Downloading the client and signing up

Downloading the client is easy. Click one of the links below; either the download will start automatically, or a new page will open with a "Download" link or button that you should click. Select "Save to Disk" and choose an easy to remember location (like your desktop). When the download completes, double click on the file you saved and follow the instructions. See our suggestions below for what to consider when choosing a screen name and email address.

Poker client download links

Once you've chosen a poker site to try first, download a poker client from one of the links below. Beware that some of these web sites resize your browser window or create a popup window. That's their doing, not ours!

Party Poker - top pick for ring games

Poker Stars - top pick for tournaments

Ultimate Bet

Paradise Poker

Pacific Poker

Poker Room

Empire Poker

How to choose a screen name

Part of the sign-up process will be choosing a "screen name". This is the nickname by which you will be known at the poker site. Most sites make it very difficult to change your screen name once you've chosen it. Since you don't want to be stuck with a lame nickname forever, think up a good one now. If you go with a popular theme (like "Maverick" or "Teddy KGB"), you'll need to add some variation to the name to make it unique.

How to choose a email address

One of the sign-up screens will ask you for an email address. The site uses this to communicate with you about your account and to verify funds transfers. Here are some things to consider before you fill out this field.

You may be worried about spam. Generally, the online poker sites consider their email list very valuable and don't share it with others simply for selfish reasons. Still, they will send you occasional promotional emails announcing upcoming tournaments, freerolls or deposit bonuses. Most sites don't send more than one or two messages per month.

So spam isn't a big problem. But another thing to think about is privacy. If you use your work email address, will it be a problem if your employer finds out that you are receiving email from an online poker site? You might be better off keeping these parts of your life separate. One easy answer is to create a free email address at Yahoo or Hotmail and use that for online poker sites.

They're asking for personal information

The better sites let you sign up for a play money account without entering a lot of personal information. If you're planning to stick to the play money games, you're better off staying away from a site that insists on learning about your personal identity. What business is it of theirs? But if you are going to play real money games, you will have to share your real name and mailing address with the site. There's really no way around this. If you're not comfortable doing this you'll need to avoid the real money games. This is another reason why site reputation is so important.

One concern some people have with giving personal information is the possibility that the site will share this information with government authorities. No such cases have yet been reported in any of the forums. Most of the sites operate in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Canada, which is outside the jurisdiction of your local and national authorities. See the Legal and Tax sections for more information.