Hundreds of different kinds and sizes of online poker rooms are available on the market nowadays. Choosing the best room for your play is not as easy as it was several years ago. The majority of the rooms are now part of poker networks, and they have their own websites, payment systems, customer support services but they share between each other software and player database since they have common servers.  This situation is perfect for those, who are looking for a variety of games and high amount of opponents at the tables.

Some other poker sites are independent, having their own software and player's database while running unique promotions. Regardless of what room you are playing at, independent or shared network poker rooms, it has to have high-quality software, decent amount of active players and stable financial base.

Below we review the major selection criteria based on professional poker players' recommendations.

Software.

Playability along with functionality is probably one of the main aspects of choosing online poker room.  Every time you log in to the system, you will have to deal with the software.  Choosing good software sometimes is more important than attractive bonuses and promotions. Smoothly running poker software makes it a pleasure playing online.

Some poker rooms have more esthetically attractive software which brings more positive emotions and cannot be underestimated. If you spend hours without a break in front of the computer monitor, it will be important for you to deal with the high-quality of graphics and have fast, stable, reliable software at your service.

Traffic.

Another important criterion, which should be considered, is the traffic of the room or network. High traffic is necessary for strong variety of games and high amount of tables at your limits. Generally speaking, the higher the traffic of the poker room, the better quality of the game it can provide.

Bonuses and rakeback.

Bonuses and good generous rakeback is an excellent possibility to increase your bankroll. More detailed about how to choose a bonus that suits your type of play here.

Easy Competition

This factor is important for the maximal increase of your bankroll and it comes after all mentioned above. Choosing a poker room with a low level of play and loose opponents, you choose a possibility to win more with less effort.

Pokers rooms with soft games are usually in a casino network. Their active promotional campaigns attract a great number of poker newbie and random casino players which are positively reflecting on your bankroll.

Everest and LuckyAce are undoubtedly one of them. These poker rooms are very well known for their incredibly soft games and easy competitions. Their software may not be that advanced but the level of play is definitely worth it.

 It is also important to have confidence that your money is safe and you can access withdrawals and other transactions at any time.

All poker rooms ( /en/rakeback ) that are co-operating with Pokergirl have acquired the leading positions in the online poker industry and able to provide their players with the highest level of financial security.

Once you have realized that this poker room fits your requirements, the next step you have to take is to carefully read the terms and conditions, which you will have to agree with when signing up.  Nuances of depositing and withdrawing funds, bonuses and promotions - everything should be taken into consideration before you make your first deposit.

Last but not least, you should consider registering through a trusted poker affiliate. In case things go wrong, these people will help you to solve the problems as they are bringing players to poker sites and thus carry a lot of responsibility. Registering an account through Pokergirl.nu you can be sure that all the deals and services provided by us are fit in the requirements of the most insistent poker players. 

As you can see, there are many factors that go into choosing an online poker site. All these important factors have been mentioned in Pokergirl reviews, read them and choose the poker site that suits you the best.

Every poker player knows what is bonus and where to get it. Bonuses are widely advertised around the internet and every poker room offers one or several of them in order to attract new players and keep the old ones. However, the question how to choose the best bonus that suits your type of play and how to maximize your profit using bonuses is still of current interest.

There are a several types of poker bonuses available.

Non-depositing bonus.

Newbie's favorite or a trap for a grudge? From its name you can understand that this bonus will not require any financial investments. Under certain conditions, a poker room provides a player with instant bankroll, usually from $25 to $50, which he can immediately start playing with.

Everything seem to be fine till the day comes when the player finds that his balance has almost reached zero, the amount of points needed for the bonus is not even close to the required and very likely the time given to clear this bonus is nearly expired.

Here the problem begins when the player has been promised to receive an additional amount to his account once he clears a required minimum of points and he is determined to receive it. But ill luck strikes  - his bankroll reaches zero. The only way to continue playing is making a deposit. By the end of it all, the small deposit amount the player has to make seems to him insignificant, compared to the three-digit number that has been promised by the poker room.

The result is known to all, as the percentage of the players who have cleared a non-depositing bonus without additional investments is pretty low. Majority of the players had to deposit their own money.

Another hidden rock in the sea of non-depositing bonuses is the amount of points required to be cleared in order to allow a player to withdraw his funds. It often happens when the deposit has been made, bonus - expired and a player has already forgotten about it but when the time comes to make a cashout, the bonus will remind himself . Turns out, in order to withdraw the fair-earned winnings, the player has to clear the amount of points required for the expired non-depositing bonus. Alas and alack, free cheese can only be found in a mousetrap!

And the conclusion of this is one of the main rules that you have to apply when choosing a bonus - carefully read terms and conditions! This is applicable to not only for non-depositing bonuses but for other types of bonuses too, which will be reviewed below.

First deposit bonus.

The most popular type of bonus. Any poker room has in presence one or several bonuses for the players making their first deposit. Most of the times you are offered to receive the amount equal to your deposit, or sometimes even more. Some poker rooms offer bonuses up to several thousand dollars, which is undoubtedly attractive, but before you choose it, it is necessary to define the maximum amount which you can clear, without loosing the bonus.

As you know, the higher amount of bonus, require more hands to play. If the necessary amount of points and the period of validity of a bonus suit you, then - go ahead!

According to professionals, a first deposit bonus is a very important start, and the correct choice of it, can significantly increase your bankroll.

One of the bonuses, 200% matching your deposit up to $2000 is offered Betsafe, /en/rakeback/betsafe . This offer, including two Rake races - Betsafe and our own Pokergirl /en/rake-race , is highly profitable and has an approximate value of 60% rakeback.

There is another type of bonus offer, which should be especially noted - the depositing bonus which is paid out in parts. A stepped bonus is the optimal solution for beginners and for non-regulars. In this case, the bonus amount is released by parts, as soon as a player clears a minimal required amount of points. Clearing this bonus, player don't have to worry about the expiry date of it, as some parts of the reward will be credited on players account regardless of whether the total amount of points is collected or not.

Some poker rooms, that have a stepped bonuses even offer to pay a part of it upfront, giving you a chance to increase your bankroll before you started playing. Players that register at LuckyAce /en/rakeback/luckyAce through the Pokergirl link will receive not only 25% of their bonus in advance, but also will take part in our regular Rake race with generous prize pool of $21,000.

One more stepped bonus that has to be noticed is $1000 bonus for Pokergirl players, registered on Everest Poker /en/rakeback/everestpoker  The bonus is being released in very small amounts after each game session, which reduces the risk of losing it, without clearing it completely. Enter a bonus code POKERGIRL1000 and this stepped bonus will be added to your account immediately. 

Reload bonus.

Reload bonus is one more type of bonus that is attractive for every player.  Its structure is not any different from a depositing bonus, players also receiving a certain percentage, usually equal to the amount of deposit, however it's being offered only to regular or lapsed players. Reload bonuses are an excellent way of rewarding loyal players and motivating them to continue playing in the same room.

Not all poker rooms offer reload bonuses, and even fewer of them do it regularly.

One of them is Betfred /en/rakeback/betfred - a poker room that is part of one of the biggest poker networks iPoker and has become famous with it's regular reload bonuses and the most competitive VIP program on the network. In addition to this, registration through Pokergirl increases your profit by participation in our Rake race with the guaranteed amount of $21,000 /en/rake-race

Whichever bonus you have chosen from the available variety , it is always necessary to remember its requirements for clearing it in relation to your type of play and possibilities. Don't forget the fact that the bonus, once cleared, can become a good starting point for your career as a professional poker player.

/Pokergirl Team

The popularity of poker across Europe and Asia is developing at an incredibly rapid rate; this is largely due to the poker industry organizations following the precedents that have been set by the American poker market. One area that is particularly benefiting from fast growth is the women's poker industry. There is now an increasing number of women who are competing at the highest level and achieving stardom within the poker world.  

Poker used to be dominated by male players, but nowadays more women are becoming poker pros, which is why poker experts consider this segment of the poker industry as key to future developments. Ladies possess all the qualities for the achievement of success in this classically male game: patience, deductive abilities, ingenuity and ability to bluff.  However, among the players at the live tables, the amount of women is still significantly low - less than 10 %.

This unwillingness to compete publicly could be for a number of reasons, such as the settled stereotypes of some chauvinistic men who tend to think all women are weak, predictable, tight players. They think all women are bad poker players and that they are easy to read. Many women, particularly those starting out in poker, feel intimidated when they are first learning the game. This can be escalated by the response of some of the men at the tables. 

Although the Americans have already broken this stereotype, the majority of women-players still give a preference to online poker and it is becoming increasingly popular among female players. Online you are allowed the anonymity to be anyone you want to be, playing online they have an opportunity to get learn the pokers skills needed and avoid the often humiliating conditions of the first failures, in surroundings much less intimidating than at a live poker table.  

A considerable role is played by this psychological reasoning: For men, the game is - aspiration to be a winner.  Women, unlike men do not doubt their superiority and do not aspire to show it. Women have their natural born assets that can help them win in poker, which also includes female superior sixth sense. 

The more capable woman is of boosting the male ego, the greater chance she will have of bluffing them.  If the bluff does succeed, a woman should never show her hand, instead a better strategy to compliment the male player on how devilishly smart he is playing. However, the experience of some successful women players has shown that women are not as successful as men when it comes to winning hands by bluffing. One reason for this is that a male poker player would call women when they have absolute strength - convinced they have nothing and will also call when they have nothing in hands but perspiration. 

A  woman that is taking her poker career seriously has to be prepared to be disliked by some men and come to terms with the fact that she will be the minority sex in a public card room for a long while.

It is clearly visible that an era of women in poker is now approaching. Wendeen Eolis became the first woman in the history who has cashed out in WSOP. Jennifer Harman won WSOP bracelet twice. Linda Johnson, Kathy Liebert, Cyndy Violette, Annie Duke and others have already written their names in poker history, by winning the world championships. Today the Internet gives the great opportunity to learn and play poker virtually and women are taking full advantage of it. 

The world of poker and its players is still very tough and only the resilient, determined and disciplined women and men will experience a financially happy ending. One important thing to remember is that our objective is to win money, not prove the superiority of the sexes at the table.

/The only female @ Pokergirl team