Understanding Online Poker
The Internet has got it all! From information to entertainment content to business and purchases of commodities, be it basic and special services and products, name it, it can be found in the virtual world.
The most popular card game in the world, poker, can now be played through the Internet. Thus, we have what we call ‘online poker.’
Online poker is poker or card game played using computers connected to the Internet. It is assumed that online poker has further, and dramatically in that sense, increased the popularity of poker worldwide.
Brief background on poker
To better understand the nature of online poker, it would help if you will know something about the card game’s background and history.
Poker is a class or type of card game referred to as ‘vying game,’ where players attempt to outpace or beat each other by coming out with the best possible combinations of cards.
Historians argue about the real origin of poker. Linguistic scholars insist that the name ‘poker’ literally descended from ‘poque,’ a French word which in turn came from a German word ‘pochen,’ which means ‘to knock.’
But looking closely at the mechanics of poker, scholars say the card game should have been derived from the ‘as nas’ game in old Persia (now Iran). Studies suggest that the Persian sailors in the 17th century had taught the game to French settlers in the US state of New Orleans.
From then on, a lot of modifications in the mechanics and way of playing have been introduced. It would be safe to assert that like humanity, poker has evolved and online poker is just one form of evolution the game has taken over the decades.
Online poker vs. brick and mortar poker
Traditional of conventional venues for playing poker are also, and more popularly, known in the gambling lingo as ‘brick and mortar.’ Some players often play hesitant to play poker at the brick and mortar venues like casinos and poker rooms due to intimidation an geographic problems.
Several brick and mortar venues and operators are also starting to shift away because of reduced and minimal profit they can generate from the operations. You must wonder, how could this happen when they charge so much for commissions or rake. For your information, those charges and fees do not usually offset the costs in running or operating an actual poker room.
Brick and mortar venues and casinos strategically survive nowadays from revenue generated by slot machines in their houses.
Online poker, in contrast, are now more preferred by poker organizers because the game requires cheaper overhead costs. For instance, adding one more online poker table will not take long and will not require more space, unlike in brick and mortar.
Players often view online poker as friendlier and more flexible. Ecah player is prompted by a software when it is already his or her turn to throw cards. Thus, no one will be missed. Online poker is also more attractive for beginners because they can be allowed to play online poker even for much lower stakes, which can be as low as a single cent!
Most of the online poker sites almost always do not collect entrance or registration fees. Can you enter a poker room or casino without paying entrance charges? Pretty economical and practical, huh?
Protection in online poker venues
Cheaters are everywhere and they will always attempt to do their business in all the accessible venues and events. Thus, the online poker venues are pretty exciting and attractive sights and sites for them, too.
However, to avoid fraud and collusion among online poker players, Internet sites and businesses that run these sites often install anti-collusion detection software and programs. This could not be possible in the brick and mortar casinos and poker rooms.
How does it work? Online poker operators or rooms do check an online player’s Internet protocol (IP) address to make sure no two players are located at the same location or household. That would prevent collision. Players using open proxy servers are also prevented from playing online poker on a single or same poker table.
Online poker rooms also check on an online player’s strategy or play history. This would make patterns of behavior or thinking detectable than in brick and mortar venues, where some players collude by folding hands or having ‘secret sign languages.’
Thus, it is recommendable that if you are anywhere far from any known poker room or casino, log on to the Internet. A lot of sites offer online poker games, and you can choose whether you would want to play against real-time players located anywhere in the globe or against computer programs. The latter would be a real challenge.