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Online Poker

Online poker is a poker game played by a single or multiple players online (over the Internet). The availability of online poker is sighted as responsible for the dramatic and steady increase in the number of players of poker on every corner of the world. In fact, as of December 2003, about US$ 35 million a month in revenue was being generated from players of online poker.

-- The History of Online Poker

Birck and mortar or otherwise traditional places for playing poker are too intimidating for beginner players. Places such as casinos or poker rooms are also located in separate geographical locations. Traditional casinos are also not eager to support poker from the fact that it is very hard to gain or make profit from it.

Traditional casinos usually remove or limit the number of poker rooms. This is because traditional casinos usually make more money from slot machines. Also, the overhead costs of operating poker rooms are much highher than the time charge, or rake of traditional casinos.

Online poker dramatically offered a change of interest. Not only is online poker much more cheaper due to a smaller overhead costs, it also saves valuable space, and is more player friendly.

Traditional poker rooms in casinos usually require a number of tables eating up valuable space. By making available the poker game online, owners does not need to add more tables, and does not need to hire additional employees.

Online poker rooms are also viewed as much more friendly to novices or beginners. The online poker softwares usually guides the players through the game, giving instructions and prompts when it is the player's turn. Online poker also gives players the opportunity to play low stakes which is possibly as low as 1. Online poker also attract more beginners by demanding no entry fee and instead offering freerolls.

-- Offered Security By Online Poker

Frauds present in online poker is more hi-tech than traditional poker games. More than technological fraud, however, online poker is also vulnerable to collusion between poker players.

Recently, however, online poker games have installed detection systems for collusion which is absent in traditional casinos. For instance, an online poker security employee can retrace the cards history previously played by any subject player in the site. The online poker security employee might see some existing patterns of attitudes or behavior that are easier to distinguish than when the poker is played in a brick and mortar casino. In a traditional casino, players need only to fold their hands so no one can ever know the strength of their play.

Aside from this, online poker rooms have devised ways of checking the identity of their players. Online poker sites automatically check the player's IP address. Doing so avoids having players that are located or situated within the same households or passing through identified open proxy servers from playing on similar tables.

Online poker sites usually share data with each other regarding identified fraudulent players so they will automatically implement the ban and prevent the player's access to the poker games.

-- A New Feature Offered By Online Poker

Major online poker sites now offer various new features to attract and entice new players. The new feature discussed below, however, made raves at the World Series of Poker simply because the world of poker realized that even online poker players can have a shot at the big game.

One such feature the online poker sites offer is a tournament called "satellite." In this feature, winners would gain access to actual and live poker tournaments.

Chris Moneymaker won in this entry and made it to the World Series of Poker in 2003. Winning the event caused shock to the whole poker world. The next year, about four players in the WSOP final table has made entry by winning through an online cardroom. This World Series of Poker featured at least triple the number of players featured in the 2003 World Series of Poker. Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, who like Moneymaker made his entry at an online cardroom won the 2004 World Series of Poker.

-- Updates on Online Poker

Online poker revenues seem to be increasing every year. On December 2003, online poker revenues were reported to be growing at 27 % per month. The online poker revenue for that year alone was estimated at US$ 34 million.

Present figures have actually projected the revenue from online poker to reach the US$ 100 million mark. This is very probable considering that by 2005, there are an estimated 100,000 people that are playing online poker at various online poker card rooms in the Internet.

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