As many of you know, I have been a vocal critic of some poker forums over the years, due to what I feel are unnecessary amounts of negativity, trolling and the like.

Beasts of Poker has an in depth forum page that houses discussions based on various categories. These include categories with discussions on learning about poker, hand histories, general discussions, gambler’s diary and lifestyle. There are also discussions on recent online poker tournaments and the best online poker moments.

This really prevents useful discussion and a positive learning environment in my opinion, which is kind of the whole point of a poker forum!

This is the best poker forum in the world today. If you are struggling to win in low stakes poker games, this free poker forum will help you start winning. BlackRain79 - Micro Stakes Poker Strategy The Blog of BlackRain79, #1 Winnings of All-Time at the Micros. Home; Free Poker. Welcome to CardsChat.com, the best online poker forums for learning and playing your favorite game. Featuring site reviews, bonuses like our Full Tilt Poker bonus offer and a PokerStars marketing.

In fact, this is precisely the reason why very few big name poker pros even bother posting on many of these poker forums anymore.
However, there is one poker forum that clearly bucks this trend and stands out from all the rest in my opinion.
In fact, I have been a member there for nearly a decade now, and it is the only poker forum (besides my own), which I continue to post at.
And this is CardsChat.
I am happy today to bring on the long time CardsChat forum administrator Debi O'Neill to explain what it is that separates CardsChat from all the rest.
And furthermore, why the CardsChat community continues to see steady growth, while most other poker forums are clearly in decline at this point.

Could you please give a brief history of CardsChat, how the community and the site began, and your involvement in it?

CardsChat launched in late 2004 and I joined the forum in late 2006. The founder Nick wanted to provide a friendly and open space for players who were looking to discuss all things poker.

By the end of 2006 CardsChat had over 15,000 members; we doubled that to over 30,000 in 2007!
I became the forum administrator in 2009 when we had 50,000 members and we have since then continued a steady growth.

I am personally a big fan of CardsChat and I have been posting on there for close to a decade now. What do you think separates CardsChat from every other poker forum out there?

Our members know they can discuss poker in a friendly environment and not get discouraged by negative responses.
We also have a strong focus on community events – we offer our members over $15k a month in freerolls, leagues, leaderboards and special events prizes.

What sort of community can somebody expect when they join CardsChat?

We pride ourselves on the strong sense of community that our members feel. Our members make lifelong friends and acquaintances from all over the world.
We’re dedicated to providing a sense of ‘family’ and belonging to our users. We welcome players of all levels – beginners, intermediate and advanced – there’s a place for everyone at CardsChat!

I understand that you have several well known poker pros posting on CardsChat now as well? I even did an “Ask Me Anything” thread just recently on CardsChat myself!

Here is the link to my recent 'Ask Me Anything' On CardsChat by the way.
https://www.cardschat.com/f11/ask-blackrain79-anything-about-cash-games-443750/
Yes – members were very excited when you started that thread!
Ryan Laplante - a WSOP bracelet winner - regularly spends time at CardsChat assisting members. Jeff Gross is another poker pro who takes time out of his busy schedule to visit the forum.
Others include Evan Jarvis, Dara O’Kearney, Collin Moshman and Katie Dozier, not to mention our very own CardsChat poker experts.

What do you see as the future of online poker and live poker especially in America? What is the vibe that you get from the members of CardsChat?

Almost nine years later (after poker's Black Friday on April 15, 2011) American members are still holding out hope that they’ll be able to play online again at big sites like PokerStars, but we’ll just have to settle for one state at a time for now.
More and more of our members try to make it to live events now and we have a great team event during the WSOP every year. We will be making a splash at the Colossus again this year!

How about your own personal involvement in the game? Do you still play poker regularly and if so what games?

I love to jump into fun games online with CardsChat members when I have the time. I still participate in the CardsChat league that I started exactly 10 years ago.
We started with 12 teams and now have 27! I prefer live NLHE tournaments and go to Vegas twice a year to play in those.

I hear that you are approaching 300,000 members? Congratulations this is an incredible achievement! What are your plans going forward with the CardsChat community?

Thanks – we are very excited about this huge milestone! We have some amazing things in store for our members. Our focus is on providing our users with the best experience possible in the forum.
We have just launched a CardsChat Champions program and invited some of our top members to join and assist us with achieving our goals. We will also be launching our first training course.
I look forward to having 500,000 members at CardsChat!

Final Thoughts

I want to thank Debi for taking the time to answer a few questions about CardsChat today on my poker blog.
As my regular readers know, I am not a big fan of most poker forums or even poker reddit groups these days.
I am just not interested in the negativity, trolling and the flame wars that so often seem to derail the discussion.
And this is because I believe this prevents useful dialogue, learning, and your growth as a poker player which is the whole point!
However, CardsChat is the one poker forum that continues to reverse this trend.
And that is why this is the only poker forum I have continued to post at (besides my own poker forum), to this day, while I stopped even reading the rest many, many years ago.
The CardsChat community isn't about ego wars, know-it-alls, and all the other negative nonsense so often found on other poker forums these days.
CardsChat is instead all about creating a positive learning environment and a strong sense of community among it's members. It is also very welcoming for beginners.
For example, you won't get ridiculed for asking a 'stupid question' if you are new to the game of poker.
You can also post your own poker hands on there and get genuine help from other people who are also trying to improve their poker game.
There are also many good experienced players, and even some well known poker pros, as Debi mentioned, that will offer you advice as well.
CardsChat is of course totally free to sign up at. You can become a member right here.
Let me know your thoughts on poker forums in the comments below. Do you have a favorite?

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Lastly, if you want to know the exact poker strategy that I have used to crush the micro stakes games as a 10+ year pro, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.

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