Newbie Needing Advice on Site Selection

I'm an internet newbie who plays poker as a serious hobby, not a profession. I'm tired of fooling with the B&M rooms (distance, rake, wait list) and I'm in the process of moving online. I have been reading tons and tons of posts, but it's hard to put all the info together. What I really want to know is what is the best site for a newbie with a $200 initial deposit who will play .25/.50 or .50/1 once or twice a week (considering level of competition, bonus, etc.)?

Similarly, I plan to open a Neteller account for funding and would like to know if there is anything I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance...

[ncboiler]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm an internet newbie who plays poker as a serious hobby, not a profession. I'm tired of fooling with the B&M rooms (distance, rake, wait list) and I'm in the process of moving online. I have been reading tons and tons of posts, but it's hard to put all the info together. What I really want to know is what is the best site for a newbie with a $200 initial deposit who will play .25/.50 or .50/1 once or twice a week (considering level of competition, bonus, etc.)?

Similarly, I plan to open a Neteller account for funding and would like to know if there is anything I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance...

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Search the forum on building a bankroll. If you don't care about bonus money then play Party.

[Artsemis]

Nothing to be aware of for neteller. I would highly recommend PartyPoker and deposit the full $200 to maximise the 25% bonus they offer on the initial deposit. To clear it, I believe its either 5x or 7x the amount in dollars they give you in ranked hands.

Another choice is PokerStars but they dont have an initial deposit bonus and while the games are soft, they aren't as soft as party.

Pacific poker. 25% deposit bonus. softest competition on the net.

[Pog0]

Neteller is great. You have nothing to worry about.

[smoore]

if you like poker gear for home check out pokersourceonline and ecasinodeals

If you don't care for bonuses, do what that guys said and go to party. Other wise go to bonuswhores.com to learn how to maximize your bankroll with bonus whoring. It is definately worth it for a low stakes player like yourself. When you are done with the bonuses park yourself at Party. Very soft games. Everyone here hates them but we all make money there so whatever.

[BruinEric]

Yes to Neteller. It takes time to get it done right (don't use instacash!) so start now.

For .5/1, join Party with a 20% deposit bonus that will require you play 5x raked hands for every dollar of the bonus. Play moves fast and each table will have players with several different skill levels.

If you'd rather start lower in limits, try Paradise Poker before another one like Absolute. Play at Paradise, especially the nice .25/.50 limits is much looser than a year ago. I believe they have benefitted from TV adverts and linking up with a major sports betting site. You can also clear their bonus on the .25/.50 tables.

So I say go Paradise first, get used to nutball suckouts by players sticking to the river with garbage at .25/.50 and "learn the internet game." Then if/when you build your bankroll, consider Party.

The "building a bankroll" thread is good, but if you're just starting out, stick with the MAJOR (10k+ players) sites like PokerStars, PartyPoker, ParadisePoker, and AbsolutePoker, et al.

[SoftcoreRevolt]

Take the 200 to Paradise, get that bonus, maybe do one of the 50 dollar Prima bonuses like Bet365s to get up to 400 when you can do the 50% GT Bonus up to 200. Then Party. Then live like a king.

And search various sites for good affiliate deals, different sites have different cash offers, chip offers, gift offers, etc.

[jb9]

Read this thread. It is about something very important that cannot be discussed in this forum.