Almost the second online poker was created so were poker loyalty systems. These loyalty systems hand out Frequent Player Points, or FPPs, to players as they play for real money games. The number of FPPs a player earns is directly linked to the amount of money a player contributes to the rake the poker room takes. Rake is the percentage of every hand played on cash game tables or the buy-in fee for a tournament the poker room takes to make money. In the past this was the only loyalty system open to players, but now Pokerspace.com hands out their own loyalty points on top of the FPPs a poker room already gives out to players.
How the Pokerspace PS Point System Works
It was mentioned above that online poker rooms give loyalty points based upon the amount of money the room takes in rake from that player. Pokerspace uses a similar system in that the poker community awards PS Points based upon how much members play on poker rooms linked to their community. PS Points are the Pokerspace currency system and can be used for tournament and promotion buy-ins, purchasing goods in their PS Points Store, and even cash add-ons to several different online poker rooms like UltimateBet.
PS Points are awarded on top of whatever points members earn through a poker room’s loyalty system not instead of FPPs. PS Points are added value for playing as any other player would. Of course the number of PS Points that are awarded every month depends directly on how much said player plays and what they play. This article will address how best to accumulated not only PS Points, but how what a player plays determines how many FPPs they earn.
PS Points can also be earned on Pokerspace by playing in weekly PS Points freeroll tournaments or by being active on the community. There are even poker lessons members can take to start developing their first PS Point bankroll. Pokerspace also hold PS Point buy-in tournaments as well with some of the payouts reaching well into the thousands of points.
How to Accumulate More PS Points and Frequent Player Points
It has already been established that earning PS Points by downloading and linking a poker room through Pokerspace nets players additional free points, but there are ways to make sure every player maximizes their points. A great deal of what type of games a player plays depends on how many PS Points and FPPs are awarded. As stated above the amount of FPPs given out depends on the amount raked in what a player plays and the fastest way to accumulate rake is through playing simple cash game tables.
Cash games tend to have strong swings up and down, but it is by far the fastest way to accumulate rake and by extension poker points as rake is being taken on every hand. This is very different from multi-table tournaments (MTTs) and sit-and-go tournaments (SNGs) where there is a one time fee to enter that counts towards rake. There are avid online players that play up to 12 SNG tournaments at a time and still produce a good amount of rake, but cash games are still the way to go.
No matter the game played or at what stakes the important thing to remember is that it is very possible to pick up extra bonus poker points just by joining Pokerspace.com and either link your accounts to Pokerspace or download through them. It really is a pretty good deal for poker players.
Understanding Next Step in Poker
The world of poker is growing with every passing day as the World Series of Poker gains worldwide attention and media coverage, not to mention the meteoric rise of online poker. In the past, players would simply play against their friends or read a book to try and improve their game, but both can become costly and often do not result in any improvement in play or profits. Here is a small list of very strong online poker schools that are comprehensive and completely free.
Pokerspace.com – This poker school is based around the online poker community Pokerspace and offers a 4-tiered series of lessons from Beginner to Expert level that are complete with quizzes
Full Tilt Poker Academy – Based from the popular poker room Full Tilt Poker, the Full Tilt Academy houses a series of informative video based lessons
PokerZion.com – This online poker school is technically a pay site, but starts out as a free poker school that allows free access to an online article library and demos to their mentoring program and learning modules
Pokerspace and Its Free Poker School and Tests
Pokerspace.com is a widely regarded online poker community that has brought together thousands of poker players from around the world. The site is full of unique promotions, exclusive tournaments, and special member deals, but best of all for new poker players it has a comprehensive poker school that contains articles from the basics of betting to calculating pot odds. And it’s all free of charge. Potential Pokerspace students just have to become a member and they will have access to informative articles, videos, and quizzes.
While the educational value of the lessons and videos on Pokerspace is priceless, Pokerspace members do receive loyalty points called PS Points for successfully passing the quizzes and tests. These points can be used to enter special tournaments and freerolls exclusive to Pokerspace members and they can even be used to buy goods in their PS Points Store. Pokerspace is a great starting spot for players who want to get the most out of their poker education.
Full Tilt Poker Academy and Their Range of Videos
The hallmark of the Full Tilt Poker Academy, besides its faculty of world-class pros, is the number of video lessons that are stockpiled in its archives. There are hundreds of videos to choose from by world renowned poker players like Gus Hansen, Erik Seidel, and Howard Lederer. These videos range from straight situational lessons about betting to full session analysis videos that go hand after hand of a pros session on the virtual felt. The academy is completely free for all those who have Full Tilt Poker accounts.
According to toponlinecasino.com.ph, the only downside to this school is that while the range of videos is vast, they sometimes have trouble applying to normal stake situations because the pros typically play at cash levels far above those of the average or recreational player. This drastically changes the instructional value of certain videos. It is advisable to learn critically when on Full Tilt Poker.
PokerZion’s Start Free Pay Poker School
As stated above PokerZion.com is a pay poker school, but does offer limited services that are free of charge. PokerZion was developed by several online poker pros to help spread their knowledge to those willing to pay for it. The site offers a range of free poker articles and a few free instructional videos, but the true value in this site is in its pros, this is where paying comes in. At the heart PokerZion is a mentoring site and students must pay upwards of $30/month to gain the full value of the site. Its still a good option for those who want one-on-one poker instruction.
All three of these online poker schools are an excellent source of information. No matter what, it is imperative to keep learning and do not become complacent with winning a few tournaments. Poker education is extremely important and should never be undervalued, especially when players can get it for free.