Online poker: a virtual gambling game

Online poker is the poker game that is played on the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide. In 2005, online poker revenue was estimated at $ 200 million per month.

Traditional (or "brick and mortar", B&M, live) places to play poker, such as casinos and poker rooms, can be intimidating for novice players and are often found in geographically disparate locations. Also, traditional casinos are reluctant to promote poker because they find it difficult to capitalize on it. Although the rake, or time charge, of traditional casinos is often high, the opportunity costs of managing a poker room are even higher. Traditional casinos often make a lot more money by removing poker rooms and adding more slot machines.

Online places, by contrast, are dramatically cheaper because they have much lower overall costs. For example, adding another table does not take up valuable space as it would for a traditional casino. Online poker rooms also allow players to play at low stakes (as low as 1 ¢) and often offer freeroll poker tournaments (where there is no entry fee), which appeals to beginners.

Online places may be more vulnerable to certain types of fraud, especially player collusion. However, they have collusion detection capabilities that do not exist in traditional casinos. For example, online poker room security employees can view the hand history of cards previously played by any player on the site, making behavior patterns easier to detect than in a casino where Players in conflict can simply fold their hands without anyone ever knowing the strength of their holding. judi poker online terpercaya rooms also check players' IP addresses to prevent players in the same home or on known open proxy servers from playing at the same tables.

Free online poker was played in the late 1990s in the form of IRC poker. Soon after, Planet Poker was the first online card room to offer real money games. Author Mike Caro was one of the founders and the "face" of Planet Poker.

The major online poker sites offer various features to attract new players. A common feature is to offer tournaments called satellites whereby winners can enter real-life poker tournaments. It was through one of those PokerStars tournaments that Chris Moneymaker won his entry to the 2003 World Series of Poker. He then won the main event causing a stir in the world of poker. The 2004 World Series featured three times as many players as in 2003. At least four players at the WSOP final table won their entry through an online card room. Like Moneymaker, 2004 winner Greg "Fossilman" Raymer also earned his entry into the PokerStars online card room.

In October 2004, Sportingbet Plc, at the time the world's largest publicly listed online gaming company (SBT.L), announced the acquisition of ParadisePoker.com, one of the world's first and largest gaming rooms in the online poker industry. The $ 340 million acquisition marked the first time that an online card room was owned by a public company. Since then, several other gaming room parent companies have gone public.

In June 2005, PartyGaming, the parent company of the largest online card room at the time, PartyPoker, went public on the London Stock Exchange, achieving an initial public offering market value of more than $ 8 billion. of dollars. At the time of the IPO, ninety-two percent of Party Gaming's income came from poker operations.

To play poker online, you must download the software and install it on your computer. Its graphics are usually very good, although those that run in Java-based programs are never as good. It is also wise to set a budget when planning to play poker online; This will help you avoid unnecessary expenses. Try to learn to manage money; This is a good way to develop your skills as an online poker player.

Finally remember that to play online poker you must be smart. Let your common sense prevail. You must think with mind and not with your cash. Just take it easy and have fun.