Before learning to play online poker, it is essential to know it's mechanics and the difference between online and offline poker. First of all, the access to online poker is very easy – to play poker online you only have to have a computer and an Internet connection. And all you have to do is download an online poker client program from one of the online poker rooms, sign-up, transfer your money to your newly created account and if you don't want to play for real money, you may even skip this step and start playing.

The most attractive feature of online poker is that it is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and that you can always find someone to play against, as tens of thousands of real opponents are always out there waiting for an online challenge. And these are real players who play for real money, which means that online poker doesn't differ so much from its offline counterpart in terms of the game itself, but it is much more accessible. Moreover, the numbers of people against which you play are much more impressive than in casual poker - since the start of online poker in 1998, player traffic in online poker rooms has increased more than twenty times with an yearly turnover being more than one billion dollars, and growing.

So, what makes online poker so popular? First of all, it is the saying that goes: "Any two cards can win", which means that anybody can beat everyone, in a game of poker (at least in Texas Hold'em). And although the luck is what most of the inexperienced players consider to be the backbone of poker, the skill is also an extremely important factor. Although the events at the World Series Of Poker (WSOP) in 2003, when Chris Moneymaker, an amateur poker player, won the World Champion title, showed that luck remains almost as important as player's skill.

Another important factor when considering online poker is its speed compared to offline poker. While online, you can even play multiple variations of poker at multiple tables at once, against as many players as the client software supports. What is more, players don't have to leave their homes to play with people from around the world, which, when mixed with speed you get from playing at multiple tables at once, gives the player an opportunity to get poker experience and maximize maximize his/her profits much faster. You have to admit, the fame of online poker lies in its convenience.

However, even though online poker is very convenient to play and has a lot of obvious advantages when compared to live poker, there are also severe drawbacks, such as the almost non-existent social factor and the inability to experience poker in the material plane where the player gets to see real cards, real faces and real bluffing, which makes the game much less enjoyable. There is also a piece of advice for every online poker player – even if you play online poker exclusively, do not hesitate to try and practice live poker every once in a while, as it gives you another kind of experience, and live poker practice is essential if you wish to become a good poker player one day.

Online poker is a rich, complex game that combines skill, luck and intense psychological warfare. Every player competes against and interacts with every other; each player's actions influence each other player's actions.

In other casino games, you play against the house and its pre-determined, unchanging rules. Online poker room games (as well as land based poker room play) is different where your success comes from outsmarting the other player who sits at the table with you.

Whether played as a casual recreation or as a cut-throat profession, poker endures as the gamblers most popular card game. It’s been estimated that 70 million Americans are familiar with the standard rules of poker, marking it as quite the socially acceptable gambling activity. The game is incredibly adaptable, and the growing popularity of online poker attests to that.