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Poker has come a long way since the early days in smoky saloons and with the advent of online poker it is now a global phenomenon. To poker beginners this can be quite a daunting world to enter, one with perceived security and fraud concerns, as well as the fear of trust, both with the online poker room and with oneself not to 'lose' to much.

We have set out to allay these fears and to make your first foray into online poker a safe and easy one.

To start of with we recommend that you download the following 5 poker rooms, don't worry we explain how to do this later on in this article. These rooms will give you a good overview of what online poker can offer as each has there own nuances. All offer poker games within a safe, secure and fair environment while also providing world class customer service. All of these rooms are also audited by blue chip companies and promote responsible gaming.

Don't just stick with the first online poker room you come across, experiment and find the one that suites you.

STEP 1: Download Software & Sign Up

In order to precede you will need to have a valid email address.

Now to download the software and sign up do the following:

  Click on the download link next to the room of your choice, the download will either start automatically or you will be taken to the download page.

Once you have done this register an account, this may be included as part of the download process.

You must use our links to download the software as the bonus codes are automatically set via our links.

Don't forget we recommend that you download more than one of these rooms as this is a great opportunity to compare and contrast these very different rooms.

Where can I play Online Poker?

1.		Pokerstars	Bonus Offer: 100% up to $50	Review Play
2.		Full Tilt Poker	Bonus Offer: 100% up to $600	Review Play
3.		Titan Poker	Bonus Offer: 150% up to $600	Review Play
4.		Pacific Poker	Bonus Offer: 100% up to £200	Review Play
5.		Party Poker	Bonus Offer: 100% up to £250	Review Play

STEP 2: Deposit Money & Get Bonus

Once you've had a play at each of the downloaded poker rooms, play for fun, it's time to choose which room you're going to start playing with real money.

  To deposit go to the cashier and use your preferred payment method.

  Because you've used our links to download the poker rooms the bonus will be set up automatically; the exception to this is Pokerstars where you must enter the bonus code 'First2007' when depositing.

Now in order to release the various bonuses you will have to meet certain criteria, such as games played. The release process is explained in our poker bonus article.

As well as a sign up bonus most poker rooms offer first time depositors freerolls and even beginner player freerolls.

At this point we recommend you start with Texas Holdem and use the play money / play for fun option.

STEP 3: Real Money Play

Now that you're into the world of real money online poker, we recommend that you start at the lower limit tables. It is also essential that you do some research into how to play Texas Holdem.

  You should also take a look at some poker tournaments, whether they are a scheduled freeoll or a low buy-in sit and go, as they are great fun and can be a good way to learn the basics of the game.

  Once you have the confidence and understanding of how to play Texas Holdem take a look at some of the other community cards based games such as Omaha or some of the stud games such as Seven Card Stud.

See you at the tables!

Do not gamble more that you can afford!

WELIKE POKER.co.uk REVIEWS

Independently written poker room reviews, written by folks who actually play online poker. Welike-Poker.co.uk also ranks each online poker room using the following criteria: Bonuses & Promotions, Traffic & Competition, Software & Extra Features, Rake, Game Variation & Limits and Customer Service.

Online poker room reviews of the top UK poker rooms: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Titan Poker, Ladbrokes Poker, Paddy Power Poker, Bet365 Poker, VC Poker, PKR Poker, Poker Heaven and Betfair Poker.