Online poker – Free poker
Poker has always been quite popular however the advent of online poker had a great deal to do with the increase of poker players worldwide. According to Christiansen Capital Advisors stated online poker revenues grew from $82.7 million in 2001 to $2.4 billion in 2005. There are many reasons online poker is so successful; firstly, it is very intimidating for a novice to go to a casino or a poker room full of seasoned pros and be expected to bet a significant sum. Another reason that online poker is so popular is that is significantly cheaper. Many online poker rooms will allow you to play very low stakes game starting as low as $.02 to start. There are also a plethora of free poker sites, however not all of them will also offer cash prizes. Free online poker existed in the 90s but only in 1998 did the first free online poker game offer cash prizes. Though free poker is harder to come by, there are several websites that specialize solely in this area. Sites such as FreePoker and PokerStars will allow you to play for free as well as qualify for cash prizes. If not this, many online poker sites will offer a freeroll or a free poker tournament every so often so you can still qualify for winnings and such without having to pay an entry fee or place any initial bets. Another incentive to online poker is that sometimes sites will offer winners a chance to qualify for “brick&mortar” poker tournaments. You should also check the website carefully, as mentioned above not all free poker sites offer cash prizes it is many times just a training ground.
While online poker and free poker are great ways to learn the game or improve your skills there are downsides such as fraud and collusion. Many times there is insider cheating within online poker games or free poker games. Employees of the poker site will use their position to their advantage and assume the role of a player as well. There are also issues with collusion where several people will team together; though there are some protective measures that are taken such as tracking the IP addresses to ensure that there aren’t 2 players from the same household there are other ways cheating can occur. There are also other legal issues as in many parts of the country gambling is not allowed, so be sure that the site you are playing on is a certified and legal site.
Online poker and free poker are extremely great resources for those who would like to get into the world of poker but are hesitant to try their hand in a casino or a poker room. Online poker may charge fees but they are significantly lower and they also offer free poker. Free poker is a fantastic way to learn how to play because there is no “down payment” so to speak. There are many free poker sites where all you have to do is download the program and you are playing a virtual game of poker. Though there may not be cash prizes free poker is a wonderful way to build your way up into online poker and eventually a casino.