Online Poker

Because poker games are card games, they are easily modeled for computerized play. They were one of the first game applications on the Internet. Virtual poker rooms are like “brick and mortar” poker rooms, in that they provide a venue for individuals to play against each other. The “house” as such is not part of the game, but charges a service (called “the rake”) for hosting the event.

Online poker games have had to overcome two built-in disadvantages over live matches. First, the players are essentially hidden from each other by the Internet, so there are no “tells” as in a live game. The chat feature of the online poker rooms permits a little interaction with the others, but it is fairly easy to manipulate. The other disadvantage is security: when the people are all at a table, communication and collusion is fairly difficult. Dealers are trained to pick up on two or more players who seem to have a way of exchanging signals. In online games, cheating is easy. It can even be done with a cell phone! Online poker rooms use special software to detect collusion between players, but there is no guarantee against it.

The advantage of online poker (apart from being able to play naked) is that you can use software to calculate odds and risks in real time, to optimize play. Another is the cost and variety of games. Brick and mortar poker rooms need to collect enough money to justify the effort, and space is expensive and limited. Thus the games being dealt at any one time are limited, and the betting minimum tends to be high, too high for the beginner or the underfunded. Online poker rooms do not have the same limitations as to the number of players or tables, nor do they have the same operating overhead. So they can deal lots of games with very low minimum bets.

For all these reasons, online poker has developed into its own style of play, with a feel and a culture that differs from the brick and mortar poker room. You will be able to choose from over 500 different poker rooms on the Internet, with the full range of games, betting structures and betting limits.