We often talk of strategies, against whom people we have to play, which tournament we have to play … but the most important thing is where we have to play poker games and tournaments and do we play paid or free online poker.

If you want to play real life opponents in the flesh, then my preference is to play people I know rather than hitting a casino. Casino's get a large chunk of the pot which leaves less for the players, plus, I know that people I am playing against wont cheat.

Internet online poker is another option, and my option of choice. There is an infinite number of players and many choices of poker room.

I will divide rooms between free and paid, not including those that play purely for fun and are 100% non profit. We want to win some money after all!

Here are some things to check to make sure the room is good:

The payment: the vast majority of these rooms have quality certificates and security certificates. Be sure your choice does. Read the small print too to understand what is involved with deposit and how and what is involved in withdrawing money.

Are the games played enough for you to win? In real money games the room must run a rake and take a small part of the pot. Tournaments take a commission and there is a minimum number of participants to do them profitable. Does the room have enough members playing at once in the games and tourneys you want tom play to make it worthwhile? You should be able to see this easily by keeping an eye on their poker games software where numbers of players are shown.

Most sites will offer an attractive sign up bonus. Obviously this is paid with money from other players and there will be many conditions for the use and withdrawal of money . Make sure you read and fully understand this. Some rooms are better than others. Do not forget that the bank always wins but some do it more nastily than others!.

I've found that Titan Poker is one of the best paid rooms for European players. They also have an extra deal with NoPayPOKER.com for a handy free money start up. Literally you can join free and get $25 US real to play with; no strings apart from you have to play with it there. Go join NoPayPOKER.com to find this offer.

If poker is a whole new world to you, then I would advise that you start by playing on free online poker sites, such as NoPayPOKER, where they get their money from advertising and not from players. Only go for sites which are 100% free and do not ask for any initial payment up front.

The only problem in these rooms is an acceptable limit of withdraw the money, which is entirely logical for the costs of proceeding that involves a payment. That's the price you pay I guess.

Having spent time on over 30 online poker sites, I fully believe that NoPayPOKER.com is the free online poker tournaments site to play at, and Titan Poker if you want to play cash games.