Online poker is poker played over the Internet. It has contributed to an increase in the number poker players around the world. Online poker revenues were approximately US$ 200 million per month in 2005.
Traditional venues such as poker tables and poker rooms (or brick and mortar), can prove intimidating for beginners. Many of these locations are located in very different areas. Brick and mortar casinos don’t want to promote poker as it can be difficult to make a profit. The rake, also known as the time charge of traditional casinos, is often very high. However, there are higher opportunity costs to run a poker club. Brick-and-mortar casinos often make more money if they remove poker rooms or add more slot machines Ezwin.
Online venues, on the other hand, have significantly lower overhead costs. For example, an addition to an online poker room does not take up valuable space as it would in a brick-and-mortar casino. Online poker rooms often allow beginners to play for low stakes (as low a 1C/) and sometimes offer poker freeroll tournaments (where entry fees are not required).
Online casinos may be more susceptible to certain types and frauds, especially collusion among players. But they can detect collusion in a way that brick and mortar casinos cannot. Online poker room security workers can examine the hand history for any player, which makes patterns of behavior easier than in a traditional casino. Collaborating players could simply fold their cards without anyone knowing their strength. Online poker rooms also check IP addresses to protect players from being seated at the same table as someone else.
IRC poker, which was free to play online, was used in the early 1990s. Planet Poker, the first online cardroom that offered real money games, was established shortly after. Planet Poker was started by Mike Caro. He is also the author of Planet Poker.
Online poker sites provide a variety of features to attract new players. One feature common to all online poker sites is the ability to host satellite tournaments through which winners get access to real-life tournaments. Chris Moneymaker’s entry to 2003 World Series of Poker was made possible by a PokerStars tournament. He won the main tournament, shocking the poker community. 2004 World Series featured three-times as many players in 2004 and 2003. Online cardrooms were used to enter at least four of the WSOP final tables. Like Moneymaker (2004), Greg “Fossilman”, Raymer also won an entry to the PokerStars online casino.
Sportingbet Plc announced the acquisition in October 2004 of ParadisePoker.com. It was at that time the world’s biggest publicly traded online casino company (SBT.L). The purchase of ParadisePoker.com for $340million was the first online cardroom to be owned by a public company. Since then, numerous other cardroom parent corporations have gone public.
PartyGaming (the parent company of PartyPoker), went public on the London Stock Exchange June 2005. This initial public offering was valued at more than $8 billion. At the time, 92% of Party Gaming’s revenues came from poker operations.
Online poker requires that you download the software and install it to your computer. Although its graphics are very good, those running on java programs may not be as sharp. A budget is also important when playing online poker. This will ensure that you don’t spend too much. Learning money management is an excellent way to develop your skills as an on-line player.
Remember, you need to be smart in order to play poker online. Be a good sport and use your common sense. Think with your head and not your wallet. Enjoy the journey and don’t be afraid to take it slow.
