Friday, August 28, 2009

The In's And Out's Of Online Poker

By Peter Werth

The Internet has got it all! From information to entertainment content to business and purchases of commodities, be it basic and special services and products, name it, it can be found in the virtual world.

Online poker is only rising in popularity, and with many more people looking to get their fair share of the fun... the online poker phenomenon has hit the internet.

Online poker is poker or card game played using computers connected to the Internet. It is assumed that online poker has further, and dramatically in that sense, increased the popularity of poker worldwide.

Brief background on poker

To better understand the nature of online poker, it would help if you will know something about the card game's background and history.

Poker is a class or type of card game referred to as 'vying game', where players attempt to outpace or beat each other by coming out with the best possible combinations of cards.

There will always be debate about the origins of poker. Linguistic scholars insist that the name 'poker' literally descended from 'poque', a French word which in turn came from a German word 'pochen', which means to knock'.

The mechanics of poker suggest otherwise, and has led to the relation of poker to the 'as nasi' game that was played in old Persia (now Iran). Studies suggest that the Persian sailors in the 17th century had taught the game to French settlers in the US state of New Orleans.

As things and time progressed, many adaptations and rules where invented to from different variants of the game. Just like humanity has evolved, so has poker, and now we see the online realm taking over.

Online Poker vs Old School Poker

Traditional poker venues are sometimes referred to as 'bricks-and-mortar' poker rooms. With not many poker rooms around these days, players are intimidated to attend such events because of the distance required to travel and play.

As inflation increases, so do wages, and so do general operating costs... making running a traditional poker room an unprofitable business venture. You must wonder, how could this happen when they charge so much for commissions or rake. For your information, those charges and fees do not usually offset the costs in running or operating an actual poker room.

Most venues are having to rely on poker (slot) machines just to play afloat.

Online poker, in contrast, are now more preferred by poker organizers because the game requires cheaper overhead costs. For instance, adding one more online poker table will not take long and will not require more space, unlike in brick and mortar.

Players often view online poker as friendlier and more flexible. Automatic shuffling and dealing, prompting when it's time to play, and other features enhance the online poker players experience. Online poker is also more attractive for beginners because they can be allowed to play online poker even for much lower stakes, which can be as low as a single cent!

For online poker players, there are no download fees, or registration fees... in actual fact, players are enticed with deposit bonuses up to 100%. How's that for value!

Protection in online poker venues

The grim reality that where there is money involved, scammers are always attracted. This does include online poker rooms, thankfully the online poker rooms are well prepared.

Anti-collusion detection software and programs are run by online poker rooms to stop fraud. Another advantage that online poker rooms have over traditional bricks-and-mortar venues.

How does it work? Some known methods include checking IP addresses so that people in the same household can't cheat, this detects and stops collusion. Players using open proxy servers are also prevented from playing online poker on a single or same poker table.

A players history of play is also available for review with online poker rooms. Traditional venues don't have such a privilege, so cheating at 'real' tables is much easier than online.

A lot of sites offer online poker games, and you can choose whether you would want to play against real-time players located anywhere in the globe or against computer programs. So if poker is your game, then log onto the internet and start playing.

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