Online Poker

How to Play Card Rooms Online

Poker remains a favorite game for those who like betting and socializing. Some people play with a small group of friends, and others enjoy competitive game such as poker tournaments. Online card rooms provide many different options like multi-player poker, live dealer games and of course online poker tournaments. A number of well-established online card rooms have attracted huge communities of poker players and have contributed to the overall popularity of the game.

100 years ago people would go to a saloon or tavern to play cards. Today, most players turn to online card rooms. The advantages are many. For starters, the established sites have thousands of members from all around the world which means no matter what time of the day you log on, there will always be other people playing online poker. Players can choose different games like Texas hold'em, Omaha poker, 5 card and 7 card stud and much more. There are also different tables offering different stakes. That means everyone from new players to high rollers have a table to sit at. There is almost no wait time to join in on a poker game.

The online poker community is comprised of players from all over the map. The chat function allows you to communicate with people and make new poker friends, and you can always find players from your own country so communication isn't a problem. Another great advantage to playing at online card rooms is the option to play in free mode. Players can choose demo games in order to feel out the software, learn the rules of a type of poker they aren't familiar with such as Texas holdem, or they can simply play for fun while working on their poker skills and strategy. Players also have the option to play for real money stakes when they feel confident and ready to gamble.

There are many well-established online card rooms within the poker community including: Absolute poker, Bodog Poker, Carbon Poker, Full Tilt Poker, Prima Poker Network, Party Poker, Titian Poker, and Paradise Poker to name some of the biggest in the business. Each of these online poker rooms boasts a player base of thousands of members.

Joining is free and easy. Start off by navigating to their site and downloading the software. Once it has been downloaded and installed on your PC, launch the application and begin by registering a new account. From there you may want to play poker just for fun in free mode. If you wish to play real money games you must first deposit funds into your new account. There are a number of verified methods for making money deposits into your account such as Visa, Mastercard, Click2Pay, Moneybookers, UKash, Neteller, bank wire and more. Very often new players are rewarded with a free poker bonus for joining. This may be a specified amount of free money or a match bonus promotion. In this case the online card room will match the amount of money you deposit in your account up to a certain amount. This acts as an incentive to get new players started.

Some online poker rooms offer browser-based software as an alternative to the download version. This allows you to play poker games right in your web-browser with no download necessary. Click and play is instant and takes up less system resources which is why some poker players prefer it to the download option. Ultimately the poker games work pretty much the same way.

Before you join any one online card room, be sure to read the terms of agreement and find out what kind of service they offer. Look for a poker room with a wide range of games, regular freeroll tournaments, attractive player promotions and bonus offers, and of course a large community of online poker players.