If you believe what Celebrity Apprentice Joan Rivers says, poker players are “beyond white trash.” But I think there are millions of people who would beg to differ. In fact, poker is wildly popular right now and so are its practitioners. This is evidenced by the fact that professional poker stars such as Johnny Chan, Phil Gordon, Mike Matusow and many others have achieved huge celebrity status in the last decade.

Poker’s star-making ability has inspired many to try to make a living on Internet poker sites. Some have actually been very successful and because of this many more people have become Internet poker millionaires. These successful poker players are sometimes surprising, because they’re often quite young and not seasoned pros. Unfortunately, for every new batch of successful poker players, there are also plenty of people who are victims of Internet poker scams. These scams befall mostly new players, because they are lured by the promise of easy money and don’t do their homework first.

To make sure you don’t fall into this same trap, the following tips can help you assess whether a site has the potential to be a scam:

• If the site doesn’t look professional, don’t play there. Low-quality construction could be the sign of a quick-buck artist at work or at the very least, a cash-strapped operator.
• Determine whether the site is a member of the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC). IGC members agree to adhere to a code of ethics.
• Make sure the site has 24-hour support with a toll-free phone number and e-mail.
• If the site looks professional, is an IGC member and has good contact info, do a few small transactions as tests before you do any major gambling. These will reveal a lot about the integrity of the site.

Everyone has to start somewhere, so with some luck and a lot of skill and practice, you too could become one of online poker’s new stars. Just make sure to do your homework first, so your success won’t be tainted by regret.

Tags: Celebrity Apprentice, Celebrity Status, Code Of Ethics, E Mail, Easy Money, Interactive Gaming Council, Internet Gambling, Internet Poker, Joan Rivers, Johnny Chan, Last Decade, Low Quality, Mike Matusow, New Stars, online gambling, Online Poker, Poker Players, Poker Sites, Poker Stars, Professional Poker, Quality Construction, Toll Free Phone Number, White Trash

by PokerWriter on July 13th, 2010 | RSS | trackback