Online poker takes everything that makes the game so popular in casinos and cardrooms and cranks it up to 11 with instant access, no matter where you are. Players can play for the smallest stakes imaginable (literally pennies) and win satellite entries to some of the world’s biggest live tournaments. And of course, you can play at the highest stakes imaginable as well, all from the convenience and comfort of your laptop, tablet or mobile phone.

There are a number of things to consider when choosing a site to play poker at, from software that’s easy to use and mobile-friendly to the game selection itself. But perhaps the most important factor to look at is whether or not a poker site is trustworthy. There are a lot of bad poker sites out there, so it’s worth doing your homework and finding one that you can trust.

Once you’ve found a site to play poker at it’s time to sign up for an account. Most poker sites will require that you provide an email address and some form of ID to verify your age and identity. This is a standard practice and there’s nothing to be alarmed about – it’s designed to protect the integrity of the games played at the site and make sure nobody underage plays for real money.

After that you’ll need to deposit some funds into your account in order to play for real money. This can be done with credit cards, e-wallets or bank transfers. The process varies from site to site and is usually fairly quick and easy. In some cases you might be asked to scan a government-issued ID or utility bill in order to complete the process but this is also usually just a standard check that the person is who they say they are.

When you’re ready to start playing for real cash you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the poker site’s lobby. The lobbies are generally categorized by Cash Games, Tournaments, Sit & Go’s and whatever special format games the site may run. Some sites will even have ‘beginner’ tables that let players be seated with other players who have labelled themselves as beginners to help level the field for newcomers to the game.

Most online poker rooms will offer the classics like Texas Hold’em and Omaha, along with a variety of stud games from razz to stud hi/lo. Some even have a few obscure mixed games like badugi and 2-7 triple draw on their sites. The most popular game at any given time is likely to be no-limit hold’em though with pot-limit omaha following closely behind.