online poker

Online Poker has brought about an extraordinary increase in the number of poker players from all over the world. There were recorded revenues amounting to US$200 million per month (from online poker) in 2005.

Novice players are oftenly intimidated by those classical, well-known places for playing poker - such as the best online casinos and poker rooms- , also known as "brick and mortar" venues. These brick and mortar casinos are not looking for promoting poker because of huge costs it implies. The profit is not the expected one, thus the expenses are not justified. Although the time charge within the traditional casinos is high, the expenses related to running a poker room exceed them. Traditional casinos would rather remove poker rooms and bring in more slot machines that are by far much more profitable.

On the contrary, online venues have the advantage of being obviously cheaper because of their smaller overhead costs. For instance, adding another table is not synonymous with taking up valuable space like it is when referring to brick and mortar casinos. Online poker rooms are also extremely more advantageous for players' pokets - as they are permitted to play for low stakes -, also offering poker freeroll tournaments. This will attract beginners (but not exclusively) that's for sure!

The online possibility of playing poker is a pretty recent phenomenon and it has developed mostly in the last couple of years. Online poker is responsible for having changed for ever the face of poker.

From a legal perspective, there have occured important developments lately as well. The United Kingdom has passed (not for long ) a bill agreeing with the licensing and regulation of online gambling companies.

As a direct way of transferring money to online poker sites will not be adopted by most of the banks and financial companies, there are electronic money transfer businesses dealing with online "e-wallets" that can be loaded from a bank account. The funds are being transferred directly to the poker site afterwards. This is a much easier possibility for players to make the necessary money transfers between different poker sites in order to avoid the money going back to their bank accounts. There are some other ways of payment for poker sites, namely prepaid debit cards and virtual credit cards. Just like in the case of an "e-wallet", money deposited into the card account will be not connected to the user's bank account.

When talking about online poker vs. traditional, in-person gaming, there are a few aspects that take a special attention. They imply the differences that separate them (one from another), as well as their own rules and their own features One important difference that must be mentioned derives from the body language and the implications of others" reactions. If playing online poker, those involved in the game do not sit right across from each other, unlike those playing conventional poker. More than that, online poker players focus their attention on betting styles, reaction time, game rhytm, use of check boxes, chat box, flop percentages and all sorts of behavior tells that are not physical in nature. Due to the unpredictable nature of poker, successful poker players are mostly characterized by patience an adaptability. First of all, they have to learn to cope with the new frontiers of their surroundings.

The rate of play is another difference, less obviuos than the former one. In traditional, brick and mortar casinos, the dealer is charged with collecting the cards, shuffling, and dealing them after every hand. Because of this and other delays oftenly found in offline casinos, the average rate of play is about thirty hands per hour. This kind of delay does not occur within online casinos. The actions of dealing and shuffling are instant, thus the delays are being avoided. The play develops at a higher speed, as its rhytm is accelerated by "auto-action" buttons that bring about the selection possibility enabling the player to select his action before his turn.

One huge advantage of online poker over traditional poker? Sure, and here comes the simple explanation rendered by a few key words: the instant access 24 hours a day. It takes only an internet connection to be playing poker within minutes. There is no need to leave the cosy climate of your home for a "trip" to the closest casino, no need to wait about 45 minutes for a vacant seat in your game of choice, and,aven more, there is no closing time. The limitation of the range of buy-in levels is another unpleasant aspect that must be taken into consideration when talking about "brick and mortar" casinos. The minimum sum of money to be accepted for the beginning of cash games, will be of $100 or more. Online poker allows everybody to play for free, for only a few cents or dollars and choose levels that are confortable with them and their purposes.Thus it is possible for the players to move up levels quickly and easily at the same time, as they gain experience at the table.

Another advantage not to be forgotten when it comes to online poker is represented by the possibility to play at more than one table, something impossible in a casino. Due to this aspect, any winning poker player's potential for profits will increase immediately by increasing the number of hands they are permitted to play each hour. Online poker rakes charged for each hand appear to be tiny (often just a few cents) if compared to those charged within live poker. Less money charged (for each hand) means a more substantial profit, because online poker is direct proportional to the players' satisfaction.

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