Online poker is growing in popularity for many of the same reasons it’s loved live; it’s fun, easy to play and intellectually thrilling. Plus, it rewards actual skill unlike slots or the lottery. With the development of mobile and tablet devices it’s also a lot easier to play poker from anywhere at any time; no more missing hands to step outside for a smoke or to move within range of the TV to catch the last over in the cricket.
The biggest advantage online poker offers is that you can play for as long as you want, at whatever stakes you choose from the comfort of your own home. This is a huge bonus for players who want to play the game without worrying about the pressures of a casino environment and who may feel uneasy at jumping into a table full of what they perceive as real-life poker sharks. With online poker you can start out at the lowest stakes available (literally pennies) and work your way up slowly observing player tendencies, improving your own strategy and becoming more confident in your own abilities.
Another benefit is that you can play at more than one table at a time; something that most casinos don’t allow and that allows players to recover from losses at one table by winning at another. Professional poker players also make use of a number of tools including a hand history tracker and a heads-up display (HUD) to analyze their own and their competition’s playing styles and patterns. It’s important to remember that poker is a game of patience and cultivating this patience can have positive effects in other areas of your life too.