Most novice poker players today will learn how to play poker online. This makes a lot of sense. For a start, it’s the most convenient place to find a game to join in. Indeed, with all the main gaming sites offering freeroll tournaments, they make for ideal training grounds for poker newbies.

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You can also benefit from free playing credit when you first sign up to a site such as 32red, PartyPoker or PokerTime. There’s a £32 sign up bonus at 32Red for every £10 you put in as an initial deposit and the bonus can be used on any of the different casino games on the site. If you then decide to play poker, there are six freeroll entries which can be used once a week during the first six weeks of signing up to the site. You also earn Redbacks – the 32red loyalty points - each time you play Sit and Go, Scheduled Tournaments and Cash games.
After 30 days, the Redbacks are converted to a cash bonus up to the value of $1,000. The freerolls give a player new to poker a great opportunity to play the game that they’re learning with no financial risk. None of the players have to pay to play, so in a sense none of them have anything to lose. This means the pace of play is usually quicker than in a normal game of poker. However, as the casino provides a real cash pot, there’s an incentive to play well and see if you can be the one to take the pot. So, most people will play to the best of their ability. Most freerolls only involve novice players, so that gives them a sense of reassurance that they’re not going to be beaten too quickly by a poker pro.
Playing online when you’re first learning the game of poker can be confidence-boosting in another way. There’s a certain security in the anonymity of the game and this therefore means there is no fear of looking foolish in front of other players. There is as a result a little less pressure on you when you’re working out your playing strategy.
For all of these reasons, it’s perhaps not surprising that there are so many people now playing poker online, including young mums and silver surfers. They may start off with the freeroll games, but will quickly move on to the Sit and Go or Cash games.

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Another way to improve your poker playing knowledge quickly is to watch online poker tutorials, which you’ll find easily with a search on youtube. You’ll also benefit from watching big tournament games, such as the World Series of Poker, to see how the pros play.
The key thing to remember when first playing poker online is that you’re always at risk of being beaten by a better player. Keep your bets at a conservative level and make incremental progress, rather than being tempted to bet big before you’re really sure that you know what you’re doing.