Your Internet Connection

The web-based games you’ll be checking out in this chapter are designed to work with dial-up connections as well as with broadband connections, although they will be predictably slower on dial-up. At a minimum, you should have a 56kbps dial-up connection. If you connect via a proprietary service such as AOL or MSN, there may be connection problems if you use the default web browser.

The quickest and easiest way around this is to download the latest version of Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. You can still connect to the Internet via AOL or MSN, then simply switch over to IE or Navigator to do your web surfing. If you must use the online service browser for whatever reason, check the help files of the poker game site to see if there is a workaround.

If you’re lucky enough to have a decent broadband connection—cable modem, DSL, or a nice fat T1 line—you’ll find that it’s a much smoother ride. Everything moves faster, and connections tend to be more stable, so there is less of a chance of getting disconnected. This becomes a fairly serious issue later on, especially when playing for real money.

(© 2005 Deal Me In! Online Cardrooms, Big Time Tournaments, and The New Poker Book. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed)

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