Opening an Account at an Online Poker Site

Once you have decided which online poker room you want to play at, you will need to open an account at the poker room and deposit funds into that account in order to be able to begin playing. It may sound scary, but opening an account at an online poker room should only involve a couple of steps and these should be clearly set out for you to follow. The whole process should not take you too much time at all. To sign up a new account, click on the "sign in" or "create new account" button. Each online poker room is slightly different, but in general you will be required to provide some basic information. This will probably include contact details, a preferred screen name, a security ID question and a password. Make sure that you provide the correct information, particularly your name, age and address. The poker room will use this information to verify your identity and if it is incorrect, it will hold up your ability to begin to play. Also, there is nothing worse than winning a bundle of money and having it sent to the wrong address because you didn't check your details properly! Once you have signed up and opened your player account, you can then deposit money into the account and begin to play.

Deposit Methods

There are many different deposit methods that are available these days for players to choose from. Firstly, make sure that the site employs data encryption technology so that your financial information will be secure. Next you will have to see which deposit methods are available to you depending on the country in which you are resident. Not all of the deposit methods that are available are available for all countries. Specifically if you are resident in the US, you will find that there are many limitations placed on you in terms of which payment options you can use. You should also check the fees that you will get charged for using the different payment options. Sometimes, the poker room will not charge you a fee, but the payment option will charge a fee. Check these out before you begin to use them so that you are not surprised.

NETeller
NETeller is one of the most popular banking options available at online poker rooms. It is an e-wallet in that you fund your NETeller account and you can then deposit money from that account into your poker room account.

Credit Cards
VISA and Master Card are the most commonly accepted credit cards at online poker rooms. While these are good for making deposits, you should be aware that you cannot accept withdrawals through your Master Card. Credit cards are simple to use at the poker room and transactions can generally be completely through the cashier's window at the site.

Click2Pay
Click2Pay is a commonly offered e-wallet. You fill up a Click2Pay account and can then transfer money from that account into your online poker account. Simply visit the Click2Pay website to sign up and provide them with a valid telephone number. Once they have called you to verify your identity, you can begin to use the service.

ClickandBuy
ClickandBuy is another e-wallet that works much like the others. Once you have opened an account with ClickandBuy and have verified your identity, you will be able to start using it to fund your poker room account. They verify your account by sending two small charges to the account and then asking you to tell them what the amounts were.

eChecks

eChecks work in much the same way as regular checks except that you fill in your checking account number and how much you want to deposit, online. eChecks may take some time to fully clear and there is generally a deposit limit that is enforced.

Local Bank Transfer

Most poker rooms will provide a list of local banks that you can go to in order to make transactions through this method. It is a simple process, however you have to physically go into the bank in order to complete it.

Paysafe Card
Paysafe Card is a type of European prepaid credit card. Players buy a paysafe card and enter a pin number at the poker room and your account is then credited.