In all of my how-tos, I am assuming that you know how to download and install the client software.

Summary

I really like the look of this site. It has a clean, crisp look. PokerChamps offers features that are not found at most other sites and many of it's intended features haven't been implemented yet, since the site is new. One of the most significant features of PokerChamps is that

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MAKE A REAL MONEY DEPOSIT TO PLAY REAL MONEY TABLES.

You can get real money in a couple of ways other than making a deposit. Here's how:

1) You can play the free tournaments. Many of them are run every day. In fact, they are run almost every hour. And, if you are good at tournaments, then you can win real money in these FreeRolls.

2) You can sign other players up to play at PokerChamps. Every player gets an affiliate code. You can find yours on the Cashier page under Settings. There are also instructions on how to provide a link on your web site or email the link to your friends so that they sign up using your affiliate code. What this really means is that, as you play real money games, you earn Bonus Points that get converted to cash every Friday morning. The bonus cash gets deposited directly into your account. And, about your friends. Well, because they signed up using your affiliate code, you get Bonus Points when THEY play real money games and tournaments, too. This is a program which no other online poker site (that I know of) provides. So, go for it! Sign up using the links on this page or SIGN UP HERE and get your friends going, too. Then, play and earn cash. It is all described in detail on the PokerChamps web site.

Now, I will walk you through the basics of how to get around at pokerchamps.com.

PokerChamps is the home of Gus Hansen, 3-time winner in the World Poker Tour series. Gus is a very aggressive and often intimidating player, but a great guy according to his colleagues. I have played $3/$6 Texas Hold'Em a few times on PokerChamps with Gus. He is a very friendly person and was openly appreciative of the good things we were telling him about the site.

When you first start the client, you will see the image at the right. This is the Table Mode selection page. If you do nothing, it will take you to the mode that you chose the last time you ran the client. The first time you run it, it will likely want to put you in 4x4 mode. The various modes allow you to choose to play 1, 2, 4, or 6 frames at once. Each frame is like having a separate 1-frame client running. So, in 4-frame (4x4) mode, you can play four tables simultaneously or mix it up by having any combination of tables and lobbies in your frames.



In the client frame, the first thing you should look for is the main menu on the left. Here you can go to the Cash Game Lobby or the Tournament Lobby. I will discuss what you will find in those areas a bit later. Here is the link to either Login or Logout, depending on your current state. The Cashier, About, Help, and Website options will launch your web browser and load the appropriate page at the www.pokerchamps.com web site.

You can select different table modes. Many players like to play more than one table at once, or, like me, view the tournament lobby or tournament summary page in one frame while playing the table in another frame. So, for me, the 2-frame mode works best, as shown in the example at the right.

Now let's take a closer look at the tournament area.


The Tournament Lobby allows you to choose which tournament list to view. You can look at All, Regular, Satellite, FreeRoll, FPP, Special, or Sit&Go. Only the Regular and FreeRoll options are up and running, but, the other currently unavailable features will get added as the site matures. The buy-ins currently start for as little as $1 for the Regular tournaments.

SPECIAL NOTE: Take a look at the FreeRroll tournaments. You can win real $$$ in these FREE tournaments. You also get Bonus Points for playing tournaments. I will explain the Bonus Point program later.

Each listing shows the Tournament name, buy-in amount, number of players registered, starting time, and status of the tournament. The triangle in the Go column can be clicked to go to the tournament Summary page.



The Tournament Summary page shows you an overview of the tournament. Included are a Return button to go back to the Tournament Lobby, a Register or UnRegister button, as appropriate, a Tables, Players, or Prize Pool list (selectable by clicking on the appropriate tab), and a player location list. The triangles in the Tables/Players list take you to each respective table so you can view the play. Another area shows you the buy-in and Bonus Point information for the tournament.



The tournament table page also has several areas. In the table corners are areas that show the current stakes and the current game (hand) number and Pot Size. There is also an area that currently displays the table chat and the tournament summary information. This area will later also allow you to view your play statistics and to take notes. Buttons in the upper right corner can take you to the Tournament Summary page (Lobby) or allow you to leave the table.

There is an area for each player that shows that player's nickname (user name), chip total, and tournament rank.

Another area allows each player to change play preferences such as Auto-posting Blinds, Sitting Out the Next Hand, Mucking (not showing) Uncalled or Losing Hands, and for Choosing the Deck Color.

Currently, Texas Hold'Em is the only game that PokerChamps is running. But they have Stud and Omaha in the works for future releases of their software. Listed for each table is the Table Name, Stakes, Game Type Limit, No-Limit, or Pot Limit, Number of Players, the Average Pot Size, and some other information. You can also select either Real Money or Fun Money from the tabs.



This last image shows an area in the Cash Lobby which shows the approximate location on the world map of each player at the selected table.

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