To start playing online poker, you must download the appropriate software. These programs are usually virus-free. After you have downloaded and installed the software, you must set up an account. Only one account can be created for any online poker site. Multi-accounting is against the rules and can get you permanently banned from the site. Therefore, it is recommended to only set up a single account to play online poker. Here are some tips for starting online poker.
First, you should know that online poker has been around for decades in the United States. The first websites appeared in the late 1990s. Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 World Series of Poker victory made the unregulated online poker market flourish. After the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, a number of these sites were forced to shut down, but sites like PokerStars continued to serve U.S. players. Today, online poker is legal in over half the U.S. states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and West Virginia.
Another tip for online poker players is to follow their results. This way, you can spot any winning or losing pattern. Most online poker sites have a feature that allows you to view your session stats. Pay attention to win-rate, flops you saw, and time to showdown. All these factors can help you improve your online poker game. Don’t forget to sign up for training sites, network with poker pros, and brutally analyze your play after each session.
While playing real money online poker is not legal in all states, many states do allow it. In addition to Delaware, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, PokerStars and WSOP Online are currently live in these states. These legal poker sites are operated by local casinos, so you can play with players from these states as well as other states. As more states legalize online poker, this list will continue to grow. The US government has a long way to go to make online poker a legal activity.
One of the advantages of online poker is that the stakes are much lower compared to brick-and-mortar casinos. The marginal cost for opening an online poker table is negligible. Some online poker sites even allow you to play at more than one table. Most of them allow you to view multiple tables in different windows. To be considered a good player, you should aim for a limit of $10 per hundred hands. It’s also wise to choose a low limit table so that you don’t end up with an opponent with better cards.
To deposit money into an online poker account, visit the cashier or bank link on the poker site’s website. The amounts of deposits vary between poker sites. Some accept deposits of $5 or $20, while others accept thousands. The processing time for these deposits varies between sites. Depending on the poker site, it can take as little as a few hours to a day. This is why it’s wise to play as much as possible during the first few weeks.