Okay, I hope by now that this free online poker training How to play poker for beginners course has given you a fundamental introduction to the game, and an introduction to free online poker games world of NoPayPoker.

And, while it’s one thing to comprehend the structure of the game, it’s an altogether different thing to comprehend how to truly learn how to play poker…the  real deal game….more so, how to play the game with an advantage.

Yes! An advantage. Because poker is not a game of chance, it’s a game of skills. The more skills you bring to the poker tables, the more money you’re gonna’ win.

Well, why not attempt to gather up some, many, most, or all of these skills? They are available to you right here at NoPay Poker. Many are discussed in detail in the series of articles I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion throughout this posting….’BUILDING A BANKROLL‘. (blog editors note – Go and read this series, it is awesome!!)

Best of Luck at the Tables,

Michael.

(c) copyright; January, 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

If you are not already a member of NoPayPOKER join and learn to play poker free online today!

Practice poker versus your computer with integrated lessons in “Poker for Dummies” Perfect for the times when you just really don’t feel like playing real people

And play a poker championship in Governor of Poker 2

Previous – Part 5 in the How to play poker for beginners was the Hierarchy of hands, what beats what.

Next – We suggest you go play some free online poker games on NoPayPOKER where you will free poker against other people for fun as well as win a bit of money if you do well. Plus you should overview the Building a Bankroll course which will take your basic skills and mould you into a poker monster/diva that the average poker player will learn to dread!

Incoming search terms:

• in spades if there are 2straights what hands wins

Now in the How to play poker for beginners free poker coaching course we’re ready for ‘What Beats What’. When you learn to play poker this something you should memorize so that it is as natural as breathing.

The following is the hierarchical order of poker hands:

• 1st….a Royal Flush
• 2nd….a Straight Flush,
• 3rd….Four of a Kind
• 4th….a Full House
• 5th….a Flush
• 6th….a Straight
• 7th….Three of a Kind
• 8th….Two Pairs
• 9th….One Pair
• 10th….High Card.

Now, let’s fully comprehend each of the preceding rankings.

A ‘Royal Flush’, 1st in the hierarchy of hands, is a Ten/Jack/Queen/King/Ace in the same suit (all 5 cards must be either all diamonds, hearts, clubs, or spades).

A ‘Straight Flush‘, 2nd in the hierarchy of hands, is any 5 suited cards in a row; for example, a 5/6/7/8/9 of diamonds is a ‘straight flush’….so is an 8/9/T/J/Q of diamonds. And, while both are straight flushes, the straight flush with the highest card is the better hand. Thus, the Queen high straight flush would beat the Nine high straight flush.

Four of a Kind, 3rd in the hierarchy of hands, is four of the same card….like four Jacks (J/J/J/J), or four Tens (T/T/T/T), or four Deuces (2/2/2/2). Yet, keep in mind, that Jacks are higher than Tens or Deuces….so the 4 Jacks would win.

Next, a Full House, 4th in the hierarchy of hands, is three of a kind combined with a pair….like 3 Queens with 2 Sixes (Q/Q/Q/6/6). Or, 3 Sixes with 2 Queens (6/6/6/Q/Q). Yet, in that the 3 Queens are higher than the 3 Sixes, the Queen high Full House beats the Six high Full House.

Fifth in the hierarchy of hands is a Flush….5 cards in the same suit; like Q/9/8/4/2 of spades. Or, K/9/8/4/3 of spades. Yet, one beats the other….and, the win is determined by the highest card in the Flush. Therefore, given the above, the King high Flush wins.

Sixth in the hierarchy of hands is a Straight….5 cards in a row; like 3/4/5/6/7 (non-suited; if it was suited, it would be a Straight Flush). If there are 2 straights at the end of a hand, the player who holds the higher straight wins the hand; 9/8/7/6/5 beats 7/6/5/4/3.

Three of a Kind, 7th in the hierarchy of hands, is 3 of the same kind….like 9/9/9. Which, as I’m sure is now obvious to you, would beat 6/6/6. Similarly, Q/Q/Q would beat 8/8/8.

Two Pairs, 8th in the hierarchy of hands, is any double pairs that you might hold….like 9/9 and 6/6; or A/A and 3/3. And, again, now obvious to you, the hand with the pair of Aces over the pair of Threes would beat the hand with the pair of Nines over the pair of Sixes. It’s always the higher of the 2 pair that determines the winner.

Ninth in the hierarchy of hands is 1 pair.…and, a pair of Aces beats a pair of Kings, a pair of Tens beats a pair of Eights, and a pair of Sevens beats a pair of Fours.

Last, and 10th, in the hierarchy of hands is the High Card. And, it’ll be most infrequent that the winner of the hand is ending up with ‘The Pot’ because he/she held the High Card; meaning that no else who played got at least 1 pair.

Best of Luck at the Tables,

Michael.

(c) copyright; January, 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

So now you know! If you are not already a member of NoPayPOKER join and learn to play poker free online today!

NoPayPOKER is the world’s only FREE poker site where you win real cash on every game with utterly no danger of losing any of your own money. So it is the perfect place for beginners to learn how to play poker online for free! If you are more experienced then it is a great place to fine tune your game, test out new techniques or just grind away to win for real free poker cash with no downside risk.

Previous in the How to play poker for beginners series was part 4, poker words and nicknames.

Next - Part 6 in the free online poker How to play poker for beginners series is Moving on to Building a Bankroll the NoPayPOKER intermediate level poker lesson series.

If you’re ready, do keep going with the free online poker instruction but feel free to get stuck into some free poker practice games then there are loads of freerolls to have a go at on NoPay.

In part 4 of the NoPayPOKER How to play poker for beginners free online poker education lesson series you’ll learn about some of the strange lingo poker players insist on using!

Let’s begin by first identifying the hierarchy of the ‘pocket cards’ you’ll be dealt, and the ‘community cards’ you’ll get to see on ‘The Board’. Plus, since you’re likely familiar with the composition of a deck of 52 cards, you know full well that there are 13 different cards, in 4 different suits; hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. The hearts and diamonds are red, and the clubs and spades are black (all of which are on a white background).

The 13 ‘Individual Cards’, together with frequently used ‘poker names’ for the cards, and the 1 letter symbol often used to identify the cards, are as follows:

— Ace (Bullet, Rocket, (A))
— King (Cowboy, Monarch, (K))
— Queen (Lady, Dame, Dyke, (Q))
— Jack – (Knave, Hook, Fishhook, (J))
— 10 – Ten (Dime, (T))
— 9 – Nine (Niner, (9))
— 8 – Eight (Snowman, Fat Lady, Ocho, (8))
— 7 – Seven (Hockey Stick, (7))
— 6 – Six – (Boot, (6))
— 5 – Five (Five Spot, (5))
— 4 – Four (Sailboat, Sharp Top, Four spot, (4))
— 3 – Three (Trey, Crab, (3))
— 2 – Two (Deuce, Duck, (2)).

Next, in this free online poker training lesson allow me to share with you the often used ‘poker terminology’ for the 13 different pocket pairs that you can be dealt; where, as you’ve previously come to understand, only you can see your ‘pocket cards’. And, at the outset of your introduction to the game, you should come to recognize that you’re going to be dealt a pocket pair, on average, over the long-term, once in approximately every 16 hands.

The pocket pairs, in hierarchical order, and the ‘poker parlance’ for all 13, are as follows:
— AA – Pocket Rockets, Rockets, Bullets, or American Airlines
— KK – Cowboys, King Kong, Gorillas, Kangaroos, Monarchs, or Krispy Kreme
— QQ – Ladies, Hookers, or Siegfried & Roy
— JJ – Fishhooks, Hooks, Jokers, or Jay Birds
— TT – Dimes or Tension
— 99 – Gretzky, Popeye’s, or Phil Hellmuth
— 88 – Snowmen, Fat Ladies, Dog Balls, or Race Tracks
— 77 – HockeySticks, SunsetStrip, or Mullets
— 66 – Route 66, Kicks, or Cherries
— 55 – Presto, Speed Limit, or Nickels
— 44 – Magnum, Sail Boats, or Middle Age
— 33 – Crabs or Treys
— 22 – Ducks, Pocket Swans, or Deuces.

What about some ‘poker lingo’ for most of the ‘generally good’ pocket cards you’ll be dealt. And, frequently, dependent on the table position you currently occupy, as it relates to the Dealer Button (DB), you’ll look to play these cards whenever ‘the price is right’….that is, as long as it’s not going to cost you ‘an arm and a leg’ to see the Dealer lay out ‘The Flop’; the 3 ‘community cards’ to be placed on The Board’ after the ‘Pre-Flop’ betting has finished.

So, the ‘unpaired starting hands’, and most of the ‘poker verbiage’ used to describe the usually playable pocket cards are as follows:

— AK – Big Slick or Walking back to Houston
— AQ – Little Slick, Big Chick, or Doyle Brunson
— AJ – Blackjack, Ajax, or Jackass
— AT – Bookend or Johnny Moss
— A5 – High Five
— A4 – Topped Four
— A3 – Ashtray or Baskin and Robbins
— A2 – Hunting Season or Acey-Deucy
— KQ – Marriage (if suited) or Mixed Marriage (if not suited)
— KJ – Kojak, King John, or Tucson Monster
— KT – Kate or Katie
— QJ – Maverick or Oedipus
— QT – Quentin Tarantino
— JT – Days of Old
— T9 – Paint Plus Connector
— 98 – Oldsmobile
— 87 – RPM
— 76 – Union Oil
— 65 – Medicare
— 54 – Jesse James or Colt.

Additionally, there are some famous ‘poker nicknames’ for a few hands that you might want to be familiar with.…players will occasionally use these names, and it would serve no useful purpose for you to be ‘left in the dark’ while they were talking:

— KKK – Alabama Night Riders or Three Wise Men
— TTT – Thirty Miles of Bad Road
— 222 – Huey, Dewey and Louie.
— AA88Q – Dead Man’s Hand
— AKQJT – Broadway
— A5432 – Wheel
— 3 of a Kind – Set (if you hold a pocket pair matched by a ‘community card’
— 3 of a kind – Trips (if one is in your pocket and two are ‘community cards’)
— Full House – Boat or All The In-Laws
— 4 of a Kind – Quads or Quad Set.

Best of Luck at the Tables,

Michael.

(c) copyright; January, 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

Poker lessons for Dummies
Practice poker versus your computer with integrated lessons in “Poker for Dummies” from BigfishGames:

Next – Part 5 in the how to play poker for beginners series is The Hierarchy of Poker Hands – What beats what

Previous – Part 3 in the free online poker How to play poker for beginners series is The Rules of the Game in Simple Form

When you feel ready and want to play free poker against other people get on over to NoPayPOKER’s free poker games selection and try some freerolls.

In part 3 of the NoPayPOKER.com free online poker course we are continuing with the rules lesson from How to play poker for beginners rules part 1

Once the blinds have been posted, Small Blind (SB) and Big Blind (BB), it’s time for some cards.

Moving clockwise around the table from the Dealer (DB), each player receives two cards dealt face down….one card at a time. These are also called ‘Pocket Cards’ or ‘hole cards’.

Now the betting begins; and, after all, isn’t that why you’ve decided to take up the game of poker? Isn’t that why you’ve entered the multi-table freeroll tournament? Isn’t that why you’ve become a member of NoPayPoker? Of course it is….the game is all about winning money; nothing more, nothing less (with the possible exception of social interaction in the chat lobby or the table’s chat box).

At this point in the hand (holding 2 pocket cards), each player is betting on what hand they feel their pocket cards could lead to.

• The betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the Big Blind (BB).
• This player is often referred to as the ‘Under The Gun’ (UTG) position at the table.
• He’s given the UTG label primarily because the Small Blind and Big Blind players were forced to put up bets prior to receiving any cards.
• Thus, both the SB and BB are already participating in the hand; albeit not voluntarily (at least not yet; they’ll have to wait until the betting comes around to them).

And, for this round of betting, each player has three choices:

1. To fold (usually when they think that their pocket cards are garbage (or rags))
2. To raise (usually when they think that they hold really good pocket cards)
3. Oor to call (match) the Big Blind (usually when they think that their pocket cards hold some potential).

All of this is true, since, the player who posted the Big Blind has effectively opened the betting, and each player (moving left to right around the table) has to at least call this Big Blind bet to stay in the hand; or, call whatever raise another player may have made….again, to stay in the hand.

Therefore, the 4th option, checking, often available in subsequent betting rounds, isn’t an option at this stage.

By the time the betting reaches the person who posted the Small Blind (SB), this player can fold (thereby losing the chips he was forced to put into the pot prior to the cards being dealt), or, this player can call the Big Blind (by simply putting up the difference between the Small Blind and the Big Blind), or, this player can call whatever raise has been made, or this player can initiate a raise; or even a re-raise.

Then, the Big Blind (BB) player gets to act….and, if no raise has taken place, he has the option of either checking (opting to do nothing; thus telling the Dealer to proceed), or, he has the option of calling a raise, or initiating a raise; or even a re-raise.

Of significance, since the game is a No Limit Texas Hold Em tournament, the amount of any one raise is only limited by the number of chips the player who is doing the raising is in possession of….if his stack of chips is 1,500, he’s allowed to raise by any amount up to and including the 1,500 (all of his chips).

Should he opt to make a 1,500 chip bet, it would be called an ‘All-In’ bet. It’s always an ‘all-in’ bet any time a player raises by the total amount of chips he currently holds.

And, of paramount importance, especially since you’re at the introductory level of the game, make certain that YOUR use of an ‘All-In’ bet is dramatically limited.

You’ll not be ‘let loose’ by my advice for the sole purpose of becoming another NoPayPOKER ‘chip-flinger‘ (someone who tosses chips around without regard to the quality of their cards).

Once the opening round of betting is completed it’s time to see ‘The Flop’ (things will now start to get really interesting).

• ‘The Flop’ is the set of three cards that are dealt face up in the middle of the table by the Dealer.
• Each player can use these ‘community cards’ to build their hand.
• Again, as here-to-fore mentioned, the middle of the table where these cards are dealt is commonly known as ‘The Board’.

With ‘The Flop’ exposed, it’s time for another round of betting. And, the betting that will occur is based on the 5 cards currently available to each player (2 ‘Pocket’ cards and 3 ‘Board’ cards).

• The betting starts with the player to the immediate left of the Dealer Button, regardless of whether the Dealer is still active in the hand or not.
• The player to the left of the Dealer Button will keep the initial betting action for the rest of the hand (and, later, you’ll come to learn that this is the worst position to be in at the table….see ‘Building a Bankroll‘).
• Apart from that, the betting process is the same as it was in ‘pre-flop’ betting.

However, keep in mind, all of the players who were dealt ‘Pocket’ cards may not be currently playing the hand….they could have folded during the opening round of betting.

So, whichever remaining player is ‘to the immediate left’ of the Dealer Button (DB), it is that person who will be the first player to act; throughout the hand (providing he doesn’t fold).

He can check or bet.

• If he checks, he’s simply passing the options of checking or betting to the player who sits to his left.
• If he doesn’t check, and decides to bet, then those that follow will have 3 choices:
  • They can fold
  • They can call
  • Or they can raise….but, since a bet was made, those that follow do not have the option of ‘checking’.

Once the round of betting has finished, it’s time for another card to be dealt face up on ‘The Board’.

This fourth card is called ‘The Turn’ card (or 4th Street), and, again, the card can be used by all of the remaining players (those players who have not folded)….it’s a ‘community card’.

• Thus, each remaining player now has access to 6 cards (4 ‘Board’ cards, and 2 ‘Pocket’ cards).
• Four cards on ‘The Board’, one additional card to come.

It’s now time for the fifth and final ‘community card’ to be dealt: ‘The River’ (or 5th Street).

• And, given that all the cards have now been dealt, each player remaining in the hand can see what their best five card hand is.

Therefore, it’s now time for the final round of betting.

• And, when the betting ends, the hand is over.
• It’s time to see who wins.
• Each player who has remained in the hand shows their cards, starting with the last person to initiate a bet (at free poker NoPayPoker, the software will handle the process of showing the cards).
• The winner is decided via use of the universal poker hand rankings (you’ll find that in subsequent chapter; entitled ‘What Beats What’).

If a player wins a pot because every other player has folded, he can decide whether to show his cards or not.

Most people don’t, and it’s almost always advised by me to never show your cards….if you’re not required to do so; keep ‘em guessing!

Yet, when you reach an ‘advanced level’ of play, you’ll get a whole different perspective from me….you see, there are times when ‘deceitful strategies’ are going to be added to your acquired set of playing skills.

And, a part of the ‘deceitful strategies’ will have you showing your cards. Not now though.

Best of Luck at the Tables,

Michael.

(c) copyright; January, 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

Practice poker versus your computer with integrated lessons in “Poker for Dummies” from BigfishGames:

The Next lesson in the How to play poker for beginners at NoPayPOKER.com series is Poker words, nicknames and terminology

To free poker real people but no money no risk (you can still win it) see the main NoPay homr page for loads of great free poker games to play

Incoming search terms:

• medicalassistantcoach com

In How to play poker for beginners part 2 we’ll look at the ‘RULES OF THE GAME OF POKER’….hey, they’re not as complex as you might have been led to believe. So, let’s begin with the type of free online poker game you’ll enter, the type of game you’ll register to play in…and, Lord knows you’ll have many choices.

But, for now, it’s best that you restrict your selection to the multi-table free Texas hold em freeroll tournaments. Where, it could be a game with 50 players, or it could be a game with 250 players.

• Plus, in advance, you should know that the quality of the competition you’ll come up against in these games is far from ‘elevated’; the vast majority of NoPayPOKER players exist in a world dominated by relatively average play.
• Additionally, each of these tournaments will have multiple tables…you can divide the number of players by 10, and you’ll know how many tables are a part of the tournament (you’ll need to round up to eliminate the decimal point, if any; that is, 68 players, for example, divided by 10, equals 6.8, rounded up, means there are 7 tables in the tournament).

Next, the NoPayPOKER software will seat you at a table…at a randomly selected table, in a randomly selected seat.

• Of course, a new NoPay multi-table freeroll tournament starts every half-hour; 24 hours a day.
• So, initially, don’t be overly concerned about how successful you are in any one game; there’s always another game that you can enter.

Fundamentally, the winner of any 1 hand will be the player who has the best cards.

• You’ll get 2 cards dealt to you face down, that only you can see.
• This is followed by a round of betting; generally, no more than 3 raises to the original bet are permitted; and this restriction of 3 raises will be true in all future betting rounds.

Next, the Dealer will expose 3 cards on the table….these are ‘community cards’, and can be used by all of the players who are participating in the hand.

• At this point, another round of betting occurs.
• Then the Dealer will add another card to the ‘community cards’; there are now 4 cards that can be used by all of the players who remain in the hand.
• This is followed by another round of betting.
• Last, the Dealer will add a 5th card to the ‘community cards’…again followed by another round of betting.

Your 2 face down cards are known as ‘Pocket Cards’.

• They are dealt out, one at a time, left to right, to everyone at the table (clearly, you only get to see your own pocket cards; not everyone else’s).
• The Dealer then exposes the first 3 ‘community cards’, it’s known as ‘The Flop’.
• When he exposes the 4th ‘community card’, it’s known as ‘The Turn’ (or, 4th Street).
• And, when he exposes the 5th ‘community card’, it’s known as ‘The River’ (or, 5th Street).
• All 3 to 5 ‘community cards’ that are exposed on the poker table at any one time are known as ‘The Board’.

Every player who is participating in the hand through the process of betting (if you ‘folded’, you’re no longer in the hand), attempts to make the best possible five-card hand.

• They can use any 5 of the 7 cards that are available to them; one, both, or none of their pocket cards, together with 3, 4, or 5 of the ‘community cards’.
• The player with the best 5 card hand wins all of the money that has been bet (The Pot).

The ‘Dealer Button’ is involved in every hand to be played; one of the game’s participants gets the Dealer Button (DB); the selection of the player who first receives the DB is done by the software.

• At a casino, it’s a round disc, about the size of a hockey puck, and the letter ‘D’ is usually emblazened on it’s flat surfaces.
• At an Internet online poker site, the software will automatically place a symbol of sorts on your PC screen to identify the DB.
• And, the position of the Dealer Button on the poker table is important….since the 2 players to the left of the DB are forced to place bets before the cards are even dealt out.

Plus, as you’ll come to learn latter, after you’ve read the ‘Building a Bankroll‘ series of articles, the DB position is the best seat at the table.

• Additionally, at the end of every hand, the Dealer Button (DB) moves one position to the left; thus, everyone acts as the ‘virtual dealer’ in an Internet game, and, everyone is forced to place ‘blind’ bets.
• Moreover, the ‘to the left’ movement of the DB is also what happens in any casino, poker room, or home game.

Blind Bets? Yes!

• That’s how the game starts.
• The player to the immediate left of the Dealer Button (DB) is compelled to put up the Small Blind (SB).
• And, the player to the immediate left of the Small Blind (SB) is compelled to put up the Big Blind (BB).
• These ‘blind bets’ are placed in the pot, in front of the dealer….this essentially kickstarts the betting.
• And, it’s all done before anyone has gotten any cards.
• This, for the lack of any other rational reason, means that the winner of the hand that’s about to be played, will, at a minimum, collect the small amount of money that has been ‘forced’ into the pot by the blind bets.

In a multi-table freeroll, or any No Limit free online poker tournament game, the size of the Small Blind (SB) and the size of the Big Blind (BB) are very low at the start of the game. And, every player in the game begins the game with the same amount of free poker faux-money; or, for practical purposes, poker chips.

With one exception….exclusive to NoPay….where Bonus Chips can be added to a player’s opening stack by choice; and, you’ll quickly come to recognize the moderate advantage that the Bonus Chips give the players who have opted to use them.

So, once you’ve immersed yourself in the friendly confines of NoPayPoker, you may wish to become a Premium Member; since one of the biggest benefits is the gifting of 1,000 Bonus Chips per day to all Premium Members.

Usually, in 15 minute intervals, the size of the ‘blinds’ increase.

• As an example, if the beginning ‘blinds’ were $10 (SB) and $20 (BB), within 15 minutes the ‘blinds’ would change to $20 (SB) and $40 (BB).
• And, thereafter, as the game progresses, the ‘blinds’ continue to go up every 15 minutes.
• In the end, at the final table in a tournament (the last remaining 10 players), the ‘blinds’ could easily reach the point of being $2,000 (SB) and $4,000 (BB).

Now don’t be alarmed, the dollar amounts tied to the Small Blinds (SB) and Big Blinds (BB) in the preceding paragraph, during all freeroll games played at NoPayPoker (NPP), are ‘fictional’ amounts of money. It’s not real money. It’s merely a ‘tournament representation’ of money; it’s free poker faux-money, they’re poker chips….they’re not real dollars.

As mentioned earlier, every tournament game begins with each player having the same amount of ‘starting chips’.

• In some tournaments it’s $1,000 worth of chips, in some it’s $1,200, in some it’s $3,000, and in others it’s varying amounts.
• However, none of the chips are worth any ‘real money’.
• Plus, there’s often the addition of Bonus Chips to a player’s starting stack.
• Again, these Bonus Chips are only available in quantity to Premium Members.
• However, non-Premium Members can also earn Bonus Chips….150 per day; this is accomplished through Facebook postings, and you’ll rapidly come to understand how to easily acquire these Bonus Chips on a daily basis.

Then, in the end, as the tournament finishes, the ‘finalists’ (the last 10, 20, or 40 players) in every tournament game, do, in fact, win ‘real money’….in the form of FreeD’s; where, as was previously mentioned, every FreeD is equal to 1 US Cent, and every 100 FreeD’s equals 1 US Dollar.

Plus, for the second time, I’ll assure you that it’s not very difficult to win your way to the point of a cash out.

Best of Luck at the Tables,

Michael.

(c) copyright 2010; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

Practice poker versus your computer with integrated lessons in “Poker for Dummies” from BigfishGames:

Next – Part 3 in the How to play poker for beginners series is The Rules of the Game of Poker Part 2.

Previous – Part 1 in the How to play poker for beginners series is An Introduction to Free Online Poker at NoPayPOKER.com

And get over to the main NoPay site for free poker practice games

Welcome to NoPayPOKER. You’ve joined a truly great online free online poker site….a truly great poker community. The members are fun, pleasant, and social; where some of the members are good players, and some of the members are not quite there yet so as a free online poker site to learn how to play poker for beginners it’s utterly perfect!

However, no one, good, bad, or indifferent, takes the liberty of bringing anyone else to task…it’s simply a group of people who enjoy playing poker, a group of people who enjoy each others company, and a group of people who routinely display an exceptionally high level of respect; for one another and the game.

And, these people reside all around the globe, with many different native languages; although, all NoPayPOKER members, when they type in the Lobby Chat Box, are required to communicate in English…be it the Queen’s English, the Americans bastardization of her English, the outlaw Australian version, or the Canadian usage, eh?

Plus, the Moderators are courteous, helpful, entertaining, and readily available. However, they are very attentive to the ‘rules’. So, please be sure to read the NoPay ‘terms of agreement’, and the ‘chat lobby rules’.

Moreover, of note, the majority of the Moderators are very good players….and, as such, you’d be well advised to seek their wisdom and guidance on your poker-related inquiries. Additionally, all of them, whenever they’re on the site, will be more than happy to assist with whatever questions you might have.

The NoPayPOKER.com site itself employs fairly simple software, and is easily navigated. Anyone with the slightest of on-line experience will have few problems in developing a mastery of the ‘ins and outs’ of NoPay. You’ll find multi-table freerolls, league freerolls, a weekly 5K freeroll, a monthly 20K freeroll, a weekly ‘Champions’ freeroll, sit-n-go’s, ring games, and ‘buy-in’ tournaments; just about any type of No Limit Texas Hold-Em game you might choose to play in, is available at NoPay. Importantly, you’ll find it extremely difficult to bring about any degree of ‘boredom’, since a new game begins at least every half-hour.

And, best of all, NoPay is FREE POKER….you are never allowed to make a deposit; ever. The site uses a currency known as FreeD’s. When you joined, you were given 10 FreeD’s. If you fill out the ‘personal details’ page, you’ll get another 15 FreeD’s. Then, every day, throughout every 24 hour period of time, you can get another 26 FreeD’s. This is accomplished by ‘clicking on’ sponsor ads; 1 FreeD per ad ‘clicked’. Plus, every Freeroll game at NoPay offers a prize pool where FreeD’s are won by the ‘in the money’ participants (usually the top 10, 20, or 40 finishing places in the tournament).

Possibly, of most importance, each FreeD is worth 0.5 US Cent. Thus, 200 FreeD’s are worth 1 US Dollar. In time, as you accumulate FreeD’s, you’ll be able to cash out. However, please note, when you’re cashing out, you must have a minimum balance of 8,000 FreeD’s; the equivalent of $40 (US$). Or, if you’re a Premium Member, you’ll be able to cash out with a minimum balance of 5,000 FreeD’s; the equivalent of $25 (US$).

And, you should know that a significant number of NoPay members have individually cashed out amounts in excess of $1,000 (US$)…you can do likewise, it’s not very hard to get yourself a big enough balance to begin ‘cashing out’. But, you’ll go a long way towards attaining a “big enough balance” if you possessed some degree of knowledge about the game of poker.

Thus, what follows should serve as an introduction to the game. Plus, once you understand the rules, the basics, and the parlance, you’d be well advised to take the time to read the series of articles entitled ‘Building a Bankroll‘.

Best of Luck at the Tables,

Michael.

(c) copyright 2010; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

Next – Part 2 in the How to play poker for beginners series is The Rules of the Game Part 1.