Whether you are a seasoned poker player or a burgeoning amateur, you can find a number of options for playing poker online. You can opt for the traditional online casinos, or opt to play in sweepstakes sites that offer cash prizes. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to choose the option that suits you best.

One of the biggest advantages of playing online is the fact that you can play more hands per hour. If you’re playing at a live table, you might only be able to log 10 hands per hour. You can do the same at an online site, although you’ll have to wait for virtual poker hands to be dealt. But the sheer number of hands you can play will give you more experience.

Another advantage of playing online is the fact that you can multitale, meaning that you can play several games at once. For instance, you might be playing a hold’em tournament and an Omaha cash game at the same time. This gives you the chance to play the best hand and win extra money for doing so.

Compared to live games, online poker is also a bit faster. While you might not be able to play ten hands per hour, you can easily do ten hundred. This is not necessarily a good thing. It can artificially affect your short-term results, especially when you are battling against other skilled players. You should be aware of the limitations of playing multi-tabling, and you should not commit to a long-term strategy of putting a large sum of money into your account.

Online poker has also been the source of some controversy. Some “live” poker pros complained that online games were not a fair representation of the game. Others claimed that bad beats are more common online, and the speed of play in online games means that you might not be able to recover from them as quickly.

While the Internet has been around for decades, online poker has only really been legalized in four states so far. These states are West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Connecticut. While West Virginia passed legislation to legalize online poker, no operators have set up shop in that state yet. The state is awaiting the outcome of a recent court case. This could delay the legalization of online poker in that state for a year or two.

While you might not be able to play poker for real money in Connecticut, you can play for fun on sites that offer sweepstakes. These sites do not offer real money games, but they do offer a variety of games that are legal in your state, including poker. The games may not be as exciting, but they do offer a legal alternative for players in states that aren’t yet regulated.

In the short-term, the best strategy for playing poker online is to find a site that fits your needs. You should choose a site that offers a wide variety of games, as well as one that will accept your credit card. You’ll also want to find a site that offers good security. You’ll need to make sure that the site you choose doesn’t share your information with third-party networks. Also, make sure that the site is virus-free. You don’t want to lose your money to a malicious program, and you don’t want your account to be closed down because of an unseen virus.