Playing Online Poker - Downloading your first poker room
Downloading software to play poker online for the first time may seem a bit scary - don't worry it doesn't need to be.
It's actually very straight forward and decent poker rooms will guide you through their download, signup and deposit step by step.
But first lets briefly address security - the number one fear new players have about playing poker online, especially making that first real money deposit.
Only download and play at recommended and established poker sites - either the big houshold names or the smaller poker rooms with an established & proven backer. Following the logic that players would not stay very long at a bad site that doesn't pay out winnings you shouldn't have a problem finding a reputable site amongst the top 30 or so sites - See our top 10 reviews & best poker sites. They make plenty of money running an honest site and indeed it's in their best interests to keep players coming back.
If your worried about using a credit / debit card online for real money deposits then using an ewallet like neteller.com is both free and secure.
Download
Once you have chosen one of the sites you wish to download, check the system requirements - generally all reasonably up to date PC's will be fine. If your on a Mac you will need to choose a compatable site (see my best for mac reviews). Ideally for ease and smoothness of play broadband is a big plus.
Hopefully clicking through one of my poker site links or banners the site will generally ask you if you want to download the free software or have a big "download here" button, click ok and away you go. This will take a couple of minutes on broadband and upwards of 1/2hr on dialup.
Sign-up
Then when prompted simply register your screen name or player name, some addition verification details and then for security purposes most sites will email you a verification code which you enter into the singup section.
At this stage your ready to play with fake or play money - I recommend you only use play money for checking out if you like a sites layout and
playability and then move on to real money. Playing with fake money is nothing like the real thing accept for the basic rules of poker.
Real money deposit
Once your a registered player you will be able to make your first deposit - taking full advantage of any of the first time sign-up offers.
It is worth looking around as some sites offer very big bonuses - some are easier to get than others and generally they all require you to play a certain number of raked hands to qualify for the free cash.
Ideally setup a neteller account, it's free and secure - You are able to transfer funds from your bank account through neteller into your players
account at the poker site and easily transfer winnings back out again.
On the sites main menu you will see a button with something like "account", "bank", "cashier" or "deposit" click on it and then you will see a variety of depositing and cashing out options, this will include credit / debit cards / neteller & firepay.
Note. Paypal no longer allow transactions with poker sites and US players are now unable to use most credit cards.
If you are with a reputable site - look for security credentials - depositing via credit / debit card is safe if you prefer not to use neteller or firepay account.
follow the deposit instructions carefully and when confirming the deposit amount - if they say only click once - only click once.
The transaction will be confirmed by email and I recommend you keep track of you poker playing so you know how your doing and don't kid yourself.
responsible gaming is enjoyable - loosing your house is not.
Once you have downloaded and deposited at your first poker site you can get down to the important part - playing winning poker. It's always worth checking out new and different sites especially as the bonuses can be worth playing for alone. Just follow the same rules as for your first sign-up and you will have many hours of secure, enjoyable and hopefully profitable poker.
4kingpoker.com is not a poker room operator. Online Poker is not legal in all juristictions around the world, so please ensure that it is legal in the country / area you reside in. 4kingpoker accepts no liability whatsoever for the information contained on this site. All information is for entertainment purposes only.
