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The Internet has invaded almost every aspect of our lives – even poker – yes online poker has gained a well-deserved popularity as one of the most popular card games in the world. In fact, it is a major revenue earner for the United States, often exceeding 200 million dollars each month! With such a fan following, isn't it time you got involved too?
What is online poker?
Remember those dingy local card rooms in your neighborhood? They were the 'real deal' - real money, real tables and pretense marked on every face in the room. That was then – things have changed drastically now. With plenty of overhead costs and restrictions in space, traditional poker rooms have slowly given way to their smarter, more modern step-brother - online poker. Here, everything is virtual – right from tables, to people to even the cards! Even your identity can be changed to suit your convenience. What's more, if you choose not to play with real money, you can opt for websites that use play money instead. Online poker works the same way as traditional poker – the rules and strategy of the game remain intact. Just that everything is now online!
How do you play poker online?
If you've never played poker before or find the online versions a tad confusing, this should help. In the online variation, every player on the table is 'dealt' a set of 5 cards each. These are provided face-down. Once the dealing is over, the players get to pick up their cards to see what they've got. Players assess their cards to check the feasibility at creating a high value hand. A hand is a sequence or pattern of cards formed with high value cards. High value cards are the ones that are at the further end of the natural sequence. For example, the Royal Flush hand is said to have the highest value – it has all the top value cards – Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 – and all in the same suit. If a player happens to have a bad set of cards (which will usually be the case), he will trade his cards in exchange for new cards from the virtual deck provided.
In online poker usually a 'virtual deck' of cards is provided that automatically changes depending on the cards each player trades in. Once trading finishes, betting begins. Betting consists of an action or a verbal declaration from each of the players. This binds each player to his proclaimed action so he does not change it later on seeing some other player's bet. There are several types of betting such as a fold - where you surrender your cards or a raise - where you not only bet the same amount betted by another player, you also raise the amount a little more. After betting gets over, each player's hands are assessed against the slot machine. The player with the highest valued hand wins.
Things to watch out for
In online poker every player has a pseudo-identity. This has given rise to fraudulent occurrences such as collusion. Collusion is a process where groups of poker players 'gang up' to impact overall game results. Even chat rooms are often scrutinized to ensure no one is conspiring here. Player behavior is recorded and analyzed for preventing fraud. It also helps not to bluff too much while playing poker online. The reason being that since you cannot be physically seen, chances are, either your bluff won't be understood or will be called soon. If you're a beginner you should only visit online poker sites that use play money instead of real cash.
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