You may have been a master at your home game or you might have done fairly well in your local casino but when you try to apply those skills to poker online things just don’t seem right. You open up your online account, deposit money and start playing but after a few bad beats you give up. This is because you’re not getting the same experience as you do at a live table. When you play poker online there is no leering at your mistakes from your friends or the music, TV and other stimuli that keep your mind busy when you’re playing in a real room.
Another factor to consider is that when you’re playing poker online your opponents are able to read your actions much easier than they would in a live environment. This means that you need to vary your betting patterns and not make it too easy for other players to spot what you’re doing at the tables. However, if you’re playing against a large field of weaker opponents this isn’t as big of an issue as it is against more skilled opposition.
When you’re choosing a site to play poker on, be sure to check that it is licensed and uses a secure encryption software for your financial transactions. This is a requirement for all real money sites and is a way to ensure that the site hasn’t been compromised by hackers. You can usually find this information by looking on the site’s About Us page.
In addition to checking the licensing of a poker site you should also look at the table software. The software should be attractive and simple to use. The table should be easy to read and the buttons should be large enough to click easily. Moreover, you should be able to customize the colors on the table to your liking. Lastly, the table should be responsive and not laggy.
A good tip for new poker players is to limit the number of tables they play at a time when they’re starting out. Especially when you’re new to the game, it can be very difficult to concentrate on just one table. This will help you avoid any sensory overload that can cause you to make the wrong call at a crucial moment.
The actual process of getting money on to and off poker sites is a lot simpler than it used to be. Most sites now allow a variety of credit and debit cards along with third party eWallets, bank transfers or even the old fashioned cheque. They’re also generally monitored by government and financial bodies to assure the integrity of the games and safe transfers. In some cases a site may ask you to provide additional documentation in order to verify your identity. This is a standard procedure and nothing to be alarmed about. They simply want to protect their assets and to make sure they’re only paying out to legitimate customers.