Matching a Poker Site to Your Personality

There's a very wide selection of online poker sites, with a variety of themes, color schemes and skill levels. With so many to choose from, it can be daunting to decide between them all. Many poker sites are so similar in software, quality of bonuses and selection of tournaments it often comes down to which site is most enjoyable. What's the best way to match a poker site to your personality?

Career vs. Hobby

The first thing to consider is if you are looking to have some lighthearted fun playing online poker, or if you're looking to pay your bills. There are some bright, colorful and exciting poker rooms that offer a large selection of card games as well as casino games. These sites are fun, distracting, and typically full of looser play and plenty of fish.

If poker is simply a fun hobby where you want to relax and enjoy tournaments and winning is just a great bonus you will be looking for something much different than a serious grinder who uses poker to pay their mortgage. A professional gambler wants the best tools, the least distractions and serious competition. Selecting a poker room that fits the way you best enjoy poker will guarantee you have an enjoyable experience.

Social Gambler

Some poker sites are known to have chatty tables, and even cater to players allowing them to set up private tables to play with your friends. If the social aspect of poker is why you love to go to the land based casino, you likely won't enjoy a poker room without a chat box. If the social aspect is very important to you look for a poker site that encourages community. Full Tilt, for example, even offers a forum to foster a community feeling, where players can hang out and chat online.

However, if you are playing for a profit, or simply don't enjoy table chatter you will likely enjoy the more serious sites better. Even the most disinterested player can be distracted by annoying table chatter, and some players will use that to their advantage. Distracting the other player can throw them off their game and cause them to lose focus. Aggressive banter or being extremely confident can be a form of bluffing. Your best option is to simply find a site with serious players and little banter, or even completely closing the chat window if you're not looking for the social aspect. Friendly and chatty players however, need to keep in mind that the chat window is fun, but can be an expensive distraction.

Distractions

In a land based casino there can be spectators, noisy slot machines, music, waitresses, and even just the other players on the table to distract you. It takes quite a bit of focus to be able to ignore all that, and even the best players will falter sometimes. Other players thrive in the thrill and excitement of the atmosphere.

When you're playing at home, you have much more control over your environment. You can put the dog outside, wait until the kids are in bed, even turn your cellphone and television off. Music can be as loud or as quiet as you want. The biggest distraction is your computer itself. Chatty players are the most susceptible to distractions. Close your Facebook tab, and find a minimalistic poker room that allows you to focus only on the table.

If you thrive on the variety, excitement, and experience, there are plenty of poker rooms that fill your screen with things to delight you, such as a chat room, a detailed and animated poker table, even slot machines and scratch tickets to the side of your table while you wait for your opponents to decide if they want to call your bet.

Confidence Level

New players can be easily overwhelmed in the big poker sites, with thousands of poker games running at a time. If your are a player who is shy, or easily intimidated, you should select a smaller poker site with a great reputation. This allows you the ability to play smaller tournaments, and find tables easily.

If you love the excitement of the huge poker sites and the vast amount of variety they offer, then one of the top poker sites is where to go. They offer satellites which can even win you seats to play in the world famous tournaments like the WSOP. Regardless of what poker site you choose, it's OK to change your mind and move to a different site if you decide that one isn't a good match for you.

By: Peter Smith