Hello everyone. I am just starting the whole online play. I usually play party Poker. I was wondering do a lot of you make a lot of money doing this? If so, what are some pointers to make sure that I come out on top? Isit worth the time and money, or should i stick to home games and casinos?

Online poker has got to be a good idea for anyone who likes to play. You don't have to pay as high a rake as you will at many casinos, and you won't have to tip dealers. Heck, for some players, that would be the difference between a winning and losing session. From what I hear, Party Poker has the most fish so you picked the right site to go to if your single goal is to make money.

A number of players here play at rather high limits, but I think most of us are lower limit to micro limit players that are all trying to help each other's game. Keep coming here, the strategy section usually has some pretty good advice.

Two words... Bonus wh.ore. (google it and you'll find a good site on this topic) I play party at 0.5/1 and 1/2 (I'm in the process of moving up a limit). I'm averaging about 4BB/100 hands, which seems reasonably good...

However, for the past month I've been bonus whor.ing the Party Skins... My win rate INCLUDING the bonuses I've gotten is somewhere around 17-19 BB/100 hands... If you are a low limit player, the party skin bonuses can increase your win rate dramatically.

There are 6 party skins (including Party Poker)...
Empire Poker
PokerNow
Coral Eurobet
Intertops Poker
Multipoker
So, when you play on these skins, you play against the same players. They're all on the same network.

Each of these sites have 20% bonuses to the max of $100, with the exception of Eurobet, which I think has a max of $50. So, if you get the bonus on each of these sites, that's $550 in free money. The bonuses on the party skins are remarkably easy and fast to clear also. Usually, 500 raked hands. Also, you should take advantage of the reload bonuses on Party (there seems to be one every month).

To sign up on the party skins, you'll need a different login name and email address (I think). You'll also need to sign up on a 'clean' computer since the software will detect that you already play on Party. There are ways around this but signing up on a clean machine is the easiest.

Also, for sites like Empire and Eurobet you should try to sign up using a rake return program (www.raketracker.com). This will also increase your win rate.

Good luck!