Sunday, August 23, 2009

Understanding 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.

Poker is the most popular game in the world, and with it's rise in popularity... the game has shifted to the online world.

In simple terms, online poker is payed on digital tables with people connected to them from their internet connections. This simple setup has made poker accessible to just about anyone in the world, which has fueled the popularity fire.

Brief history on Poker

By knowing the background and history of poker, you will be better equipped to understand what only poker is all about... so shall we take a quick look?

Poker is a classic card game that has been played for centuries. The aim of the game is to win the "pot" by having the highest ranking card combination.

Historians argue about the real origin 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.

It would be safe to assert that like humanity, poker has evolved and online poker is just one form of evolution the game has taken over the decades.

Online Poker vs Traditional Poker Rooms

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.

The profit margin for these poker rooms is very low, so it is becoming less and less viable to run poker rooms in local towns. 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.

The sad truth is that any poker rooms still open today are probably relying on their slot machines to keep their head above ground.

The beautiful thing about poker rooms is the fact that running costs are relatively low. For instance, adding one more online poker table will not take long and will not require more space, unlike in brick and mortar option.

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!

Most of the online poker sites almost always do not collect entrance or registration fees. Can you enter a poker room or casino without paying entrance charges? Pretty economical and practical, huh?

What security measures are taken for online poker?

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.

However, to avoid fraud and collusion among online poker players, Internet sites and businesses that run these sites often install anti-collusion detection software and programs. This could not be possible in the brick and mortar casinos and poker rooms.

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.

Online poker rooms also check on an online player's strategy or play history. This would make patterns of behavior or thinking detectable. Traditional venues don't have such a privilege, so cheating at 'real' tables is much easier than online.

Thus, it is recommendable that if you are anywhere far from any known poker room or casino, log on to the Internet. 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. The latter would be a real challenge.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment