Online Poker

Online poker is a huge industry today, and is for the most part growing each quarter. Where it came from, where it's going, and what makes it so attractive are all areas that can be discussed.

Online Poker History

Poker in some form has been in existence for many hundreds of years and may be traced back to the European Primero, Poque, or Pochen; it was however in America that it was truly developed into the modern game with all the varieties we know today. If the move to America was to consolidate poker as a serious game, the internet revolution was to transform it into a worldwide pastime experiencing popularity hitherto unknown by any card game. Today, online poker is one of the largest sectors of the online gaming industry, worth billions of dollars, and providing everyone with the opportunity to engage in a large number of poker games and tournaments.

Why is Online Poker so Popular

There are a number of explanations for the popularity of online poker since it inception in the mid-1990s but basically it can be summed up like this. Online poker takes a great game and makes it readily available and not just to people who would be playing poker anyway, but also to people who would simply not have thought to go to a casino or get a poker night together. In addition to this, the comfort of being able to play from ones own living room, and the variety of choices available in terms of both games and gaming options such as the ability to play without downloads or indeed for free, have given it an irresistible pull! Finally, as online poker has gotten more popular so have televised poker tournaments, thus these two elements of the poker world continue to contribute to the growth of each other. If your looking to improve your online poker skills, we recommend visiting The Poker Grind where you can learn how to grind out poker to make money like a real job. Also find big poker bonuses offered from various online poker sites.

Online Poker Tournaments

Online poker tournaments are becoming an incredibly popular and important part of the online poker experience. Online poker tournaments may be linked to a land based tournament in which the online tournament will result in the winning of a buy-in for a land-based tournament, or it may exist in its own right. There are two main types of online poker tournament; the sit and go, and the multi-table. For the most part sit-and-gos are seen more regularly because they are simply easier to organize online. In all online poker tournaments you will pay a buy-in in exchange for which you will be given a set number of chips; these are what you have to play with, and once they've run out, you've lost. The only exception to this is if there are re-buys. A re-buy allows you to buy more chips once yours have run out, thereby allowing you to stay in the tournament. Some online poker tournaments will have guaranteed prize pools but most will have their prize pools made up by the buy-ins, thus the more people play the greater the prize pool is. The division of the prize pool will vary from casino to casino, and could be anything from the first 100 positions getting cash payouts to just the top 5.

Most online poker sites will run online poker tournaments, usually to be found in their own section of the site. A tournament will usually be listed by it's name, type of game, buy-in, start time, and re-buy status. The most popular variety of online poker tournament is Texas Hold'em, however other types of poker can also be played in a tournament settings for example Omaha hi/low or H.O.R.S.E.

Online Poker Varieties

The different varieties of poker are too numerous to list completely, however, we can give a good overview of some of the basic structures that make up different poker games. All poker games work on the same principle of building 5-card hands, with a pair being the lowest hand and a straight flush the highest; the one with the best hand at the end wins, but in order to still be at the end one has to bet and bluff one's way through.

Draw Poker Draw poker is a kind of poker in which you are dealt cards but then are able to swap some of those cards in order to get your best poker hand. 5 card draw is the most simple of draw games.

Stud Poker

Stud poker is a kind of game in which you are dealt a number of cards, usually 7, and those cards are what you have – there is no swapping. Thus in this game the key to winning comes down to your betting and bluffing ability. 7 card stud is a good example of stud games as its very straight forward. Stud games are often spiced up a little with rules; for example, a game may be dubbed "one eyed jacks wild" – this means that if you have the jack with one eye closed you can use that as a wild card. If you enjoy casino gambling then visit the best online casinos for the latest bonus offers.

Community Card Poker

Community card poker games are games which have a number of cards that are shared by all the players. Thus each player will be dealt a number of cards which are his and he keeps these secret, but then 5 cards will be dealt face up on the table. Any player can use any of these cards along with his own cards to make his best 5 card hand. The most popular form of community card poker game is Texas Hold'em which is highly conducive to tournament game. In fact over three quarters of all poker tournaments are Texas Hold'em tournaments. In Texas Hold'em each person has two "hole cards", these are his alone, and there are 5 cards dealt out on the table. After each person is dealt his hole cards there's a betting round. The community cards are dealt in a specific sequence of the first three, called the "flop", then one called the "turn", and then the last one called the "river", there's a betting round in between each of these rounds, and one at the end.

These are the very basic principles of poker, but with a whole world to discover, there's much more to poker than meets the eye. View online poker deposit methods if you want to figure out how the most common ways to deposit funds into online poker sites. If you enjoy online casino bonuses then search then be sure to do your research so you play with the best.