Confession 001 — Just the Facts, Ma’am…
I confess. I’m genuinely envious of my wife’s poker skills.
It seems like everyone is playing poker these days. Poker is huge and it’s gone mainstream. Ever since Chris Moneymaker won the main event at the WSOP after qualifying at an online poker site, people have been flocking to these internet tables. Many are making their online play their “job”, becoming a new version of the day trader, the day player.
My wife’s a real poker ace. She can sit down with a laptop just about anywhere and make bitcoin playing poker online whenever she feels like it. It’s almost like a superpower. She’s been playing for a few years in local card rooms, online, and most recently, using bitcoin here at SwC Poker. It’s thrilling to watch someone you love outlast hundreds of others in a huge tournament over several hours. The table and lobby chat channels buzzing with the chatter of the moment. Some people helpful. Others, not so much. That one player who’s tilting. That other player always trying to mooch 5 chips. That last guy who’s excited about his crazy catch, completing a rare hand. Everyone colorful and bright.
It’s been lovely watching her and rooting for her but I really want to get in on the action!
The sheer breadth and depth of the online poker offerings can be a bit overwhelming to those, like myself, who are uninitiated in the more nuanced versions of the game. I’ve played No Limit Texas Hold‘em, perhaps the most popular version of poker, but not much else. I’ve even won a tournament of about 100 people, but I’ve never played online for real stakes. I’m quite eager to get my feet wet.
It seems to me that the main attraction of online gaming is that you can play just about anywhere you happen to be located, so long as you have a notebook computer and an internet connection. You don’t have to go to a casino or a card room, put up with chatty dealers, drunken revelers, and that guy who keeps staring at you like you gave him the worst bad beat of his life. I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t need that kind of aggravation. With online play, a few clicks from your favorite chair and you’re in the mix and competing for a slice of a double-digit billions global games market.
Getting started at SwC was really simple. I just had to dust off a suitable Windows laptop, spend a few minutes installing the client, spend an hour agonizing over the perfect username, and finally figure out where I wanted to get some bitcoin to trade for SwC chips.
There are plenty of other guides online that take you through the bitcoin purchase process. I’ve purchased bitcoins with circle, with coinbase, and even face to face using localbitcoins. There are also bitcoin ATMs located in major cities now. While I don’t recommend any specific service or exchange, it’s easy to locate your best option if you do a little research beforehand.
Once you have your bitcoins and you’ve exchanged them for SwC chips, you’re ready to get started. If you want to learn more about a particular game, check the rule guides at SwC Poker (more guides coming soon) and maybe watch for an upcoming freeroll tournament. It seems like every couple of hours, SwC is running a freeroll and the games offered rotate on a posted schedule. The prizes are usually small (they are free tournaments, after all), but these tables are a great place to build confidence in gameplay mechanics without risking your bankroll during the learning process.
The key is to get out there and get in the mix. You do learn the most while you are playing.
THE KING OF HEARTS
This weekly column serves as a guide for those who are interested in online bitcoin poker but haven’t yet taken the plunge and for those who are just dipping their toes in the water. I talk about online bitcoin poker from a beginner’s perspective with the goal of demystifying the various poker game forms as well as all aspects of online play, table and lobby etiquette, and anything else related to this space. I’m enjoying spending time with you.
Please send all questions, comments and suggestions to confessionsofapokerhusband@gmail.com.
My opinions and observations are my own do not reflect the opinions of SwC management. I will respond to all messages and I welcome your feedback.
Originally published at swcpoker.eu.
