How to Get Started
This is a lot easier then you might think. The first time I went to a poker site, like most of you, I was very eager to get started immediately. The first thing I tried to do was use my Mastercard and Visa to fund the account. This did not work. For the most part neither of these cards allows deposits to online gaming sites, so don't feel like you were declined, because, most everyone in North America is declined. If you are coming from another part of the world and you have one of these credit cards through a foreign bank, then you might have a shot at funding the account this way. Good luck.
The more popular way to fund your account is through Neteller or Firepay (there are other ways to deposit money but I will only address, the above methods, here). Both of these companies have grown rapidly in the last couple years and are like household names for transacting over the net. Both of these companies allow you to transfer money from your bank accounts to them. From there you can move the money from your Neteller account to the cashier at your favorite poker site. Let's break it down step by step for you
First, you go to Neteller or Firepay and open up an account with them. You will punch in all of your information, much like buying anything else on the internet, and you will need a valid email address. In the future, they will send correspondence to that email address whenever you initiate a transaction.
After opening the account and providing your bank information, within a couple of days, they will send you a deposit for a small amount (i.e. 62c) and ask you to verify this odd lot amount.
Lets cut the chit chat, and Just Play Texas Holdem.
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Once you go to the site and verify the deposit, they validate your account and open it to accept deposits from your bank account. It's kind of like using a virtual ATM, in that, your taking cash out of your bank account and Neteller or Firepay charge you a nominal fee.
Now that your Firepay account is live, you fill out a simple form on the site and instantaneously deposit cash from your bank account to your Firepay account. Once you have successfully deposited funds to your Firepay account you will see the deposited amount under available funds. They will sit there until you move them to your poker site account.
In order to move the funds to your poker site account, go to the cashier tab at your poker site and "buy chips" or "make a deposit". They will ask you for your Neteller or Firepay account information. Once you have imputed this and everything matches up, they will transfer the requested amount from your Firepay account to the poker site cashier section. From there you can take it to your favorite holdem table. There you go, not too hard.
Keep in mind, most poker sites will limit how much you can deposit to the site during any 24 hour period or monthly period, just so you don't get carried away. And if you can't wait the couple days for your bank to get the deposit from Neteller or Firepay, and you know somebody that has an established account, they can transfer money into your account as soon as it's open...