Ok, so you are ready to begin playing online poker. What do you do next?

You can use our where to play guide to pick the online poker room for you, or just click on one one of the quick links on the left. They will tell you everything you need to know about each poker website.

But what happens then?

~ Once you click through to the poker room of your choice, you will be asked to download their poker software and install it on your computer.

~ After having completed the download, you should be able to open the online poker room through double clicking the relevant icon on your desktop. This will open up a registration form for you to activate your account with the website.

~ Once you have registered with the website, you will be taken to the "Lobby". The lobby is the name for the entrance to the poker room. At the lobby, you will be able to choose whether to play for play money or real money. You will also be able to choose which game variation to play. The screenshot below is from the PartyPoker lobby.

~ There are a whole range of tables available for each game. The tables are all individually named. The table limits will be displayed clearly, with a $2/$4 table meaning that the lower limit is $2 & the higher limit is $4. The number of players will also be diplayed, as will the average pot size. There is often other information such as the "flop percentage" for Texas Hold'em. (This is a statistic showing the ratio of players who pay to see the flop. A higher figure will normally indicate players who are less cautious.)

~ Once you have selected a table to join, you will be taken to the game table, where you can click on a free seat, (provided that it is not full already). If it a real money table, you will need to purchase chips prior to commencing play. Similarly, if it is a "play money" table, you will need to get some play chips. Either way, you will be prompted by the poker room. At this point, you will be asked to think of a poker nickname that you will be known as whenever you play at a table at that poker room.

~ That's pretty much it, you are ready to play. It's you against the other players. The poker room takes a percentage of the pot at the end of each hand. This is known as the rake, and it is how they get paid. The mechanism for taking the rake, and the level of commission varies from poker room to poker room.

~ You will notice that there is a "chat" box at the bottom of the poker table screen. This is for you to chat to the other players. As with all chat facilities, there is some etiquette attached to it. (e.g. don't swear or be offensive). Most poker rooms also have a "Player Notes" facility that enables you make notes on the other players that will be displayed if you ever play against them again.

~ If you need more help read the poker strategy guide. Otherwise, it's time to get cracking:

Play Texas Hold'em

Play Omaha Hi

Play 7 card stud

Play 5 card stud