Poker is a game of skill over the long run, and winning at it can be very profitable. But it’s also a game that is easy to lose large sums of money very quickly, especially for those who don’t work on their game consistently and who aren’t careful with their bankroll. The top pros spend as much time studying their game as they do playing it, and that’s why they win so many games.

To play poker online, you’ll need to sign up for an account with an online poker site and fund it with real money. You can do this with a credit card or through money transfer services such as Neteller and Skrill. These services are secure and come with additional account encryption and password protection. In some cases, the poker site will ask for additional documentation to verify your identity, but this is usually a painless and quick process.

When you play poker online, you can often multi-table, which allows you to play more hands per hour than you would in a live game. This is a great way to increase your edge, but it’s important not to play so many tables that you can’t give each one your best effort.

The rules for poker vary from one casino to the next, but most offer Texas Hold’em and some offer a variety of other games. Most casinos and poker sites limit the number of players at a table to around 10. This is because hands can take too long to play out with more than 10 players, and it’s not fair to the other players to make them wait.