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.

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

Going back to the days before the poker boom who could have imagined that poker would be such a part of modern day culture in 2010? Not only that, but the game is now considered cool. If you are a poker nerd talking about three betting light and push fold ranges whilst wearing outrageous hats and sunglasses you will appreciated for your skill rather than dismissed as a weird card player. So just what makes Poker so suitable for modern day culture, and will it last?

When Chris Moneymaker turned $40 into $2.5 million in 2003 the idea that cards and poker could be a quick and easy access to wealth really caught the imagination of people. Players note sure about strategy had the added benefit that the newly implemented hole-card cameras showed them the strategy used by the professional players and the myth of “secret strategies” used by professional poker players was broken forever. Players could now see the strategies used to win by players making millions from the game and replicate them into their own poker game. The pace in the growth of poker went up another notch.

Poker rooms began marketing for new players and as the games filled with these new players the potential to earn money from online poker was so high people flocked to join in. Demand and market conditions meant that other poker rooms arrived on the scene to grab their slice of the new and juicy poker pie. The snowball effect took hold and exploded the popularity of the game in a very short space of time.

Suddenly anyone with an Internet connection could play online poker. As more and more households connected to the Internet new players were appearing from everywhere. The age old taboo surrounding the game was now replaced by a game that offered opportunity rather than a guaranteed route to disaster. Players from Backgammon, Chess, Video Games and Mathematics all realised that their skills could be used to dip into the huge prize pools on offer if they mastered poker. The tidal wave of poker had completely smashed into mainstream culture with devastating speed.

Only the global recession in 2007 to 2009 slowed down the gravy train. The bad players had either improved or left the game and people saved rather than spent their money. Gaming became a luxury many families could not afford. A consequence of this meant that the games got tougher and now even the micro-limit cash games are not easy to beat. Any player wanting to learn to play poker must now be aware that we are not in the “glory days” of the poker boom any longer. You can still win but you must learn about bankroll management and take your time before playing against more experienced players. Prize pools are still amazing, but perhaps a little tougher to win.

We have moved into the age of poker training and diligent learning. Fortunately there will always be good player pools in casinos for live events and online poker tournaments will be filled thanks to the boom. We must now earn our crust at the tables with a solid game of ABC poker. Putting in the effort now whilst times are a little harder will be worth it if there is another poker boom in the future. Markets like the Asian market are not fully saturated yet so it is not the end of online poker, only a little quieter than its crazy introduction to mainstream culture.

Things like wide screen monitors and high tech training means poker is now being linked with technology to improve the experience of playing poker online. Poker rooms continue to compete and improve their online software to draw in new customers. Poker is now growing at a smaller and more sustainable rate, but it is still growing and is still a great game to learn, participate and win money from playing and the future is certainly bright for all forms of poker both live and online.

By Malcolm Clarke