Online Poker Beginner's Guide

A few years ago when I first started playing poker online, I had no idea how to get started. I knew so little that it took me a month to play my first hand after downloading the poker room software from one of the leading sites. While the biggest problem was a lack of knowledge about how to do everything, I was also afraid of the safety of my money while I used it online. The good news for you, especially if you are just starting to play online or have a few fears, is that everything you need to get started is listed here.

Before we get to the step-by-step instructions, let’s discuss the safety of your money while online. There are multiple transactions involved in getting money from one of your accounts into a poker room and back to you. To keep your money safe there are two steps that are important. First find an established and trustworthy payment processor. There is a list of them on this site. I use Neteller almost exclusively because every poker room I know of accepts their transactions. They are not the only good payment processor; they are just the one that I have the most experience with. I feel just as safe with my money there as in my own bank, and that should be the goal of any payment processor. The next thing is to find an established poker room. There is a whole list of trusted sites here as well. I have deposited and withdrawn from close to twenty of them with no problems. The best thing is that it is in the poker rooms best interests to keep their depositors money safe. If a room started stealing from their customers they would be out of business very quickly.

Here are the step-by-step instructions.

  1. Choose a poker room from this site and download the free software.
  2. Sign up for an account and play at some of the free tables to learn the software. Most rooms have a sign up button or you click on a cashier button and then create an account.
  3. Choose a payment processor from this site and sign up for an account.
  4. Link a bank account, either checking or savings, to the payment processor. Some players open a separate account just for this purpose, though it is not necessary. I use the same account I use for everything else with no problems.
  5. Transfer money from your bank account into your account with the payment processor. This is a free service with most processors and easy to do from their site.
  6. Go to the poker room you have been practicing at and click on cashier. There will be an option to deposit funds.
  7. Click on the option to use your payment processor and deposit your funds.
  8. When you are ready to withdraw your winnings, click on cashier and choose withdraw.
  9. Withdraw the funds to your payment processor.
  10. Once the funds are with your payment processor, you can then transfer them back to your bank account

Though I realize that this seems like a long process, it is the safest and once you do it a couple times you will find it to be easy and quick. Many players used to use credit cards to fund accounts. A few rooms still accept credit cards, but if you choose to use a credit card, I recommend using it to fund your payment processor’s account. The biggest problem with a credit card is when you are withdrawing your winnings; if you withdraw more than you deposited you will need another method anyway.

By following the steps above, you will have a safe and secure method and you will be playing online in no time at all. Once again, I strongly suggest choosing a poker room from this site to make sure you are dealing with a stable company.