Playing online Poker with free chips are a great way to practice and learn without the risk of going broke. But unfortunately, it’s at the same time also a sort of freedom that can easily lead to irresponsible behaviour on the online felt.

These are the key pros and cons – the dos and don’ts – to be aware of when playing with free online Poker chips.

Free Chips Can Help Us Adapt

Free chips are a great idea when tying out a new online Poker site. No matter how experienced you may think you are, what remains true and a constant is that not all online Poker sites operate in precisely the same way.

In fact, most sites try on purpose to be unique. These unique characteristics typically become most prominent in terms of how they differ in the way in which users are able to interact with one another, the speed at which standard speed games are played, and just the general look and feel of the site.

A winning principle worth sticking to when practice-playing with free chips is to play in the same exact way you would have had you been seated at a live Poker table playing with real money. By adopting this approach you can be sure that you’re fully checking out and learning the ropes of the controls, spare yourself any future surprises, and avoid falling into the trap of allowing bad betting habits to creep in.

They’re Great For Learning

Free chips are great for learning new varieties of Poker when playing online. In fact, there’s hardly a better way to make the switch in a controlled manner. Free chips will allow you to get used to the dynamics of the new game without any risk of financial penalty.

Interesting too is that players around a free chips table are often much more likely to dish out advice and share about their own personal experiences than those playing with real money. Any word of advice or tip from a fellow online Poker player should however always be tested before being made part of your own strategy – even when playing with free chips.

They Can Help Us Acclimatise

Something many online Poker players struggle with when first making the switch from live play at the casino to playing online, is the speed at which online hands and rounds are played.

Online hands are typically played at least twice as fast as hands played in actual brick-and-mortar casinos. Getting used to hands progressing at a higher speed than usual is an important skill if you’re going to get completely comfortable with playing online at any point in the future. Free chips are an obvious choice when trying to acclimatise to the conditions of playing online – including the faster speeds at which hands are completed and rotated.

Don’t Cultivate Bad Free Habits

Since free chips aren’t real money, it’s easy not to take them seriously. The danger is that when playing with free chips, people are more likely to raise more often, make bad decisions, and play more absolutely ridiculous hands than when playing with actual money. For this reason, free chips should only ever be used until such time as you’ve managed to find your feet on a particular site or around a specific type of Poker.