FAQs – FoldPrePoker.com

Is poker legal in the UK? Yes. It is legal to play poker in the UK in casinos, at home or on the internet.
What is NLHE? No-Limit Texas Hold-em ( AKA NLHE or simply NL) is the most popular poker variant on the planet. Each player receives two cards face down (in the hole), then 5 community cards are dealt. Players make the best 5 card hand using any combination of hole cards and community cards. There is no limit to the amount one can bet, so you can bet all of your chips at any point in the hand.
What is PLO? In Pot-Limit Omaha (aka PLO) each player receives four hole cards, then 5 community cards are dealt. Players must use EXACTLY 2 cards from their hand and 3 community cards to make the best five card hand. The betting is limited to the size of the pot, so if there is £50 in the pot you cannot bet more than £50.
Are online sites rigged? No, online sites are not rigged. This is a conspiracy theory pushed by losing players who want to blame someone for their losses. Every major site has had significant independent auditing to prove that the shuffle is fair. If you lose in online poker it is generally because the rake is really high and you very good relative to the competition.
What does £1/2 or 200NL mean? These are different ways to refer to the stakes of a poker game. Live games are generally defined by value of the small blind and big blind. £1/2NL means the small blind is £1 and the big blind is £2. Online games are generally defined by the value of 100 big blinds. Eg. a $200NL game has blinds of $1 and $2, with most players sitting down with a $200 stack.
Do I have to pay tax on winnings? No. There is no tax on poker winnings in the UK, both for amateur and professional players.
What is rake? Rake is the fee taken by casinos as their reward for operating the game. In cash games this usually takes the form of a small % from each pot. For example, a £100NL game might charge 5% of every pot capped at £2. In tournaments this is part of the entry fee, for example a tournament could have a £500 buy in with an extra £50 of rake. Entrants pay £500+50, with £500 going into the prize pool and £50 retained by the casino. Rake will be much much higher in live poker, as the costs to run a live game are much higher compared to running an online game.
What is Rakeback? Rakeback is a reward for paying rake. If you pay $100 in rake, you might get 10% of that rake paid back as a reward, so you are getting $10 of the rake…back. Many sites offer rakeback if you sign up to them through a specific link. You can get get the best rakeback deals for UK players here.
What are freerolls? Freerolls are tournament that offer cash prizes that cost nothing to enter. They are a great way for beginners with smaller bankrolls to get experience playing online poker at no cost.
What are deposit bonuses? A deposit bonus is a reward for depositing money on a poker site. eg. Deposit $100 and get a free $10 tournament ticket. They are most commonly offered for new customers.
What are app games? There are a variety of mobile apps such as PPPoker, Pokerbros, Upoker and Pokerrrr2 that offer users the ability to create private play money poker clubs. The club managers control the flow of play money chips within these clubs. Club managers buy and sell these chips for real money, thus creating private games for real money. Unlike major poker sites, these clubs are completely unregulated and the value of the chips is entirely dependent on the agreement between you and the club manager. It is technically illegal to rake private games in the UK, however these games are incredibly widespread. The app club sphere is a bit of a wild west, and i would strongly recommend new players start off with regulated sites. You are much much more likely to get scammed or colluded against in these unregulated clubs compared to big regulated sites.

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