Happy 2010 and stuff.

New year, new start and all that Jazz. I'm not really one for making new years resolutions, so it's just a horrific coincidence that I've started to put more effort in to this site just after 2010 got under way.

I bet you thought this year was going to be really awesome because of the Olympics and the World Cup didn't you? Well, now you can add the sporadic updates of this site to the top reasons why this year is set to be the most memorable yet.

Apologies for the lack of updates over the last few months though. The excuse was moving to a new flat. I'll try and document the glossy updates as I go along. Lots of love, Greg.

Full Tilt still top for rakeback in 2010.

Full Tilt still remains as the top room for rakeback in my books, just as it was throughout the whole of 2009.

If you haven't already signed up yet, head over to the Full Tilt rakeback page and stop missing out on extra money for your bankroll each and every week. Start out 2010 the right way.

Weekly payments of 27% rakeback, highest traffic rakeback room, sleek software and cartoon avatars. Honestly, what more do you need? Make this year a winner.

Even more free money at PokerStars.

PokerStars have rolled out their new "Stellar Rewards" program that rewards you with cash bonuses in to your account every time you hit VPP milestones.

At the start you will earn $10 for every 750 VPPs you collect, which increases up to $50 and $100 instant bonuses for some milestones. When you combine this with the VIP program and new player bonus, it makes it even more worth your while to see what Stars has to offer in 2010.

The Stellar Rewards program runs from now until the end of the year, so the sooner you sign up the more instant bonuses you will be able to collect.

New strategy articles for January 2010.

3 new articles so far. This year is looking good already.

Cbetting Tips - We all love more tips.
When to cbet. - Examples of different flops to cbet on.
Double Barreling - The basics of when to barrel and when not to barrel on the turn.

If you care to notice I've basically expanded the cbetting section with these 3 new articles and added a sub-navigation to the top of these pages. I'm thinking about doing this for other existing articles too. Any thoughts or requests?

Visit the featured archives to view past content of these boxes.

Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em Welcome to ThePokerBank.

What will you find here? A relatively large mass of information about Texas Hold'em poker and a few useful tools.

What is ThePokerBank all about?

The general idea of ThePokerBank is to teach you how to play winning no limit Texas Hold'em and help you find a profitable room to play at. Basically, I want to help you win more money from playing Texas Hold'em online.

To summarize the goals of ThePokerBank as sweetly as possible:

Teach quality Texas Hold'em strategy. The stronger your game is the more you can win.
Give honest reviews of Texas Hold'em rooms. I'm not going lie and tell you that every room is perfect.
Show clear information on poker bonuses and rakeback at the top rooms for Texas Hold'em.

Rakeback and Texas Hold'em strategy.

Good strategy + rakeback * bonuses = lots of money, which is why these are the main foci ("focuses" for lazy spellers) of this site.

Winning money from Texas Hold'em gets a lot easier when you know how, so allow me to try and help.

If you ever get lost, cut your losses and head to the Texas Hold'em FAQ.

Playing Texas Hold em poker online.

There are loads of great rooms for Texas Holdem, really loads. I've given honest reviews of these rooms in the Texas Hold'em rooms section.

I urge you to evaluate all of the top Texas Hold'em rooms on this site and choose the one that is the most suitable for your needs. Use your own judgment and be happy with the room you decide to play at.

Different players have different tastes and expectations, so play at the room that you like best and don't worry about what others may be pimping as the "bestest room ever".

Top 5 Texas Hold'em poker rooms.

As I have mentioned, different rooms appeal to different players for varying reasons. Check out the reviews and go for the one you think suits you best. In spite of this, the following rooms do tend to be the most popular amongst regular Texas Hold'em players.

PokerStars - The most popular online poker room.
Full Tilt - Most popular online poker room with rakeback.
Tower Poker - Amazing bonus and great valueback program. Profitable for new players.
Bet365 Poker - Top UK poker room. Impressive VIP program too.
Aced Poker - Great rakeback deal. Second best for rakeback.

That's not to suggest that all other rooms are bad at all. These ones just tend to be the most popular for both rakeback and non-rakeback Texas Hold'em players.

Useful Texas Hold em stuff.

Along with the strategy and rakeback information on this site, there are a few other handy tools that you may find useful.

You can find out what stakes you should be playing at using the bankroll calculator.
Find out which poker software is genuinely useful and going to help you improve your game.
There are numerous poker books on sale. Get the lowdown on the good ones.

Or just check out the Texas Hold'em tools page and go from there.

The guy behind ThePokerBank.

My name is Greg (see right), I'm from the UK and I run ThePokerBank. You can find out more gripping stuff about me on the about me page.

Why should you trust my strategy and advice?

I'm not a full time professional or live tournament player, so don't expect to see me on TV shows or in any poker history books.

Despite that major set back, I am a comfortable winning online Texas Hold'em cash game player up to $400NL, which is good enough for me. I've also played at more online poker rooms than most people would consider to be healthy.

Take as much from this site as you will; all the information is free and it's up to you to decide how much you use. I'll remain playing online poker in my boxers and socks at 3am, eating toast and winning money from terrible players to supplement my rigorous beer-purchasing regime on the weekends.