How to Play Poker Online

By Tom Wilkinson

Playing poker online is something that more and more people are doing everyday. In just a matter of minutes you can be raising and re-raising with the best of them. Where do you start when playing poker online? What are some things you should look for? Let’s take a look.

The first thing to decide when playing poker online is what game do you want to play. In today’s poker world the most popular game is Texas Hold’em and that is what I will concentrate on today. Now that you have decided what poker game to play, you need to decide where to play. There are many online poker rooms that are very secure, very safe, and very easy to navigate. You may find that playing in a few different rooms is a good idea until you find one that gives you a good feel for the game. After deciding upon an Internet poker site, you next want to open your account and make a deposit. These things can be done in a matter of minutes. Once you have money deposited into your online poker account, you are ready to hit the tables.

Your next step in playing poker online is deciding the amount and type of game you want to play. We decided upon Texas Hold’em so now we need to decide what limits we want to play or if we want to play in a tournament. Most online poker sites offer a range of options for us to choose from. Some people want to play in tournaments like they see on television, while others want to start small in a low-limit hold’em game. You should know that the play is different from a regular game to a tournament. We will discuss the differences at another time, but for now just be aware that your strategies will be different. Let’s say in this instance that you want to play a low limit hold’em game like $2-$4. This means that there are betting limits for each round. You can’t lose a ton of money compared to the No-Limit games and many people start at this level. I would recommend starting even lower. There are many rooms that offer 50 cent-$1 tables and that is a great level to start with so you get acquainted and accustomed to the room and the play. Always remember that you can leave a table at any time while playing online poker. And don’t get sucked into playing at a table where you are in over your head. I know people just have to play at the $2-$4, or $5-$10, or higher tables, but I am telling you right now that you don’t want to play at those tables without the proper bankroll. Let’s say you play at the $2-$4 table. Your bankroll should be 200 times the higher bet or $800. Yes, you should have 200 times that higher bet. If you don’t have that amount, start at a lower table. That is why I recommended the 50 cent/$1 table where you would only need a starting bankroll of $200.

Playing online poker is definitely the new craze when it comes to playing casino games. Television has made the life seem very glamorous and exciting, but remember that nothing is ever as easy as it seems. You will need to learn the game, have the proper bankroll, and be disciplined enough to manage your money properly. I will give you many tips that will help you do each of these things. Hopefully they will help you and get you on the way to winning more money playing one of the most exciting games in the world, online poker.