Online Poker is a game played over the Internet in which players place wagers using real money. Strict regulation ensures that the games are fair and that your account funds and personal information are protected. Players must be physically located within a state where online gambling is legal to participate in this form of online wagering. It is recommended that players use legitimate, regulated sites and avoid offshore operators that offer unauthorized activities without basic consumer safeguards.
There are a variety of software applications designed for use with online poker. These include hand database programs that save, sort and recall all the hands you play. Many of these programs also scan active tables for known players and display previous statistics from previous hands involving those players next to their name (known as a heads-up display or HUD). Other software programs are designed to assist with specific aspects of the game, such as odds, equity or variance calculations.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic caused most live casinos and other venues to shut down, there has been a huge increase in traffic at online poker rooms. This traffic is believed to be mostly a result of recreational and professional players who would normally play in live venues shifting their focus to online platforms. It is important to understand what these changes mean for the online poker industry and for the growth of the game itself.