Online poker has revolutionized the poker world, and if you haven’t realized that already, then you’re pretty far behind. But it’s never too late to start playing online poker. If you’re still on the fence, though, here are five reasons why online poker is better than anything you’ve ever imagined:

1.      The ability to play at any time, anywhere – It’s a lot more of an attractive idea than you think. Even if you only have five minutes to play, you can get more than a few hands in—and if you’re betting real money, that means you can make money virtually whenever you’d like.

2.      Compete with poker players at varying skill levels – In real-life, you’d normally only have the chance to play against the same players. And most of the time, they’re either experts or novices (depending on where you play). Online, you’ll be able to play against poker players that are just as good—or bad—as you.

3.      Play for free, if you want – Most poker clients—although giving out poker bonuses to those that deposit money—will let lots of poker player play for free versions of the game. Instead, you’ll bet with credits instead of cents and dollars.

4.      You can play poker at a much faster pace – With the convenience of online poker comes the speed of poker hands. Instead of waiting on other players, new players usually have a hard time keeping up—but the faster you player, the more money you’ll be able to make—or lose.

5.      You’ll get better at poker much faster – Since you’ll be exposed to so many different playing strategies, you’ll find out what you should be doing right away—and you’ll even come to develop your own poker strategies. And as long as that happens, you’ll become exponentially better at real-life poker.