If you’re an American looking to play online poker, you’ve probably noticed the rise in offshore sites since Black Friday. Currently, there are a handful of US-accepted poker sites. These offshore sites have gained in popularity since Black Friday, and only a few states regulate the online poker market, including Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. This situation is likely to change in the near future, so be sure to check with your state’s gambling regulatory commission before making your decision.

When you’re playing online, you can monitor your results to see if you’re displaying a pattern of winning or losing hands. Most online poker sites have statistics for players to check, and it’s a good idea to keep track of your sessions. Pay special attention to your win-rate, number of flops you’ve seen, and how many times you’ve gone to showdown. You’ll have a better idea of your strengths and weaknesses if you can track your results.

Before you can play real money online poker, you’ll need to download poker software. This program requires a tiny amount of memory and shouldn’t take long to download, even on a slow internet connection. Many online poker sites offer “no-download” versions of their games, but these don’t have the same features. To avoid these problems, make sure to choose a no-download version of the software. The latter doesn’t have the same security features as the full download version.

Once you’ve downloaded the software and signed up for an account, you can begin playing real money games at Bovada Poker. You can also play a few games with virtual money in the practice mode to get used to the game. After completing the practice mode, you’re ready to play real money games. To do so, make a deposit. Bovada Poker accepts Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Bitcoin is another option, and it has zero transaction fees and is faster than credit cards.

In contrast, live poker games are more difficult. You can’t expect to find the same level of skill with the same opponents. In a live $1/$2 NL cash game, you won’t have tough opponents as you will in an online game. Fortunately, the stakes in online games are much lower. You can play for pennies, as opposed to hundreds of dollars in online games. In both cases, you’ll need to be patient and learn the rules of the game.