Frequently Asked Questions

Is it safe to deposit money into an online poker site?
Yes. Every poker site we recommend has an impeccable reputation with dealing with players’ finances. You can usually make deposits and withdrawals within a few minute’s notice and rest assured your account is secure.

Are poker sites rigged?
No. All of the sites we recommend have had their random number generator certified by independent game testing companies and auditors. Poker is a very streaky game. Good luck comes in bunches and bad luck comes in bunches. Sometimes your opponents will put bad beats on you every single hand you play for hours at a time, but that is just part of poker. If you play long enough, you will experience cold spells and hot streaks you never imagined possible. Poker sites make a ton of money from the rake and tournament fees players generate. It would be foolish to risk this by doing something illicit.

What are satellites?
A satellite is a type of poker tournament that awards seats into a high buy-in tournament as prizes instead of cash. They are the best value on the internet right now, because most players who play them don’t have a good grasp of how proper satellite strategy differs from proper tournament and cash game strategy.

What’s so special about them?
Satellite tournaments are the best value on the internet right now, because most players who play them don’t have a good grasp of how proper satellite strategy differs from proper tournament and cash game strategy. Hundreds, if not thousands, of players turn a $10 investment into a seat in a $10,000 buy-in tournament every year.

How long before I make a lot of money playing satellites?
Probably a long time. The length of time it takes someone to learn how to win significant money varies from player to player. For most it will take a couple years of playing as a serious hobby to acquire the skills needed to win a satellite and do well in a major poker tournament. Some players with an exceptional aptitude for learning can accomplish it in as little as a few months. You can expedite the process by reading good poker books, playing poker as often as you can and visiting www.satellitewinner.com frequently.

What’s a good plan for an aspiring World Series of Poker champion who is just starting out?
Practice often and read everything you can get your hands on. A good first step would be to visit our poker site reviews section and download the software for one of the sites we recommend. Start playing the play money games and see if you are comfortable with the software. If you are, make a deposit and start playing. As long as you signed up by clicking on one of our banners, you will have unlimited e-mail access to our poker coach, who will answer any poker-related questions you have. Receiving strategy advice from him or having him analyze a hand you played will help you greatly along the way.

I just want to create a play money account for now, can I do that?
Of course. You must sign up through our link though if you want to receive the exclusive bonus(es) we offer when you are ready to deposit. Neither Pokerstars nor PartyPoker will allow you to make a second account if you sign up without a bonus code initially and then want our bonus later on, when you are ready to deposit, so make sure you sign up through our banners today.

Are play money tournaments good practice?
Yes and No. Poker is a game designed to be played for money. If you take the element of loss and gain out of the game, players have no motivation to play well, so they push all-in with anything and everything. You won’t learn any strategy against these types of players. Play money tournaments are good, however, for familiarizing yourself with each poker site’s software, before you deposit money. Many sites offer very low-limit games, which are usually better for learning than play money. $1 and $5 sit-n-gos and 25-cent/50-cent limit cash games are a good way to start.

Why should I sign up through you?
If you sign up for one of the poker rooms we endorse by clicking on a link or banner on our site, you will receive unlimited e-mail access to our poker coach. He specializes in satellites, but can answer all of your technical and strategy-related poker questions.If you sign up for PartyPoker through us, you receive a 20 percent deposit bonus.

Do you offer any bonuses?
Yes. If you sign up for PartyPoker by clicking on one of the banners on our website you receive a 20 percent deposit bonus. That bonus is for SatelliteWinner sign-ups only. You cannot receive that bonus by signing up directly through PartyPoker. SatelliteWinner players who sign up for Pokerstars may or may not receive an initial deposit bonus depending on what Pokerstars promotion is running at the time of sign up, but Pokerstars offers frequent reload bonuses. Many players make over $500 per year on Pokerstars deposit bonuses alone.

Does clicking on the banner automatically sign me up?
No. It will bring you to a page where you fill out your name and e-mail address. Don’t be afraid to click the banner. It doesn’t commit you to signing up for the site. Just make sure when you do sign up you do it by clicking on our banner, or you won’t receive the deposit bonus(es).

Why do you want me to sign up through you?
www.satellitewinner.com receives a small fee every time a poker player who comes from our site opens an account with a poker room. We receive a somewhat larger fee if you remain a player for a long time, so we want you to succeed.

How do you know who to give the bonus(es) to?
There is a bonus code built into the banners on our site. If you sign up through one of our banners, the code will let the poker room know to give you the bonus(es) a SatelliteWinner player is entitled to.

Is signing up through you any different than signing up directly through the casino?
No. Everything is exactly the same, except you will have access to our poker coach.

The free e-coaching sounds good. How does it work?
When you sign up for a poker room through one of our banners, you can e-mail our poker coach about anything you’d like for up to three months as a play money player. After you become a real money player, you have unlimited e-mail access to him for the next two years.

Still have questions? E-mail dan@satellitewinner.com