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Complete Guide to Playing Online Poker in Malaysia

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The Law

Malaysia has extremely strict laws when it comes to gambling. Apart from a few government licensed lottery companies and the sole casino operator in Malaysia, Genting, it is hard to find a place one can safely and comfortably play any form of card games in the country.

 

Live poker Rooms in Malaysia 

Live poker rooms in Malaysia still exist as of the writing of this article. However, it is hard to locate an active card room, as most do not market themselves due to legality issues. Hence, players rely on their own network of friends to get into games. Safety is the main concern here as there have been cases where poker rooms were raided by the authorities. Therefore, it is not advisable to play at live games in both Malaysia because technically, the authorities does not recognise it as a legal business. The safer bet would be organising your own home games with friends where only your inner circle of friends play.

You can find live poker games with a simple Google search which would lead you to forums or closed Facebook groups. Getting into the live games without knowing anyone in the inner circle is a huge challenge due to tight security measures at the venue.

 

Online Poker

Online poker in Malaysia has seen a huge spike in players in the past couple of years. Since many top poker sites such as Pokerstars or Full tilt does not cater to the South East Asian market, many local players have emerged.

Players can safely play without worrying about any issues as online players mostly stay anonymous. Many have chosen online poker as their top choice for playing poker. Players are not limited to their own group of friends to find a game; they play with people all over the world at multiple blind levels.

The majority of Malaysian players play at a lower blind level. These are mostly recreational players. A small percentage of players play at the higher stakes. A select few websites cater to both crowds.

As with the rest of the world, Texas Hold’em is the game of choice for most Malaysians with a a minority preferring Pot Limit Omaha.

 

Advantage of Online Poker

Online poker is fun and has many upsides. Here are some of the reasons why many poker players in Malaysia choose to play online

  • Ease of finding a game.
  • You play more hands. Speed of the game is significantly faster than live poker.
  • Players get to play on multiple tables at the same time.
  • Players play and test their skills against other players from different countries.
  • Players can play anywhere anytime.

 

How to get started playing online?

First and foremost, you have to do your homework on which sites you would like to play on. Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself when choosing for the right online poker company for you.

  • How reputable and safe is the site? Does it have the required licenses and random number generator? This is essential for fair gaming. Never play on a website that is not certified for RNG.
  • What are the stakes on the website? Bigger and more reputable sites would have games for all blind levels. Smaller websites generally only have either big games or small stakes.
  • Depositing and withdrawals. Do these companies provide instant withdrawals? Never play at a website that does not provide instant withdrawal services. If a site does not provide this service, it shows a lack of good management within the company. Remember, the money belongs to you; you should have the right to get it instantly.
  • Do you prefer to play on your PC or mobile?
  • Last but not least, do you think you can consistently win on the platform chosen? In other words, choose a platform with the most fishes. Through our experience, there are ways to spot a site with many fishes. Firstly, fishes like to play at the lower stakes tables due to obvious reasons. If a site offers many tables at low stakes such as $0.5-$1 blinds or lower, this shows that the site is potentially filled with beginners who are just trying out the game.
  • A perfect example would be Pocket9. This platform has games for all blind levels. From the micro stakes to $20-$40. They have about close to 500 tables running catered to the lower stakes and about 50 tables running catered to mid and high stakes players. This shows that this platform could very well be filled with fishes. Stay away from websites that offer mostly high stakes games as there will be many grinders waiting to pounce on you.

 

Payment method

The market in Malaysia relies a lot on agents providing credits to players. While playing on credit may sound like a good deal, there are downsides to it. Firstly, players tend to get out of control during bad runs and end up losing more than they can afford to pay. The second reason is more prevalent in Malaysia. Agents do not pay up your winnings. Imagine playing thousands of hands the whole week and winning a few thousand dollars only to have your agent bail on you during payday. Hence, we do not recommend playing under agents. Find a platform that receives deposits and provides instant withdrawal. There are only a handful of poker platforms that provide this service in Malaysia.

 

Tournaments and Sit n Gos

Most reputable poker sites offer some form of tournaments and sit n gos. Look for a site that provides daily freeroll tournaments to its players. Who doesn’t like freebies?

 

Is The Platform Part of a Poker Network?

A poker network is a group of online poker rooms that share the same software and players. The network of poker rooms keep the tables alive and active. Usually, a poker Network consists of poker rooms from all over the world. The companies have different branding and skins in different regions of the world. Choose a poker room that is part of a huge and reputable network for a peace of mind while playing.

A perfect example would be Pocket9 which is part of the IDN Poker network. IDN poker is the largest poker network in Asia and the second largest poker network in the world. Pocket9 caters for IDN’s South East Asian Market. The games run 24/7 across all blind levels. It is truly your one stop solution for all your poker needs.

Conclusion

As you would already have noticed by now, playing poker in this part of the world can be quite the challenge. Do your homework and make the correct choice for your online poker needs. Good luck, and may the flop be with you!

 

Pot Limit Omaha in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Pot limit Omaha has become the go to high stakes poker game across the world and Malaysia is no exception. With PLO, you get more action and more fun. Some might say that there is more gamble int he game compared to No Limit Hold’em, but the seasoned professionals will tell you differently. Highly skilled players can consistently win at PLO.

Many players find the transitioning from PLO to NLH easy. The rules of the game are rather similar, no barrier to entry there. However, good NLH players sometimes find it hard to consistently win at PLO bemoaning the luck factor in the game.

In Malaysia, there is hardly any live PLO games to be found. Therefore, players resort to playing PLO online. There are a few distinct advantages of playing PLO online.

  1. You rarely misread your hand as the app tells you exactly what you have. Beginners tend to not know what hand they are actually holding.
  2. Game play is significantly faster than live games. Again, beginners constantly check their hands to make sure of the hand that they made.
  3. Run multi-times and insurance with the odds and percentages of winning calculated in an instant.

With the advantages mentioned above, it is no wonder why players prefer to play Pot Limit Omaha online in Malaysia. You can start playing PLO at our recommended and trusted apps here:

  1. KKPOKER
  2. PPPOKER
  3. Pocket9

Evolution Of Online Poker In Malaysia

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Back in 2007, poker was huge across the world. WSOP payouts reached astronomical figures. Malaysia was no different. People were crazy over No Limit Hold’em. Home games, Multi Table Tournaments or a simple Sit & Go game was easy to come by. A simple online search would land you on poker forums dedicated to scheduling such games for Malaysians. It was like Tinder for poker.

That sparked a huge interest nationwide. We’ve since seen some Malaysians go pro and compete on the international circuit with some very encouraging results. Poker is huge in Malaysia to say the least. For casual players, it can be a pain trying to find a game of friendly poker.

Fast forward to 2010, online poker in Malaysia actually became a thing. A few poker sites came and went. Those who were lucky actually got to play on reputable sites such as Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker until cashing in into those sites became a problem. Local sites were fun but many complained that it was rigged and did not have proper RNG certification.

Now in 2018 as we speak, online poker has shifted to a more mobile approach. Mobile poker enables players to play anytime, anywhere. The drawback is that you can’t play on that many tables. Most apps allow players to play on just one table with a few exceptions like PPPoker, KKPoker  and Pocket9, where you can actually play on multiple tables at one go splitting your screen in half. Furthermore, those sites mentioned have proper RNG certification. You can now put your mind at ease while playing

The online/mobile poker industry is moving at a very encouraging pace and we as poker players can only hope that it continues to grow.