MAKING A DEPOSIT - HOW TO PLAY ONLINE POKER

Part Four: Making a Deposit

written by BeatTheFish.com

A great way to get used to playing online is to set up an account and hit the "play money" tables. Unfortunately, you won't get much of a feel for how the game is actually played. Since no one is actually risking anything of value, most of the players at these tables will throw caution to the wind with their holdings. There certainly isn't anything wrong with only playing for fake money, but it also won't help you improve your poker game.

So, to really start improving your game, making some extra money, and testing your skill, you'll need to make a deposit with real money. It doesn't have to be a huge amount, and you can restrict your play to the micro-limits when you first start out. While play is generally looser than at the higher limits, you're still playing for money and you'll be playing against opponents who care if they win or lose.

How do you make your first deposit? Your online poker room will try to make it as easy as possible on you. They'll offer you many deposit options, and they'll try to walk you through each step. If you have any problems at any time, you can always e-mail their customer support team. Some sites even have a live chat feature or give out a telephone number to help new players.

The most obvious deposit method would be your credit card. Unfortunately, almost all North American banks will reject transactions for online gaming. Don't be alarmed if your credit card transaction fails - it's probably just a standard block from your bank. One easy workaround is the ePassporte service, which works through any Visa. Basically, you deposit funds from your existing credit card and they give you a unique number to use for online transactions. They charge a small fee for this service. European users shouldn't have a problem depositing with their Visa or MasterCard.

So, what are your other options? Our preferred method of depositing is through NETeller. They run a service similar to PayPal (who stopped allowing online gaming transactions a few years ago), in which you can send and receive money through your bank account. They are very secure and have extensive customer service. For a small fee, you deposit the desired amount from your checking account. Every online poker room accepts NETeller, so once it's in your account you can deposit anywhere with it.

You then go to the respective poker room's cashier through their software and tell them how much you'd like to deposit from your NETeller account. You provide them with some details about your account, and then it's instantly transferred. You'll be able to play with the money immediately. When you're ready to withdraw your winnings, you can put it right back into your NETeller account. This will give you the option of depositing it at another site, or electronically transferring it back into your checking account. Overall, it's a very easy process.

Finally, a similar service that we've used a few times is Firepay, which works just like NETeller. The only difference is that they charge a flat fee regardless of how much you deposit. This can be advantageous if you're depositing a large amount. Just about every online poker site also accepts Firepay.

After you've made your first deposit, it's time to really get to know the poker room software...

Back to "Bonus Codes"... Continue to "Learning the Poker Room Software"...

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