If you enjoy poker but don't have anyone to play with and aren't interested in going to a casino, you should play poker online. You can play for fun or to win money. And the best part is that you can play for fun and get lots of practice and then switch to playing for money when you actually have a chance at winning some.
If you don't have a high-speed Internet connection, then you should probably forget trying to play poker online in a casino. You can play flash games or buy casino software if you just want the fun of poker. But if you want to play in a real online casino, you'll need a computer that can handle the software so it shouldn't be too old or slow. And you'll need high-speed Internet like DSL or cable broadband.
While the rules of poker stay the same whether you're playing at a neighborhood game, a casino or an online casino, the way you play is different in a traditional casino than it is online. When you play with friends or in a casino, a large part of the game play is looking for "tells." These are things that give players away. By carefully watching your opponents you might be able to judge if they have a good hand or a bad one. It can be especially easily to tell if your friends are bluffing, but it's much harder in a casino where you don't know the other players.
When you play poker online, you can't see the other players' faces. So you can't judge whether anyone has a sweet hand or they're bluffing. The advantage is they can't look for tells that you might give away either. But if you can't figure out whether someone's bluffing, then this entire aspect of the game is meaningless. To play poker online, you have to look at the pattern of bets to help give you the edge instead of watching for twitches or expressions.
Look for some reviews online to find the best and most reputable casinos and poker rooms. You don't want to give your financial information to a website that's anything less than reputable. The more players there are, the higher the odds that it's a popular, secure and authenticated poker room. Poker communities, message boards and forums are a good place to find out about the best places to play poker online.
Also, look around for casinos and poker rooms that are offering deals and bonuses to new players. Because many people still prefer traditional casinos, online casinos work hard to woo new customers. You might find a casino that matches your deposit or gives you a little money to play with at first. Regardless of the offer, be sure you can play for free extensively before gambling for actual money so you can be sure to play poker online in a way that you won't lose all your money right away and you may actual win something.
