Online poker has changed the way poker is played today in the world. It increased the accessibility of the game to millions of players because of which it is now more popular than ever. Poker has been played for several years but online poker history is quite short like any other online gambling games. However, it is still developing quite rapidly and the gambling industry is not slowing down at all.
The History of Online Poker
Online poker dates back to the year 1998 when the first games were launched online. However, the most important milestone in online poker history was in the year 2002. The development of the high profile poker tournaments such as the World Poker Tour had just started and they were getting more popular with people all over the world. There were also several other factors which contributed to the growth of online poker as more players discovered how much fun it was to play online. In the year 2004 and in 2005, there was a huge influx of online poker sites and rooms and several of them appealed to even non players who started showing some interest in the game.
Planetpoker.com was the first poker room online which had been launched in the year 1998 and it had several obstacles in its way. Trust level from players was low and the software used was not as good as it is today. However, professional players were quite enthusiastic about it and so the game developed quite well in a short time. Well-known players like Erik Lindgren, Andy Bloch, Phil Gordon, Erik Seidel and Phil Ivey all supported online poker.
Online Poker Today
Today, online poker is more popular than ever and the industry is expanding by leaps and bounds. Today there are hundreds of online poker rooms which can be used 24/7 by players. There are several different varieties of poker which are offered by these rooms and quite a lot of players today find this variety very appealing. Many of these sites also offer plenty of features which appeal to players. The bonuses which are offered to new players for signing up on the poker site are quite attractive and it is one of the reasons why so many new players are attracted to online poker. Also, online poker has made the game available to players who were not able to enjoy it earlier because they could not afford to travel to Vegas or Atlantic City.
One of the most attractive features which are offered by online sites is the satellite events for big poker tournaments. This feature allows the players to get access to real tournaments like the WSOP. Players can now easily participate in these satellite events and get a chance to make it to the real live tournament. In the year 2005, the online poker industry exceeded the mark of $100 million which just goes to show that the concept has picked up big time.