When you play poker online you’re able to find a game virtually any time of the day or night against players from all over the world. There are thousands of ring games at any level as well as countless tournaments from ten entrants up to hundreds of entrants with buy-ins in the thousands of dollars. While you can find plenty of good online poker games, there are also some bad ones. Some people will try to cheat, angle shoot or do anything else that can give them an advantage over other players. It’s just human nature and it doesn’t matter if you’re playing live or online.

There are several things you can do to protect yourself from shady players and improve your chances of winning in an online poker environment. The first is to check the reputation of a poker site before depositing any money. You should look for reviews, testimonials and a track record of customer satisfaction. In addition, you should always play within your budget and avoid chasing losses.

Another way to protect yourself is to learn about the different types of players you will encounter at an online poker table. Some players will be extremely tight and only play the absolute best starting hands while others will be ultra-aggressive when they do have a strong hand. You can take advantage of these player types by putting pressure on them and making them fold when they have a strong hand.

You will also need to learn how to read other players and their tells when you’re playing poker online. While in a live game you can use physical tells to figure out what a player has, in an online game you have to rely on analyzing a player’s behavior over many sessions of play. This type of analysis helps you make more informed bets when you’re in a pot.

If you’re just getting started, consider joining a poker site that has a beginner area for new players. This will allow you to play against other beginners and improve your skills before you move up to the higher stakes tables. You can also find online poker sites that offer tournaments specifically for new players. These events usually have lower buy-ins and can be a great way to make some extra cash.

One of the most important things to remember when you play poker online is that it’s a game of skill over the long run. The top pros spend as much time studying the game as they do playing it. This is why you should sign up for a training site and commit to working on your game regularly. A good training site will help you learn the basics as well as teach you about advanced techniques such as bluffing and trapping your opponents. The more you practice, the better you’ll get at poker and the more money you will win. So, don’t delay and start improving your poker skills today!