Online Poker
Poker has exploded every since Chris Moneymaker won over $2 million
dollars at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2003. Poker exploded
online when it was announced that he'd won his entry into the tournament by winning his spot on the Pokerstars.com site, which paid his entry
fee into the big tournament. Now there are probably close to 100 sites dedicated to poker in some fashion. Each has its strengths and weaknesses,
and is supported by many professional poker players.
The top site out there today is Pokerstars. It has the most subscribers,
probably due to the Moneymaker factor. It hosts a great number of games, and had a nice run of being the site that produced three poker
champions in a row in Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, and
Joe Hachem, the first WSOP winner from Australia. It offers a
great number of free and paid games of all types, not exclusive to
Texas Hold 'Em. The paid games
range as low as a penny, up to $10,000 and, every once in awhile, even more expensive, exclusive games. It offers you the chance to look in on
games while they're being played if you know a users name, which can be interesting. It also offers a variety of templates of tables you can select
from. On this site, you can upload a picture to use as your identifying image, which sometimes seems to border on the absurd, but you also have
the right to block someone else's image or chat, if they're irritating you.
Full Tilt Poker probably has the most professional poker players associated
with it, and it's power is evident in that it also produces two television shows. It was created by
Chris Ferguson, nicknamed "Jesus", the 2000 WSOP player of the year
and, oddly enough, a Ph.D. in computer sciences from UCLA; this isn't a dumb guy. Once again there's quite a variety of games that can be
played, but the lowest amount you can play for pay, so to speak, is 5 cents, which still isn't bad, and their highest amount is $2,000. They also
offer a great number of qualifiers for the major poker tournaments around the world. Unlike Pokerstars, they feature a good number of avatars
that allow for certain emotions to be shown while playing the game.
Bodog is the site I know the least about, but they've been around since 2004.
This site offers a good number of hold 'em games, but not as many of the other types of poker as the other sites. This is probably because they do
more than just poker, catering to all sorts of gambling endeavors. Their software offers the most options for customization so that the player can
make what they see the most appealing out of the other sites. Bodog is probably hurt by having some poker professionals on their site who haven't
won the WSOP, but are still pretty good in their own right. They also don't offer as many money options for paid tournaments.
Of course, one can't talk about online poker without getting into some of the things that make it somewhat controversial. The biggest obstacle right
now is that paid
online poker is illegal in the United States,
thanks to some legislators sneaking it into a border security bill back in 2006. There are many legislators trying to get that changed, including
former senator Alfonse D'Amato. Therefore,
none of the sites mentioned, or any others, are on U.S. soil. These companies have had to come up with some fairly unique ways to be able to accept
payment from U.S. citizens, since we're not allowed to pay with credit cards or checks from American bank accounts, which I can't really
address since I've never paid for poker online.
There are many people who get addicted to playing poker, but it can be much worse online. One can get into serious trouble by going to the casino
on a daily basis, but their access to funds can be limited to a degree, and people at the casino can send you home. I've heard stories about people
playing online and running up debt as high as $300,000 because all they have to do is get another credit card and start playing again. Like
everything else, it has to be done in moderation if you're paying for it, and even if you're not paying for it, you should only do it in moderation.
The final thing is wondering just how random the games can possibly be. There are many realistic things that I've seen online, but the number
of people who are able to eventually win a hand that started with nothing seems phenomenally high. As someone who has gone to a casino and
played poker upwards of 14 straight hours, I can honestly say that I've never seen three of a kind beaten by as many straights and flushes in
person as I've seen online. At the same time, in real poker, a player will have to think seriously as to whether they want to risk their money
going all in by playing a 4-7 when it's pretty certain that the overwhelming majority of players at the table have a better hand. Online,
especially in the free games, some players will take those chances because it's free, and if they lose they can just get into another game.
Therefore, the realism of online poker as opposed to playing in a casino can be tainted, though I'm betting that in the tournaments where the
players have actually paid $2,000 or more to play that they're showing a great deal more restraint.
Playing poker online can be enjoyable, but it can also be maddening and addicting. There are plenty other sites out there, including a relatively
new one called Doyle's Room, named after and sponsored by one of only 3 men
to have won at least 10 poker tournament bracelets, so choices abound. If you're going to play, be safe and try to have fun.
