In these winter months, braving the cold to trek to your favourite poker hall probably isn’t an attractive proposition. Fortunately, there are plenty of poker sites where you can get your texas hold’em or Omaha hi fix whilst staying nice and snug in your living room.

Online poker is easy to get started with. There are a huge number of sites that you can choose from, and most poker sites offer rooms to suit all skill levels and budgets, with regular poker tournaments for players who feel like an extra challenge. The busiest game rooms are usually the texas hold’em ones, but you can find all kinds of variations when you play poker online.

When you’re choosing a poker site, the most important thing to consider are the reliability and reputation of the site, and the quality of the community. It is a good idea to look for a site that has been established for a long time, and that bears logos of online safety and security groups such as TRUSTe and eCOGRA. Also, when you sign up, don’t give away any important information (such as your credit card details) unless your browser shows a padlock in the corner.

Once you’re confident that the site you’re considering is safe, look at the range of games. What poker games do they offer? Texas holdem is the most popular game, but do they offer other variants (such as Omaha hi, or Caribbean stud)? Are there other games for you to play when you fancy a break? If you’re the sociable type, is there some friendly chat going on in the lobbies?

Most online poker sites are easy to join. For example, 88poker offers an instant play feature which means that you can get started without needing to download and install client software. If you want to get more involved – playing more games or taking part in poker tournaments, then the fully featured client is the way to go – installation is simple, and within a minute or two you’ll be a part of a bustling, friendly community. There are games for all budgets and skill levels, and there’s even a poker school to help you improve your game.