Once you've decided which poker room(s) you want to try out, simply click on a link to that poker room at PokerListings to get to its home page, and then begin downloading the software.

There are two advantages to using our links. First, we help all our users who may encounter problems with the poker rooms in the future (such as blocked accounts, bad support, not getting correct bonus, etc). Second, as the world's largest poker guide, we are continually putting pressure on the poker rooms to offer our users the highest special sign-up bonuses and other special promotions. Often our bonus is more than twice as high as the standard offer plus it boasts a better deposit match.

Almost all poker rooms run on a software application that you have to download. The size is typically between 3MB and 8MB. Once it is downloaded you will access the games via the application. Playing online poker only requires very limited bandwidth, so you will be able to play without much trouble even on a dial-up connection. However, if you are playing at high-limit tables without all-in protection (see Automatic all-in protection below) you should probably upgrade to broadband if possible.

There are only a few no-download poker rooms (most notably PokerRoom.com and Pacific Poker). For a current update check out our list of no-download poker rooms. The no-download versions are great when you are traveling or want to play at a location (like work or school) where downloads might not be allowed.

In order to sign up for an account, you often just need an e-mail address and it is not necessary to deposit any real money. You can still watch real-money games and participate in "fun-money" games as soon as you have opened an account. This way you can download several poker rooms to check out where the software and games look the best before depositing.