Online poker is a fun, intellectual, thrilling game that rewards actual skill unlike slots or the lottery. It can be played at any time, for as long as you like and for whatever stakes you want from the comfort of your own home or office – it’s available to all ages and skill levels.
Signing up with a reputable real money poker site is easy. All you need to do is provide your personal details, create a username and password, choose one of the many deposit methods and funds will appear in your account almost instantly. You can then use these to start playing for real cash prizes.
The software used by the poker sites is usually quite lightweight and will not put much strain on even archaic Internet connections. It is designed to be visually appealing but not distracting and the tables are easy on the eye. The table software also allows players to customize their betting options depending on how they play.
Unlike live poker, online poker does not allow players to read physical ‘tells’ of their opponents so it is important to pay attention to how they bet. This can be done by watching their betting patterns in previous hands, for example, if they are raising their bets more than normal when holding a strong hand.
Another key difference is that you will likely play a lot more hands online than in live games. This can artificially skew your variance in the short term, with large swings compared to your overall average.