Can You Play Poker At Home Singapore?
Table of Contents
But, poker is not always easy as it seems to be portrayed. If you want to become a poker player, you have to go through a lot of hard work and effort. Thankfully, poker is a really fun game. So learning poker is quite exciting. But can Singaporeans play poker at home?
Hence, we’ll cover that in this article “Can you play poker at home Singapore?”. Plus, a simple guide on poker and tips to win.
Playing Poker At Home
A lot of journey to greatness starts from home. This includes being a poker player too. The good news is, you can play poker in the comfort of your own home.
Singapore’s government has legalized social gambling effective 1 August 2022. Hence, you can legally play poker at home under a few conditions:
- You can only play with friends and family. Playing with strangers isn’t allowed.
- You must play in one of the player’s homes, including yourself. You can’t play in public or in a rented place.
- Strictly offline poker only. You cannot play via an online platform. Even though every player is physically present in the same place.
Another new change to the Gambling Control Act is that there is no age restriction for social gambling. The government deemed that it is safe enough for minors. Because at home, there tend to be adults around to supervise the minors.
Playing Poker Online
By law, Singaporeans can only gamble on licensed gambling websites. But so far, Singapore's government has only given out 1 license for online gambling i.e. to Singapore Pools. It's a state-run company that offers sports betting and lottery betting only.
Thus, it's illegal to play poker online in Singapore.
But the Gambling Control Act only applies to people and companies in Singapore. Singaporeans can still gamble in a casino outside of the country. For instance, it's legal to fly to Macau or Vegas to gamble. Or drive up to Genting in Malaysia to gamble too.
Players are bound by the laws of the country where the casino is based in. The same logic applies to online casinos too. Most if not all, online casinos available to Singaporeans are based in another country.
So in a way, it's totally legal to play in an online casino as long as it's not operating from Singapore. Plus, there have not been any cases whereby people are charged for playing in an online casino at home.
Playing Poker For Beginners
So now that we know that it’s legal to play poker at home, let’s look a poker in a nutshell. Poker is a game whereby 2 or more players compete with each other. There is no banker or dealer involved. The objective is to make the best 5-card hand that they can.
This game is played in various variants. The most popular variants are Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud.
Poker Is A Battle Of The Mind
Poker can be very exciting. Plus it's a great source of fun for thrill seekers. This is because the player has a big influence on the outcome of the game.
"Even with a lousy hand, you can bluff your way to victory". That's something we often hear while playing poker. That's why, poker is primarily a mental battle between players. Hence, playing poker can be frustrating and mentally exhausting.
You need to be able to control your emotions very well when playing poker. That's how the term "poker face" came about. To have a cool and calm composure at all times. More so when you're dealing with a loss.
All in all, to be a good poker player, you need more than just luck and knowledge. A good poker player always has his or her emotions under control. Plus, being very observant. You need to be able to read your opponents accurately and well.
The Key Skill To Win In Poker
Being able to read your opponent like an open book is one of the keys to winning in poker. You may be wondering, "What's there to read?".
After playing several rounds with the same players, you should be able to notice some patterns. Their habits, behaviours and tendencies.
The first thing you need to notice is, how your opponents behave. More so when they're holding a strong hand and a weak hand. Pay very close attention on their betting patterns on each scenario.
While patterns and tendencies help you to predict your opponents, don't overly rely on them. That's because a pro poker player can easily fake those. It's superbly useful to confuse their opponents. Plus, make themselves harder to read.
Training Grounds For Beginners
As you see from our discussion above, poker can be quite complicating. It's definitely a game that you want to practice thoroughly before putting your money at stake.
The best way to learn poker is by playing it. That's why it's very crucial to be able to practice comfortably at home first.
Another good option is to practice in free poker rooms available from online casinos. Once you gained enough experience and skills, you can easily switch to a low stake room. Always start with low stake rooms first. Because the stakes can easily snowball.
Final Thoughts
Although there are many variants of poker, we often advise beginners to master 1 variant first. But do not stay comfortable with only 1 variant for too long. Because poker trends come and go. You never know, the variant that you mastered may become unpopular one day.
By mastering a few variants, you surely would be able to adapt to any upcoming new variants. Hence, there is no need to worry about getting obsolete.
