Online poker is a fun, easy to learn and intellectually thrilling game that rewards actual skill unlike slots or the lottery. Getting started is as simple as downloading an app and signing up, after that the world is your oyster! Online poker is accessible from a PC or smartphone at anytime of the day or night, anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. This unprecedented accessibility has been responsible for a huge boom in the number of players worldwide.
Generally speaking most major online poker sites are licensed by a recognized gambling authority and as such are generally safe to play. However, if you’re interested in playing on a smaller unlicensed site it is still important to know what the risks are before you deposit any money.
Most poker sites will display a lobby that is categorized by cash games, tournaments, Sit & Go’s and whatever other formats they run. They will also usually have a “beginner” tab that will automatically place you in tables that only seat players who classify themselves as beginners. This dramatically levels the playing field for newcomers and is a must-have for anyone who wants to start out on the right foot.
The first thing you should do when starting out is familiarize yourself with the rules of online poker. Most of the information is available for free on a variety of strategy websites and blogs. There are also a few decent books such as Harrington on Hold’em, Theory of Poker and Super/System.
Once you’re comfortable with the basic rules it is a good idea to take advantage of any free training resources available to you. Most training sites will offer at least one video per week and these are great to watch as a beginner because they explain everything very clearly in an easy to understand way. Youtube is also a great resource and you can find plenty of videos on almost any poker topic. However, I would avoid trying to implement too many things at once and instead master a single area of your game before moving on to the next.
After a while the math will begin to become ingrained in your poker brain and you’ll develop an intuition for things like frequencies and EV estimation. Then you can be a much more effective player and make fewer mistakes. You’ll be able to focus on other aspects of your game and make more money in the long run!
If you’re looking to play in the USA then Ignition Poker is a solid choice. They’re an excellent US online poker brand with a great welcome bonus, big rakeback and weekly promotions. In addition, they are part of the BetMGM poker network which means they are backed by a large and reputable gambling company and should never have problems meeting their obligations toward players. This makes them a top pick for newcomers to the game. In addition, their poker client software is very feature rich and supports a maximum of 24 tables on desktop and 4 on mobile.