Learning poker online has never been so easy. Since the first poker rooms started to really come into play in the late 90's the poker world boomed. That is, right until the US government couldn't make up their minds on whether they should make it illegal or not. It slowed down the world of online poker but people who wanted to play found a way legal or not. The poker community today is thriving to say the least. A multi billion dollar industry, it has no spawned celebrities in the same way any sport would. With the popularity and strong communities gives birth to plenty of poker experts willing to give and share advice on their hints, tips and strategies on how to play poker online.
If you are a complete beginner it's probably not the best idea to start playing with real cash, unless it's a very small amount that you are happy to part with should it all go belly up. Whether you are a complete novice or a seasoned pro there is always room to learn new techniques and improve your poker skills at any point possible. The most obvious way to go about this is to read, poker has been around centuries even if online poker is just a baby. The amount of literature and new literature could if it was all on paper be a small rainforest the volume is that much. So we are blessed if learning is our aim.
If you're not willing to part with your cash to fork out on books (let's face it most of us aren't,) then try the countless resources out there with free articles on hints, tips and strategies for online poker. I'd also suggest that as a beginner instead of forking out your own cash you either play for play chips (which can be tedious) or get yourself a deal where you don't have to deposit at all. There are plenty of poker rooms willing to give you around $50 just for signing up, use this as an opportunity to learn poker with whilst reading up on basic strategy.
You can find links for both in my resource box.