I was hoping you guys could give me a hand. I want to start playing online, but want to do it right. I have around $1800 from playing live. I thought I would put about $700 online and go from there. Here are my questions.
Whats the safest way to put money on sites?
Is it hard to get $ on and off these sites?
Should I get a separate checking account or credit card or something like that?Whats the best sites to play at?
How do you get the sign on bonuses that I see?
I see people say its hard to clear bonuses, whats that mean?
What is and how do you do the rakeback stuff?
What else do I need to know about/ or have? I see people talking about trackers and stuff.

I think it would help alot of people who come here to learn what things you guys wish you had known prior to starting to play online.
I guess what Im really looking for is someone to do a smart/profitable step by step to starting online poker. It honestly could proabably be a good stickied thread. There are alot of people I know who come on here and read the forums and see all of these things talked about, but just dont really get it because its so foreign to us.

Thanks alot!

I guess I also need help spelling online......oops.

I use Neteller to move money from site to site. I used my checking account to fund Neteller. There may be other ways, I don't know.

It's not hard to get money on and off, but sometimes it takes a couple of days or so to clear when you withdraw.

Rakeback is basically a percentage of money from a raked pot that is returned to you (usually monthly) into your poker account. Not exactly sure how it is calculated. I usually make about $150 a month. I play very low limits ($1/$2 or lower), but I play 3-4 cash games and 3-4 Sng's simultaneously for 1-3 hours a day.

As far as rakeback affiliates , I use RaketheRake for Absolute and CuttheRake for Bodog. They're both pretty good.

RaketheRake has a $7500 freeroll tourney every month if you play a certain number of raked cashgame hands (1500 I think). Usually only about 100 players in the freeroll.

Others will be crawling out of the woodwork to get you to sign up through them for rakeback. Once you decide where you want to play, pick one of the posters your familiar with and start the process. You can PM him if you're having problems.

My favorite site is Absolute, because rakeback isn't deducted from the bonus, but you only rack up bonus points if a hand has a rake of .50 or more. That means every time a hand is raked .50 or more, you get 1 point. 100 points=$10 added to your account automatically. That happens almost every hand at $2/$4 or higher (limit) . But at lower limits it occurs less frequently, but still happens.

With a $700 bankroll, you should play no higher than $1/$2 limit or $.10/$.25 No Limit games, IMO. If you are totally new to online poker you may want to play even lower. $2/$4 Holdem at most online sites is like a thousand times tougher than a $2/$4 game at a local Casino or home game.

What he said.