Poker Online is a game that takes the card-game fun and excitement of your local casino and allows you to play for real money in any country where gambling is legal. You can play for the smallest stakes imaginable or use your bankroll to win satellite entries into world-class live tournaments. Online poker has some similarities to online casinos but rewards actual skill unlike slots and the lottery and is something that almost anyone can do with a computer, tablet or smartphone.

To get started you need to sign up for a user account on an online poker site. This will usually require you to provide a name, email address and phone number. There may be age verification checks depending on your jurisdiction and some sites will also ask for proof of address. Once you’re signed up for an account the software will load and you’ll be ready to begin playing.

The best poker sites have a wide variety of games, tournaments and cash games to keep you engaged. They also have enough traffic to ensure that there are always games to play and a chance of finding weak players you can beat. In addition, many of these sites offer rakeback to their players which is free money that you can use to pad your bankroll.

The best poker sites offer a variety of banking options with most accepting major credit cards as well as e-wallets and third party eChecks. They typically process withdrawal requests quickly and payouts are generally delivered within an hour.