Responsible gambling

Poker is a game of skill and luck, and when real money is involved it can stop being a game. This page is here so that never happens to you, or so you know where to turn if it does.

Keep it a game

• Decide your limit before you start, in money and in time, and stop when you reach it. Win or lose.
• Only play with money you can afford to lose. Never with money for rent, bills or food.
• Never chase losses. Trying to win back what you lost is how small losses become big ones.
• Do not play when you are upset, tired or drinking. See tilt.
• Keep it social. Free home games with friends are poker at its best: start a table, no money needed.

Warning signs

Talk to someone if you recognise any of these:

• You spend more money or time on gambling than you meant to.
• You borrow money, sell things or hide gambling from the people close to you.
• You feel restless or irritable when you try to cut down.
• You gamble to escape problems or bad moods.
• You keep going back to win back what you lost.

Tools every licensed site must offer

• Deposit limits per day, week or month.
• Time-outs - a break of a day, a week or longer.
• Self-exclusion - closing your account for months or years.
• Reality checks - reminders of how long you have been playing.

Set your limits on the first day, before you need them.

Where to get free help

Home Game and money

Home Game is played with free chips that have no cash value. They cannot be bought, sold or cashed out, and no real-money gambling takes place on it. Our pages about online poker rooms are information for adults; they do not mean you should gamble.