattered across the world.

Another positive to Holdem Manager is its compatibility with hundreds of poker rooms (including all sites listed here).  As its customer base is far-flung across many regions and countries, this is especially important as poker rooms tend to be open to some countries and closed to others.  This means that not only will Holdem Manager be functional for a wide range of players geographically speaking, but will also cater to players looking for poker analysis software that will integrate with rooms open to players from their particular country.

It’s not hard to see why HEM is so popular, but it’s also easy to spot areas where the company could easily improve.  Hopefully for poker-playing fans of HEM, those improvements will come sooner than later, resulting in decreased compatibility issues and increased customer satisfaction.

Free, of course, refers in this use to the lack of monetary cost.  You earn Holdem Manager as a comp from the online poker room, a reward for hitting certain rake targets.  If you would have hit those rake targets regardless of the promotion, then HEM is essentially free; if not you need to consider the extra time and practical cost of the extra play and weigh that against the value of HEM.

Why are we bringing this up?  Because Holdem Manager is far from the only thing you can get comped by online poker rooms and online poker affiliate sites.  In addition to HEM, there are literally dozens of other software packages available, along with more traditional training materials like books and videos.  Past the poker products, many rooms and affiliates make merchandise such as electronics and gift cards available as comps for players.

To understand what value such comps represent is to understand whether or not a given comp is worth pursuing.  This is a little trickier than it sounds at first; determining the value of some comps is pretty straightforward (say, a $50 gift card at Amazon) but other comps can involve … fuzzier numbers.

An example will help to illustrate how things can get a bit murky.  If you play at Carbon Poker, you can earn free poker training at Drag the Bar (details).   What is that worth?  There’s the list price of Drag the Bar, but is that what it’s really worth?  You might not have purchased a subscription otherwise, meaning it’s worth a bit less to you.  Or you might have never even tried online poker training without getting the free subscription and really learn some great things from Drag The Bar – making the subscription far more valuable than the list price.

Further muddying the water: While you’re playing at Carbon, you’re earning additional value good for comps above and beyond the training membership.    If you made a deposit, you’re clearing part of the Carbon Poker bonus for new players making their first deposit as you play.  You’re also making progress in the VIP program at Carbon.  All of these things provide additional value.

We don’t think it’s an issue that should be over-complicated, but players should definitely have at least a rough idea of the value of the comps they’re given by rooms and affiliates.  After all, there’s nothing a poker player hates more than leaving money on the table (right, Phil Laak?).

April 27, 2012 – Wptpokerbonus.com wants players to know that they offer a full service review site.
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For those seeking a completely legal way to play online poker no matter where they life, WPT has the
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Now, players seeking a valid WPTpoker code will find that and so much more. Wptpokerbonus.com
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The writers of this site want to offer potential players everything they need to know about the sites that
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Anyone considering signing up for a new account at Winner Poker will first want to read Bestonlinepokersite.org’s Guide to Winner Poker Promo Codes. This guide covers everything from software requirements to the latest promo codes being offered by one of the best online poker sites - Winner Poker – all easily summarized to save time and enhance the Winner Poker experience for new players.

Winner Poker is running a can’t-miss promotion for new players with a 110% bonus up to $550. Players can either download the software or use Winner Poker’s instant play feature to access the room anytime, anywhere. To take advantage of the bonus, new players will need to enter the promo code PSC500. This offer is only open to new players who have not previously registered an account Winner Poker.

Unlike with some rooms, the bonus money will not be immediately available. In order to gain access to these funds, new players will first need to accrue frequent player points by playing in real money online poker games. Frequent player points are earned at the rate of one point per dollar raked in real money games, and 7 points for every dollar paid in tournament fees, with fractional points being awarded for dollars amounts that are not even. For a rake of $3.25 for example, 3.25 frequent player points will be earned.

It should be pretty easy to unlock the bonus within just a few weeks with regular poker play, with the time limit to unlock this offer being 90 days. Another appealing feature of this bonus offer is its ability to be combined with other promotions, for example it can be combined with a reload bonus if you receive one before you have cleared the new player welcome bonus. Just be sure to enter the code PSC660 and to read Bestpokersite.org’s guide before you complete signup!

PRESS RELEASE –  Media Contact: Editor /  http://www.bestpokersite.org/

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Below we’ll outline some of the reasons why it is so important to use rakeback.

Why Use Rakeback When You Can Sign Up at Rooms Directly?

What is the point of using a rakeback site when it is easier just to sign up at rooms directly? Most of the time, if you sign up directly at a room, you will not get any rake back.

Rake is the portion of each pot that the casino keeps for itself; if you sign up for rakeback, you will be given back a portion of the rake, hence the term rakeback. Since most rooms are not offering rakeback if you sign up directly, you are much better off signing up via a rakeback site.

Rakeback sites can also alert you to new rooms and new networks, something especially of interest to players from regions – such as USA Players – that have few online poker options available to them.

Signing Up Via a Rakeback Site Doesn’t Cost You Anything

Signing up for rakeback is free and doesn’t cost you anything., so it’s tough for there to be a downside.

In fact it earns you money because you are getting back a portion of the rake that you would otherwise be paying to the casino, so in a way you are being paid to sign up with a rake site. With that incentive, there is no reason not to sign up for rakeback.

Rakeback Sites Offer Additional Promotions and Bonuses

Besides the basically free money, rakeback sites make it worth you while to sign up by offering rewards, discounts, and other enticements – such as the free copy of HEM we advertise on this site.  These come at no additional charge to they player, so there’s no reason to not cash in.  If you’re planning on playing at a room anyhow – let’s take Americas Cardroom as an example – then you lose nothing by taking the extra benefits rakeback sites offer.

Rakeback sites often offer free online poker training and software, or discounts on these things. For a new player, these tools can be especially useful and it is worth doing a bit of research into which rakeback site is offering rewards and extras that will be most beneficial to you before signing up.

First, to be clear about what poker games HEM covers –  you can analyze your limit holdem play and your no limit holdem play with the primary version of Holdem Manager.  You can explore cash game hands, tournament hands and sit and go hands alike with the software, with each type of game automatically segmented.

To cover any other games, you’ll need to purchase separate software.  The primary addition to the HEM family is OM –  Omaha Manager.  With your copy of Omaha Manager, you’ll be able to slice and dice your hand histories with the same level of dizzying options that HEM provides to those who play texas holdem poker.  The basic functionality of OM is very similar to HEM, but as you might imagine there are a variety of different reports to accommodate the nuances of the game of Omaha.

One noticeable lack in the Holdem Manager lineup in terms of popular poker games: Stud.  You just won’t find support for most stud or mixed games in the current software lineup; while there have been numerous requests for the function in the Holdem Manager support forums, there are as of yet no concrete plans to release or add support for Stud games. 

It may be that despite the growing popularity of mixed games –  especially online –  there simply isn’t enough demand to make releasing such a feature, or similar features for other less-mainstream games than Holdem and Omaha worthwhile for the company.

Poker Software Isn’t Cheap

Some people prefer the interactive aspect of software to the more static, self-guided nature of book learning.   It can’t be argued that starting from basic fundamentals is crucial to a proper understanding of the game.  Whether you glean this knowledge from software or from books is a matter of personal preference, but for those who learn better visually or “by doing”, software might be the right choice.
 
Small Amounts Add Up Over Time
 
In assessing their poker skills, many players are apt to look only for the glaring issues, the major flaws.  If a mistake is costing only pennies each time, then correcting that small mistake might not seem like a big priority.  Alas, committing tiny, seemingly inexpensive errors over a long period of time is an expensive mistake, indeed.  This is where poker software comes in and might be a good investment of time and money.  Poker software can teach you to recognize and correct small mistakes that you might not even be aware you’re making. 

Small amounts of money can add up over time, so correcting a tendency to make them can be worth big money in the long run.
 
For Industrious Players, Software Can Pay For Itself
 
For those dedicated players who are willing to dedicate time and effort to improving their skills, the investment in poker software can pay for itself. Through the correcting of money-losing mistakes both big and small, a player can realize more winnings even over a short amount of time.  And for those players just learning the game, poker software can be a great way to learn the proper fundamentals and a proper understanding of the game.  Whichever category you fall into, be sure to do a little research before investing in poker software!

Aside from Hold’em the next most popular game on sites like Unibet wedden is Omaha: specifically Pot Limit Omaha. In this game you’re deal four hole cards and MUST use two of them with the adjoining five community cards in the middle of the table. Because you have more cards the amount of combinations you can make is greatly increased, this in turn means it’s the most action packed poker variant.

Draw poker is a game which requires to you exchange cards in a bid to improve your hand. In the 5 card variant you are given 5 initial cards and you must decide firstly whether you are going to put a bet in before the draw and play, or fold. If you decide to play then you are allowed to exchange any number of cards, from 0-5, before deciding whether or not to bet/ call a final bet.

Stud Poker is a game which requires a keen eye and a good memory. In Seven Card Stud you are given three starting cards (two facing down, one facing up) and from there you have the option to add more cards to your collection in search of a strong five card hand. Stud Poker is usually played as a Limit game which means the bets are fixed on each street.

Aside from the standard varieties of poker there more exotic varieties of the game, such as Chinese Poker. This is a game where you’re required to make three different hands using 13 cards. More a game of luck than pure poker skill, it is often played by many professionals as a form of light relief from the game itself.

Let’s walk through some of the most popular banking options for this part of the online poker market along with some of the core benefits and drawbacks of each.

Paypal –  Paypal is perhaps one of the single most popular methods for getting money on and off online poker sites.  Players can usually avoid paying any fees  on their poker-related transactions when they use PayPal, and the service is certainly one of the easiest to use out of all of the major ewallets.

The one major drawback of PayPal is that not all countries can access the service and not all rooms accept it.  However, if you’re playing at a major operator and from a country in, say, the EU, you should have no problems.

Click2Pay –  Definitely right on the heels of PayPal, Click2Pay is an ewallet used primarily for poker and casino play.  The primary advantage of the wallet: The list of poker rooms that accept the wallet and Click2Pay casinos is a mile long and there is minimal hassle moving money to and from the operator of your choice.

Skrill –  Formerly known as Moneybookers, Skrill is on equal footing when it comes to market share and acceptance rate with Click2Pay.  Skrill may be available in a hair fewer countries, but the two ewallets are quite similar in almost every regard when it comes to quality of service, ease of use and security.

Neteller –  Once the premier ewallet for online gambling, Neteller saw their star dull somewhat after becoming entangled with the US Government.  Still a major player, the wallet is a mainstay at almost every mainstream poker and casino operator.

When you’re searching for online poker that won’t cost you a dime, you want to make sure that the games you’re playing will still offer some good competition.  Others feel the same way, so some of the people that you play when you’re playing for money might be the same ones you’ve played during your free online poker games.

For a long time, those that were seeking free online poker games were limited in their choices.  Not many good reputable sites wanted to offer free poker games.  As demand has increased however, so has your ability to find the kind of no money needed poker games online that you really want.   This means that there are now many online casinos that allow you to play online poker for free.  The key is to find the right one for your needs so you can boost your skills and develop different types of game play.

If you’re wondering how you can go about finding these great free poker games that are out there then you’re not alone.  The great news is that there are sites out there that offer the best rated free poker casinos and games and they won’t cost you a dime either.  You can check out stats, odds, tournaments, find out what’s going on with the pros and play free online poker games your way.  You can learn about strategies as well and even apply them to your game technique.

Choose a site that will give you the most information out there as well as some really great options when it comes to playing free online poker games your way.  Some sites claim to offer everything you’re looking for, so check them out for a little while.  See what kinds of features these sites offer.  Do you get a little extra education?  Can you watch tournaments to see how the pros play?  Will you get to enjoy playing free poker so you can boost your own skills?
If you want to play poker without spending a dime you can, and it’s easier than ever when you choose a site that has plenty of options for you to choose from.

If you want to play poker without spending a dime you can, and it’s easier than ever when you choose a site that has plenty of options for you to choose from.