The game of poker really has reached new heights over the recent years. Not only will you be able to play poker in casinos, you can also play poker online!

The popularity of poker games has reached unprecedented heights. We all know about stories of men having poker nights, but now, even television has been invaded by poker fanatics. It would not be surprising if you and your friends enjoy a game of poker every week while watching world poker tours.

Online venues for poker, or poker rooms, started with free online poker matches hosted by IRC poker. The first venture to really let poker players play with real money was by Planet Poker in 1998.

Playing online poker has a lot of advantages; the websites that offer these provide different features as come on to poker players everywhere. For instance, you get a chance to join real live poker tournaments via satellite. If you know your online poker history, Chris Moneymaker, winner of the 2003 World Series of Poker, actually got his entry to the said event by winning in a PokerStars online tournament.

If you are worried about legalities, rest assured that poker tourneys online are regulated and all legal. Additionally, there is no need to worry that online poker games are rigged. Poker game hosts already get enough profit from the “rake” itself that to trouble themselves to cheat online players is utter foolishness.

The rake is the percentage of money each poker game hosts get from hosting the event and it is naturally capped at a certain amount. Each online poker host has their own structure for getting the rake.

Some poker players do hesitate to play online because of “unusual” things: noticing a string of bad beats, or participating in games that have impossibly large amounts of bets. This is not really unexplainable. The fact of the matter is that online poker games can deal hands faster than non-virtual games. So of course, as a player, you get to play more hands than what you normally play out of the internet.

Another reason why some poker players do not like playing online is there is no chance to see your opponent face to face. The game of poker is actually a psychological game and some professionals feel that part of the game is lost in online poker.

You will not be able to see “tells” from your opponents and this might be seen as a disadvantage, considering that you are betting blindly. You only get to decide based on your cards, the community cards and how much the other players are raising. Bluffing therefore is easy, and hard for other players to determine.

Nevertheless, online poker players seem to enjoy playing over the net and this is basically what they are looking for. Additionally, the thrill is not lost as you wait for another player to call your bluff and you can squint, smile, or squeal all you want without giving away your hand.

If you are looking to while away your time and want to play a bit of poker without having to leave your home or office, then poker online is the best option for you.