Poker Quick Start
Thanks to the Internet, you no longer have to leave your home to play poker. You can play online in a much more convenient way nowadays. In order to do so, all you need is to follow a few simple steps.
Choose poker room
There are dozens of poker rooms available on the Internet. It is important to choose one that will meet your expectations. You can find many poor online poker rooms. They may have low player traffic, unattractive promotions and bonuses, little game variety and deposit options, or unfriendly customer support. Some are even scams and you risk losing your money by making deposit with them.
This is why we picked the top online poker rooms in our opinion and wrote a comprehensive review for each of them to make it easier for you to choose the right one.
Download and install poker software
Once you have chosen your poker room, visit their website and download the poker client. Most of the time you will be offered to download the software immediately after the website is loaded or there will be a big download button.
When the download has finished, click twice on the executable file and it will quickly install on your computer. From then on, you will be able to run the poker client from your desktop or start menu.
Some poker rooms additionally offer a no-download flash version so you can play directly from your browser. However, it usually is not as feature-rich and comfortable to play as the standalone version so we recommend choosing the downloadable client.
Create new account
When you open the poker client for the first time, you will have to register a new account. All you have to do is to fill in the registration form. Make sure all the fields contain correct data and your password is strong and unique.
The most important part here is to choose the right user name. It will be shown on every poker table you play at. Well-chosen screen name can influence your table image. For example, strong-looking names may make some players fear you and you will be able to bluff them more so choose your user name wisely.
Poker lobby
After logging in, you will see the main poker lobby. There will be a number of tables available. You can choose between different poker variants (e.g. Texas Holdem, Omaha), betting limits (limit, pot limit, no limit), and stakes.
Another important division is table types. Ring games (or cash games) are tables, where you play with real money. Every hand is independent from each other and stakes do not change with time. In tournaments, the chips in play do not have a real value and stakes increase until there is only one player remaining. A special kind of tournament is sit-and-go, which starts as soon as the last allowed player registers (usually the 10th). There are also freerolls – tournaments with real money prizes that are free to enter.
You do not have to make a deposit to play poker at online poker rooms. You can start with practice mode (also called play/fun money). This is a good way to familiarize with the poker software features.
However, you should remember that the skill level of players in practice mode is close to zero – they make ridiculous plays because they do not risk their money. If you quickly win a lot in practice mode, do not expect your winnings to be as high in real money mode. The competition there is much tougher.
Make deposit
Once you have familiarized with the software, you can deposit real money into your account. The easiest way is to use a credit or debit card. Usually you will also have an option to open an interface leading directly to your bank website, allowing for instant deposit.
An alternative way is to use an online payment processor. Moneybookers is one of the most popular ones. It is basically an Internet wallet that is accepted as a payment method by 99% poker rooms, casinos, and even some online merchants. Payment processors are also usually the fastest way to cash out your winnings.
More articles on general poker:
Poker bankroll management
Poker position
Poker playing styles
Poker software
Optimal poker session length
Poker history
Poker glossary
Poker tips
Go back to the Online Poker Strategy.