A scary thought? It certainly is. Where would we be without online poker, we would have to find other things to do, other things to study and (god forbid) even talk to the wife on an evening. Life is certainly fun having online poker to play but in my constant look at the world of poker we are going to consider why online poker is so important to our everyday lives as poker players and what we would need to do if we could not play online poker. It would certainly be a different world than the one we are used to.

It seems that the powers that be in respective governments around the world are hoping to at least heavily restrict the freedom poker players have to engage in online poker games and this article may not be too far from the mark. When I first saw a game of online poker on UB way back in 2000 I remember thinking what a strange way to spend your time. Because I had never heard of the game before I thought it was just another way of a games company getting your money, in the same way online slots and Bingo seems to do.

Fast forward ten years and I am a converted man. Realising that poker is a skill game laced with luck I play online poker most evenings, definitely one in two evenings for a couple of hours and I can legitimately improve rather than just getting lucky. I enjoy it and whilst I relax whilst I play I try to take on board as much of my own advice as possible and play as hard as I can. If I could not play online poker and if it did not exist, my life would certainly be a lot different.

It is my view that online poker has allowed the mainstream culture to adopt the game. Football is a massive game in the UK because anybody with a football can kick a ball around and there are lots of clubs, Saturday afternoon games with friends and 5-a-side leagues to join. It is accessible. Contrast that with Ice Hockey where you need a rink, lots of expensive safety equipment and the ability to ice skate well to be able to play. The viewing figures for that game are a lot smaller and this is no co-incidence. When people watch poker on TV, even if they live a long way from a casino they can log onto the Internet and play at a cash game or tournament table within seconds. Online poker could be one of the most accessible things available.

If online poker did not exist we would be forced to visit the casino for poker tournaments and cash games. Personally I find cash games more daunting in a live setting; it just looks like people know what they are doing more than online. Tournaments are fun, but last a long time. You also have to pick yourself up and drive to a casino, or take the bus if you want a drink, and there are going to be occasions where you decide to stay indoors and not make the effort. Accessing online poker is far easier, but if it did not exist we would have to work far harder to play. For those who want to enjoy free poker through a social network or their phone, there are different alternatives as Facebook Poker, iPhone poker, poker for Android, all of them free and fun to play, against your friends or poker players from all over the world!

Thankfully online poker exists in today’s world. I play most of my hands on bwin.com and get to use tracking software like pokertracker to help improve my game at a far higher rate than would be possible live. Bwin.com has a cool interface which is dark and sophisticated looking and that is easy on the eye, particularly when you play more than one table. You can play a variety of poker tournaments and real money cash games so download their software and have a go at beating the many poker players that call bwin.com their poker home.

I hope to see you at the tables and we can celebrate being able to play online poker together in some big pots!

By Malcolm Clarke

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