There are some obvious differences between playing poker online and actually sitting across other players in the table. Not only do we not get to see our opponents’ movements, physical language or reactions, and therefore their poker tells, but we must also consider that each one is in a different place – and sometimes time – which might also affect the way they play. Because of these uncontrollable aspects, those who play online end up focusing on other features of their contenders, including their speed, patterns, number of flops or other non-physical characteristics. In addition to these differences, there is also one other thing that we must consider, which is that it is sometimes easier to choose a poker room when we are actually able to walk in it and get a general sense of the place, instead of when we have to access it online. This is why there are several details that can help us select the best virtual rooms and guide us in order to pick wisely among the large number of available options to play online.

The reputation of a site is perhaps at the top of the list. This includes the time an online poker room has been in the market (the longer the better) and what other players say about it. Most of the famous online rooms are around 20 years old, as it was at the end of the nineties that they began to exist, after the Free Trade and Processing Zone Act (1994) was passed in the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda, providing a place and license for the establishment of online casinos, which soon proliferated.

So, in addition to looking at the time a site has been around, another aspect worth examining when choosing where to play poker online are the room’s security features. The more verification methods, the safer you will feel playing your money in that site. The most renowned online rooms usually take this into account. It goes without saying that regardless of the strong measures that are used to prevent fraud or protect your account, these pages should also be user-friendly so that as a player you can navigate them easily and feel comfortable playing there. Again, established brands like PokerStars, William Hill Poker or 888 Poker tend to take this into consideration, also based on the large number of game options that they tend to offer, so the easier it is to play them, the more users they will have.

Along with the aforementioned aspects, the quality of customer service is also important as you might eventually have to use it and the faster they solve your problem, the sooner you can continue playing without having to worry about eventual issues. This also has a direct effect on how much you end up trusting a site. If you’re an amateur, you might also want to consider online rooms that offer the clearest information and rules on how to play poker – some even give players the chance to practice in real games for free – so that you can learn the best methods and useful tips to improve your game.

Reputation, security, user-friendliness, customer service and also the opinion that top players have of a site are all features that you might want to consider when it comes to choosing the online room that best suits you, and don’t be afraid to try more than one option until you land on the site that you feel most comfortable playing in.