In the US, the UIGEA made it illegal for US banks to process transactions with offshore online poker sites. Despite this, some sites continued to accept US players and found ways around the problem. As of April 15, 2011, online poker remained a growing industry. But states are wary of allowing gambling sites to operate without legal protections.

To play poker legally, players must be at least eighteen years of age, or the age of majority in their jurisdiction. Some poker sites also require age verification. If you don’t meet this requirement, you can start with free games and work your way up. Just be sure to never exhaust your bankroll in one go and to spread it out among several games.

While online poker differs from live poker in many ways, both have their advantages. For example, playing a game online allows players to deal with more hands in less time. Online poker tables can deal up to sixty hands per hour, or even more if the game is shorthanded. You can also play more than one table at once.

When you register to idn play poker online, you will need to download poker software on your computer. This requires a small amount of space on your computer and shouldn’t take long. Alternatively, you can play online poker without downloading any software. However, these types of games do not have all of the features that the full-download version offers.