When you’re ready to grab a seat in a friendly online poker game, we can help make your experience a pleasant one. You’ll be glad to know that at most poker sites, the sign-up process is quick and painless, and you can hop into a game within minutes.
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You can look up your competitors to see how good they are, then use this info to make decisions in real time. The lowest cash game you can play live is usually $1/$2 or $1/$3. The smallest tournament is usually $40. But online you can play for $0.01/$0.02 per hand and MTTs for less than $1. Legal poker sites also offer the chance to simply play for virtual currency (play money), too, although the game is decidedly different strategically than real money poker. Regardless, through both you can see how the site functions, get used to the speed of the online game. The best places to play poker online for real money are Ignition, Bovada, and Intertops. #1 Ignition Ignition attracts a lot of players because you can win 1,000 times your buy-in in a short period of time in a tournament. They will also run a tournament series from time to time in order to attract new players.
The first thing you need to do is to choose where you want to play. It’s important that you pick a site that is reliable, safe and secure. But you should also seek an app with plenty of traffic so that you can get into a game when you’re ready to play.
The poker site sign-up process
Once you have a poker site in mind, it’s time to download the software (if applicable). Most poker sites take just a couple minutes to download and are virus-free to use on your computer or, in most cases, mobile device.
After the download process is complete, open up the software and create an account. This is the point where you’ll decide on a screen name. Make sure you like the moniker you’ve chosen because you won’t be permitted to change it later on. And you can only create one account. Multi-accounting is prohibited in online poker and will lead to a permanent ban from the poker site.
During the sign-up process, you will be asked to provide personal information such as your full name, address, date of birth, and social security number. This is where we go back to the section above about choosing a safe and secure site. You’re giving out some personal information, so it’s important to choose a company you can trust.
Since IRS tax return fraud is such a prevalent crime, you may even want to look into getting an IRS IP PIN. That’s not just a good idea for online poker, but for your life in general.
Some poker sites may require additional documentation to prove you are who you say you are. If this happens, it’s perfectly normal and a pain-free process. Most likely, they’ll ask you to scan your ID and possibly a utility bill in your name at the address they have on file for you. No big deal.
Making a deposit
Immediately after you’ve completed the sign-up process, you’re one step away from playing real money online poker. Before you can get into a game, you need some money to play with.
One option is to win money in freeroll tournaments, but that can take some time and you’re likely to win just a small amount. So, the best option is to make a deposit into your player account.
Most deposits are instant and the funds will be available for you to enter poker games within moments. To make a deposit, simply click on “Cashier” on the poker site software. That will take you to a separate tab that will walk you through the deposit process.
Each poker site is different in terms of deposit methods available. Bitcoin is becoming a popular way to fund an online poker account. But most sites also offer traditional methods such as credit card, debit card, ACH and bank transfer deposits.
Fees are attached to some, but not most, deposit methods. Bank transfers, for example, typically cost a few bucks, and your funds may not be available for play right away.
Joining a game
Now it’s time to have some fun, and hopefully make some money. You have money in your account, so you’re all set and ready to go. All you need to do now is to choose a game to play.
Most online poker sites offer a mixture of games at various stakes. And we aren’t just talking about the specific poker game (no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha, etc.). We’re also referring to the different formats.
The most popular format is cash game poker. And most poker sites offer cash games from the micro-stakes, as low as $0.01/$0.02 blinds, often all the way up to $400/$800 for those with unlimited bankrolls.
If you aren’t into cash games, you may enjoy playing multi-table tournaments, heads-up matches, or sit n go’s, which are similar to tournaments, but the game typically only has one table.
Game play is simple and the site will automatically let you know when it’s your turn to act, so you don’t have to make everyone at the table wait while you try to figure out how to play. That’s one of the benefits to online poker compared to live poker. If you’re playing live poker and you hold up the game, chances are that others at the table will yell at you.
Improving the odds
As much fun as it is to play poker, it can be quite expensive if you don’t work on your game consistently. Make no mistake, poker is a game of skill over the long run. The top pros spend as much time studying the game as they do playing. It’s a difficult game to beat, but if you put in the work by signing up for training sites such as Chip Leader Coaching or Upswing Poker, network with successful pros, and brutally analyze your play after every session, you can be among those who win big.
Making a withdrawal
There’s nothing more exciting than picking up a big score at the poker tables. After you’ve hit your financial target, you can request a withdrawal of all or some of the money in your account.
In most cases, the money will be returned to you in the same manner it was deposited. Most online poker withdrawals nowadays are processed quickly. Back in the day, in the early 2000s, players often waited weeks and sometimes months to see the money, but not anymore.
When you request your first withdrawal, if you haven’t sent in your documentation to verify your identity, you may be asked to do so prior to receiving the money.
One additional and very important final note on this section is that before you ever make a deposit, be certain that you have a bank statement or utility bill available showing the same address as shown on your ID or driver’s license. If not, the withdrawal process could be an issue. It’s best to be prepared beforehand so you don’t run into any problems when you’re ready to get paid.
Go have some fun
As you can tell from this article, playing poker online for real money is simple. The process from downloading the poker client to making a deposit and then entering a game happens in a matter of minutes, in most cases.
So, pick a poker site, make a deposit, and start stacking chips. And don’t forget to study the game and work to improve throughout your online poker career.
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Opening a new account
If you are new to online poker you might become a bit lost when it comes to finding an online poker room and setting up an account. Here is a walk through for new players:
The first thing you need to do is decide which online poker room is right for you. You’ll need to find a poker room that has a long standing reputation, such as Bovada, and also offers a quality game and software. Make sure you spend some time reading the reviews on this site of the different poker rooms in order to find a room that works for you. If a bonus is important then you’ll also need to make sure that the room you choose offers a good bonus program.
Once you’ve chosen the online room that you want to play in you’ll need to download the software which is always free and a quick. After downloading the poker room software onto your computer you’ll be able to visit the poker room lobby which is where you can set up your account.
After creating your account you can either start playing for free with play money or register for a real money account by making your first deposit. There are always dozens of options for depositing money into your account. There are different options for different countries and I’m sure they’ll have a method that you can use. The easiest methods are credit cards or Bitcoin.
Depending which method you used to deposit money into your account you will be able to play almost instantly. Most rooms have filters which you can use to narrow down the list of tournaments or regular table games. Once you’re sitting down at the table everything is self-explanatory with regards to Call, Raise or Fold. It doesn’t take long at all for a new poker player to get set-up online and start playing. The entire process can be completed within minutes which is one of the reasons online poker is so popular.
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