When online poker came on the scene during the late 90s, the world never knew what was coming. Within less than a decade, the online poker industry became one of the fastest growing and largest Internet industries to ever hit the World Wide Web. While poker never got its fair chance in land-based casinos because it wasn’t the most profitable casino game, the Internet created a hotbed for poker, allowing it to become every man’s sport, not just a social game played in basements. Furthermore, stuffy poker rooms at many casinos were for the most part intimidating to players, so there was never any room for the game to advance.
Online poker rooms, on the other hand, have relatively no over head and remove the pressure of confronting veteran players face-to-face. As simply as logging into a website, anyone can play online poker, making it virtually stress-free for players to learn and play poker abundantly. Furthermore, online poker rooms afford players the ability to play at limits that anyone can afford.
Another factor that encouraged the advancement of online poker rooms and continues to boost the popularity of online poker is the limitless amount of promoting that goes on to entice players to play online poker. Online poker rooms are constantly coming up with new promotions, new tournaments, new freerolls, new bonuses, new satellites—you name it. If it can be done in an online poker room, it is.
As a result of all of this, online poker has come a long way since the first online poker room to accept bets with real money, Planet Poker, opened its doors in the late 90s. Even prior to that, IRC poker supported free online poker. Before the online poker boom, the only poker players to achieve semi-celebrity status were Doyle Brunson and Mike Caro. Online poker paved the way for professional poker players to be in the limelight and have all the fame and exposure that other sports stars get.
One of the biggest events in online poker that really boosted the reputation of the game, encouraged more players to play online poker, and helped put PokerStars on the map, specifically, was when average-Joe online poker player, Chris Moneymaker, won a seat at the 2003 World Series of Poker at a PokerStars satellite tournament for less than $40. Moneymaker even went on to win the 2003 WSOP Main Event, profiting $2.5 million. By the time the 2004 WSOP rolled around, there was three times the number of registrants as the year before. Furthermore, the 2004 WSOP final table saw four players who had won their seats playing online poker, and the winner was again a PokerStars player, Greg Raymer.
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PokerStars is one of the Net’s most popular online poker rooms, with a global player base of hundreds of thousands of online poker players and the official title of the world’s largest online poker room. The competition at PokerStars is healthy with lots of tournament action and players from all realms of the spectrum, ranging from beginners to professionals. Team PokerStars Pros include many well-known names like Daniel Negreanu, Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, and many others, who often frequent the tables at PokerStars.
The PokerStars software is user-friendly and current, featuring customizable virtual poker tables, image upload avatars, multi-table play on up to eight tables, and accessibility for Mac players. PokerStars also hosts some of the biggest weekly and monthly guaranteed online tournaments like the Sunday Million and the Sunday Warmup with plenty of satellites and freerolls. The PokerStars frequent player program is one of the best loyalty rewards system of any online poker room with lots of cash bonuses and a PokerStars VIP Store. PokerStars is one of the most recognized online poker brands, which explains why they have the player base to sponsor the biggest online poker tournaments on the Internet that pay out millions of dollars to PokerStars players quite frequently.
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The Bodog name is a very popular brand in online gambling that, in addition to the Bodog Poker room, houses the Bodog Casino, the Bodog Sportsbook, and the Bodog Racebook, all of which provide for a steady influx of newbie traffic into the Bodog Poker room. There are up to 10,000 active players online at Bodog when it’s busy, and while some of them are new to poker, many Bodog players are very loyal and have been playing there since as early as 2004 when Bodog Poker opened. With such a strong base, Bodog can offer a secure and reliable online poker experience, backed by one of the most stable online gambling names in the industry. The Bodog Team also brings in quite a crowd, as the Bodog Poker Pros truly play at Bodog all the time.
You will find that Bodog Poker is not as glamorous as other online poker rooms, but it is a dependable site with a fast and fully functional software platform that is continuously being checked and updated. Bodog Poker’s commitment to players is evident in the design of the software, as it was obviously developed with the player in mind. You can also find large guaranteed online poker tournaments at Bodog to the tune of as much as $100,000+. Bodog satellites allow players to enter into big-money tournaments for as little as $1 or with Bodog Points. The best thing about Bodog is its size, being an average size room that can still afford to focus on the individual player.
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Full Tilt Poker is one of the most advertised online poker brands, sponsoring many big-name live tournament poker players, as well as some of the biggest players of high-stakes online poker. Full Tilt is where many online poker pros hang out with chip stacks that get up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition to the high-stakes action, Full Tilt offers a wide range of lower limit tables that are always well populated with up to 70,000+ online poker players to compete with.
The Full Tilt online poker software is available to PC and Mac users and offers a vast array of customization options, as well as the import of tournament and cash game data to the Poker Tracker program. In addition, you will find standard setting online poker tournaments, satellites, loyalty rewards specials, and promotional events to keep you busy playing online poker at Full Tilt including a weekly $1.5 million guaranteed tournament. It’s obvious why poker pros like Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, and Gus Hansen all call Full Tilt Poker home.
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Cake Poker is the original online poker room of the Cake Poker Network, which now shares its skin with many other popular rooms including BetUS Poker, Doyles Room, Sportsbetting Poker, and Players Only Poker. With so many players feeding into the Cake Poker traffic, you can count on anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000+ players online at any given time. The Cake Poker software offers a user-friendly interface and very decent graphics and standard features plus the unique option to change your screen name every seven days.
Cake Poker is good about keeping their promotions current with tons of freerolls and satellites for big-money online and live poker tournaments. In addition, the Cake Poker loyalty rewards system is a well-developed program with lots of opportunities for frequent players to benefit including the Gold Card and Gold Chip systems. All Cake Poker Network rooms accept US players and have a good reputation for being reliable and safe with a top poker bonus for new players. Cake Poker is a popular online poker room and ranks very high in player satisfaction.
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Titan Poker came on the scene in 2005 and is now one of the most trusted and reliable online poker rooms. Offering a simple poker software application by PlayTech, Titan Poker is an online poker room that anyone can learn to navigate, and everything runs in real-time. The Titan Poker loyalty program is very rewarding, and the sign up bonus is a rewarding as well.
As a part of the iPoker Network, this highly trafficked site sees up to 50,000 players logged on at times, with more than three fourths of these players playing in online poker tournaments. Titan Poker is a popular spot for online poker tournaments, as they have quite a lot of options available including weekly big-money tournaments, as well as numerous satellites to live poker events that take place globally. Titan Poker feeds into some of the biggest poker championships in the world. Titan Poker is also known for their freerolls and progressive sit & go jackpots. There are lots of loose players at Titan Poker, many seeking qualifier seats to upcoming live tournaments. Titan Poker is also the sponsor of the European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP).
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PartyPoker is one of the strongest and well-populated online poker rooms on the Internet today, with more than 100,000 active players online at any given time. Prior to 2006 when the UIGEA was passed, PartyPoker played a major role in the growth of online poker. Even after banning US players, they still have an insane amount of traffic. The PartyGaming brand encompasses PartyCasino, PartyBingo, and other sites in addition to PartyPoker. All PartyGaming sites are connected, so players have the advantage of playing at all sites using only one account.
PartyPoker now offers an updated signup bonus that is more competitive with other online poker sites. The PartyPoker software is a bit outdated when compared to other online poker rooms who have updated their softwares to be more cutting edge, but it is a fast and reliable platform that is simple and user-friendly. PartyPoker is good about keeping their promotions current and fresh, giving out a lot of cash and prizes to winning players. You will also find that PartyPoker offers reload bonuses from time to time, which are not always available at other online poker rooms.
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Absolute Poker is one of the highest ranking online poker rooms for promotions, deposit bonuses, and software. Weekend tournaments are popular at Absolute Poker and pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash prizes every week. Absolute Poker is always a safe and consistent place to play online poker. With a great sign up bonus, loyal player base, and strong promotional catalog, Absolute Poker is an ever-strong force in the online poker industry.
The Absolute Poker software has been re-vamped in the last couple years to offer all the standard features you would expect from a reputable online poker room including multi-tabling. Additionally, Absolute Poker offers perks that you won’t find at other online poker sites including avatar upload, the Rabbit Cam, and Absolute Instant Message/Absolute Buddy. There is also an array of Absolute Poker promotions, bonuses, and loyalty rewards that encourage vigorous competition among players. Major satellites take place, as well, all the time at Absolute Poker. There is always a decent amount of traffic at the Absolute Poker tables, especially at the Texas and Omaha cash games and tournaments.
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Doyles Room, started by and named after one of the first poker legends to make the game of poker what it is today, Doyle Brunson, has had a hard time finding a permanent network home. Doyles Room’s latest move was to the Cake Poker Network, and it is safe to say that Doyles Room is finally secure in an online poker network and can now happily accept US players. Another plus is that Doyles Room now shares its players with some of the most reputable online poker rooms in the business including Cake Poker and Players Only Poker. While many of the promotions at Doyles Room are similar to those at other Cake Network sites, they have made a name for themselves with their celebrity bounty tournaments in which players have the opportunity to knock out Brunson, himself. Other frequent celebrity players at Doyles Room include Mike Caro and Jamie Lynn Sigler (from The Sopranos).
The software delivers with an easy to use platform and plenty of tournament action, as well as a nice game variety, plenty of freerolls, and other events that keep the action lively. Furthermore, the sign up bonus is very lucrative for new players. Doyles Room takes online poker and backs it with one of the most trusted names in poker.
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Carbon Poker, the first online poker room to represent the Merge Gaming Network, now shares skins with PDC Poker, Iron Duke, William Hill, Aced Poker, and other thriving online poker rooms. This highly successful network of online poker rooms makes for healthy traffic and good solid competition, though you can go fishing at the low-limit tables. Carbon Poker was actually formerly known as Poker.com, but a name change worked better for marketing purposes. The poker room opened for business back in 2007 and is now one a leading player in the online poker industry.
Carbon Poker offers cutting edge and up to date promotions that change consistently, plus the innovative ELO ranking system, mad freerolls, and a first class loyalty rewards program. The Carbon software has tons of options including up to eight table multi-tabling, vector graphics, and a wide variety of game and tournament options. Other software features include rabbit hunting, expose one card, and deal it twice. Not to mention, Carbon Poker offers one of the best bonuses in the business, and they accept US players.
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Since 1999, bwin Poker has been building up a name for itself, becoming one of the most comprehensive brands in online gambling. The bwin brand encompasses casino, sportsbetting, and online games, as well as an online poker room that sees up to 40,000 players logged on during peak times. bwin Poker is the largest online poker site on the Ongame network, and bwin Poker hosts some of the biggest online tournaments with huge prize pools.
bwin software is available in download and no-download mode and incorporates some of the latest technology in the online poker business. The site is known to have quite a lot of fish wandering over from the bwin sportsbetting, but there is all kinds of action going on at bwin. Unfortunately, bwin does not accept US players, but they do offer a large variety of live-event satellites for tournaments held all over the world. The bwin brand is all about experience, and their expertise in the online gambling business is proven over and over again with the quality and dedication they offer their players.
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Online poker rooms like Full Tilt have taken online poker to the next extreme, breaking record after record with the largest tournaments ever played in online poker and the largest prize pools ever paid. Moreover, the high-stakes players who play online poker win and lose the biggest pots the Internet has ever seen like it’s nothing, while getting paid millions of dollars a year to play online poker. Speaking of, high-stakes online poker has reached phenomenal heights with hundreds of thousands of dollars going back and forth between the biggest online poker players daily. And what is truly remarkable about these high-stakes players like Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Patrik Antonius is that they are not famous for their appearances and wins at live event poker tournaments. They are self-made celebrities who have achieved celebrity status based solely on their ability to play online poker.
Despite the drama that has been associated with the US and the UIGEA, online poker has existed as an impenetrable force that refuses to be suppressed by anyone or any government. The minor setbacks that online poker has suffered since the UIGEA was passed when, one after another, online poker rooms dropped US players like the plague, were just that—minor setbacks. The problems with the legalities of US online poker proved only to lull the natural progression of online poker as a whole, as many online poker rooms have since re-welcomed US players to play online poker at their sites. Most reputable online poker websites don’t even bat an eye now at the UIGEA or any other force that threatens the party. If nothing else, the UIGEA did online poker a favor by giving it a chance to take root in other countries and spread globally. Had the problems with the US never transpired, online poker would likely not be the same game that is today. Online poker, like everything else, is what it is because of its history and experiences.
Ultimately, online poker and live-poker co-exist peacefully and sustain each other. Both arenas feed off of each other, and neither would be as strong alone. The game of poker, and online poker especially, is in its glory days, and there are guaranteed to be many, many more to come with a multitude on opportunities for newcomers and poker experts, alike, to play online poker.
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