Online poker takes everything that is great about the game and cranks it up a notch. It can be played for as little or as much money as you want from any computer, tablet or phone with an internet connection. The stakes can be as low as pennies or as high as satellite entries into the most amazing live poker events in the world. It can be played for cash or for fun or for the chance to win a big prize like an expensive car or a new home. You can play with friends or strangers, for your living room couch or in a casino somewhere far away.

The poker software needed to play online is very small and shouldn’t take too long to download on even the most archaic computers. You can also play poker on mobile devices with a good quality app that can be downloaded from any online poker site.

One of the most important things to understand as a beginner is the concept of variance in the game. This means that a player is likely to experience bigger wins and losses over the short term than they would in a live setting, especially if they are playing a lot more hands online. The faster pace of play online can artificially affect the amount of variance that you are experiencing, so it is worth keeping a record of your results to see if they are increasing or decreasing over time.