School of Poker
Online Poker Rooms — The Complete Guide to Online Poker.

Let us keep you informed! Enter your Name and Email address to receive details of all the latest offers, tips, news and much, much more. click here to read about our Privacy Policy.

School of Poker » Poker’s No-Bluff Future

Poker, both off and online, is taking off, and even that’s a huge understatement. A favorite pastime enjoyed by millions of passionate players spanning the entire globe, the game of poker is once again experiencing a phenomenal surge in popularity, especially due to the relatively recent advent of televised world poker tournaments and other high-profile events. The seemingly overnight proliferation of Internet poker web sites, compounded by the introduction of television cameras being positioned under the tables so that viewers – I mean “spectators” – can be privy to players’ hole cards, has also contributed significantly to the game’s booming popularity.

The largest poker tournaments in the world, the World Series of Poker (WSP), along with the World Poker Tour plus countless others, are not only major draws for celebrity players, but quickly launching new stars as well. But don’t be fooled, not all poker faces are alike. In fact, some poker celebs were famous long before anyone even knew they played poker. (Now why does Pamela Anderson always come to mind?) Other legendary figures, on the other hand, like Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Jamie Gold, and Phil Hellmuth, just to name a few, all earned their poker accolades (and fortunes) the old fashion way; at the tables. Either way, celebrity bounties or not, poker’s almighty allure has resulted in expanded media exposure and, in turn, significantly more public awareness, further earning the game – or sport, as some refer to it – its rightful status as a mainstream form of entertainment.

Poker on the Net
With its entry into the online gambling sector as recently as the late 1990s, poker has evolved into probably the fastest growing area of the online gambling market. Annual revenues are estimated to have increased from approximately $90 million in 2002 to over a billion in 2004. 2005’s figures indicate revenues exceeding $2.5 billion, accounting for a whopping twenty percent of the entire online gaming industry’s earnings, according to many analysts.

Marriage Made in Gambling Heaven
Poker’s explosion on the scene has also led to an unpredictable marriage of convenience linking the online and traditional land-based poker worlds in holy matrimoney. While the online casino biz is believed to be combating the forces of (evil) competition from state lotteries and other politically protected monopolies, online poker aficionados are more than welcome to also qualify for the major land based poker tournaments, along with online satellite tournaments. Alternatively, online poker’s image has also benefited tremendously as a result of so many online poker players winning major land based tournaments.

Prior to online poker’s arrival, wannabe poker players either had no immediate access to a poker room, or were perhaps too intimidated to join a live poker game in a Vegas-like casino, especially when real money was at stake. But no more; poker today is not only online, but on fire. Cool!