Poker Players Are Society’s New Celebrities

If you believe what the new Celebrity Apprentice Joan Rivers says, poker players are “beyond white trash.” But I think there are millions of people who would beg to differ. As a matter of fact, poker is incredibly popular at the moment and so are those who play it professionally. This is evidenced by the fact that poker players like the rightful Celebrity Apprentice Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and many others have become famous beyond anyone’s expectations in the last decade.

This surge in popularity has caused many to try their hand, so to speak, at making a living playing on Internet poker Web sites. The results have been good for some and because of this many more people have become Internet poker millionaires. These poker successes are not always who you would expect them to be, because they’re often quite young and not seasoned professionals. Unfortunately, for every new batch of successful poker players, there are also plenty of people who are victims of Internet gambling scams. Mostly new players step into this trap, because they don’t know how to check a online poker site’s bona fides.

To make sure you don’t fall into this same trap, the following points can help you determine whether a site is a scam:

• If the site doesn’t look professional, don’t even register 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 pledge to follow a code of ethics.
• Don’t register with a site that doesn’t have 24-hour support with both a toll-free phone number and e-mail addresses.
• If the site looks professional, is an IGC member and has good contact info, do several small transactions as tests before you put up any major money. These should tell you a lot about the workings of the site.

Everyone has to start somewhere, so there’s no reason why with a little luck and a lot of practice you couldn’t become one of online poker’s stars. Just make sure to do your homework first, so any success you achieve won’t be spoiled by regret.

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