Features to Look for When Playing Poker Online for the First Time

December 10, 2023

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What To Look For When Playing Poker Online for the First Time

Poker is one of the most popular games in the United States. Though card games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha aren’t on par with major video gaming hits like Red Dead Redemption or sports hits like Madden, they’ve been around much longer. Starting back in 1979, the World Series of Poker began hosting major annual competitions.

Today, millions of Americans play online poker regularly. Many are hobbyist players who enjoy unwinding after a long day, while some might instead be focused on qualifying for satellite tournaments and advancing to in-person events. If you’ve been considering joining the poker zeitgeist, you’ll have dozens of top-quality options—but how can you tell the good platforms from the great ones?

We’ve got a few tips. Here are the features you should be looking out for.

Welcome Bonuses

The best poker bonuses are welcome bonuses, deposit matches, no-deposit bonuses, and referral bonuses. These are welcome bonuses that provide money, or possibly playing tokens, to players so they can get started playing without depositing too much (or anything at all). Before you sign up with a new platform, make sure you investigate what their welcome bonus entails. No-deposit bonuses are widely considered the most valuable.

Loyalty Programs

Similarly, you should look for information on a platform’s loyalty program. A loyalty program is how a poker brand provides rewards, bonuses, and unique opportunities to recurring players. The bonuses offered are usually tied to the frequency of play, type of play, and how much a player deposits. If you plan on playing often or targeting specific types of games, especially high-roller games, then make sure the loyalty program meets your needs.

Positive Reviews

The number of positive reviews left on a poker site should be one of your top priorities. This lets you take a closer look at what it’s actually like to game with a certain provider, as user reviews provide the most honest and candid look into how a platform runs. Usually, reviews touch on other important topics like customer support, security, and user experience.

Player Pool, Tournaments, & Free Games

Along with taking a look at a platform’s welcome bonus and loyalty program, we recommend you also look at what types of games, events, and tournaments they offer. As mentioned above, some poker sites let you qualify for major events by participating in certain tournaments—World Series of Poker included. Aside from qualifying events, players also target platforms that have larger playing pools, differentiate between skill levels, and host free-to-play games. The very best usually offer helpful guides for newcomers, too.

Regulations & Licensing Information

Lastly, you should always take a look at a platform’s licensing and regulatory information. Each poker site must meet local regulations related to gaming and licensing. Usually, this type of information is readily available at the bottom of each page on the website. You might also see information related to RNGs or random number generators, which are pieces of software that ensure each game includes fully randomized outcomes. While you don’t need to skim all the fine print, it’s important to be able to differentiate safe platforms from non-licensed ones.

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