The incredible popularity of online poker indicates just how much need there was for easy access poker. Online poker has opened up a new way of playing the game. Millions of online players have flocked to various sites like Full Tilt, PokerStars and ParadisePoker. After the first real money game was played in 1998, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of international poker players which grew online poker business to a multi-billion dollar industry. Online poker exploded in 2003 when poker hit mainstream television in the US. In the World Series of Poker that followed after, almost half of the entrants qualified via the online poker satellite tournaments. Chris Moneymaker from PokerStars eventually won the tournament, causing widespread shock in the poker world. The strength of online poker was further vindicated when Greg Raymer (also from PokerStars) won the tournament next year.

Online poker is substantially different from its real-life counterpart (also known as brick and mortar game). The virtual part removes the ability to notice others’ reaction and body language. Since the physical part of the game is completely cut off, the online players rely heavily on betting patterns, reflex time, fold/flop percentage, chat box and other non-physical behaviours to analyze their opponents. The rate of play in online poker is considerably faster due to the elimination of factors such as collection, shuffling and dealing of cards by card dealers. Online poker is cheaper than the brick and mortar game. There is no transportation cost, no tipping the dealers or chip runners, and the players can even play multiple tables at the same time. Online poker sites are strict on their security measurement- frauds and collusion between players is easier to detect. The playing patterns of suspects are inspected on a regular basis. Players’ IP addresses are tracked to prevent fakers from creating multiple accounts. The poker rooms are audited by major international accounting firms (like Price Waterhouse Coopers, for example).

Online poker received a tremendous blow when President George Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006. The act outlaws online gambling in the United States and prohibits banks from processing payments incurred in gambling. Several poker sites were driven out of the US market when the legislation was first introduced. Since most of the online players are living in the US, this act was a major concern for all poker sites. A deadline of December 1st, 2009 had been set for the law to come into full force across America. Fortunately, poker fans got a breather when Barack Obama’s administration agreed to delay the implementation of the Act by six months, until June 1st, 2010. With this dramatic postponement of the act, the PPA (Poker Player Alliance) and Congressman Barney Frank want the President to regulate online gambling instead, a move which could generate billions in tax revenues.

The grand success of online poker lies in the fact that it has popularised the game in a big way, expanding its scope to international players across the globe. Hollywood personalities like Ben Affleck have endorsed poker to enthusiastic beginners. Most of the major poker professionals have accepted and adopted the online poker medium. It is a great way to gain valuable poker experience and playing skills. Numerous poker sites enter the market everyday that let the users play for free. Thousands of other sites host competitions where no real money is involved. As a result, the popularity of this game has sky-rocketed. With all factors considered, the world wide online poker market is expected to grow to $6.2bn (£3.7bn) by 2012, representing a 12% compound annual growth rate over four years. And if that is not enough, Merrill Lynch has predicted that the market will bring in $528 billion annually worldwide in 2015. Huge, isn’t it? If interested, pull out your poker faces and join the free poker rooms in Facebook or PokerRPG- it’s a lot of fun.

Image Courtesy: http://decadenceconference.com, http://www.ingridpoker.com