Online poker is a game of skill and can be played from the comfort of your home. Players can play for the smallest stakes imaginable or for satellite entries into live tournaments around the world.

Getting started with online poker is relatively easy, provided you are located in a state that offers regulated, legal online poker. First you will need to create an account with a reputable online poker site and fund it with real money. You can choose from a number of deposit methods including credit and debit cards.

Once your account has funds available you can open up the poker lobby and select the type of game you want to play. Most online poker sites will have games categorized by Cash Games, Sit & Go’s and tournaments. A lot of new players find it helpful to start with the beginner tables as these are specifically designed for people just starting out and level the playing field.

The first thing to learn about online poker is that it is a much faster game than in person. Shuffling, dealing and handling chips takes time which means decisions have to be made quickly online. This can be a difficult adjustment for some new players as they get used to the speed of the game.

Online poker also requires a different set of skills as you no longer need to read physical tells from your opponents, but this can be easily learned with a few good books like Harrington on Hold’em or Theory of Poker. As you continue to play you will begin to develop an intuition for things like frequencies and EV estimation.