The Map Magazine

Poker isn’t only for high-rollers these days. Due to a variety of top online poker sites, this game of skill and chance has gone from a game without a future rarely seen outside of Nevada to one of the hottest games on the planet. What made this turnaround possible? Easy access, fun, and the chance to stake with the choice of ‘fake’ money or for huge hard cash drove poker sites into the mainstream from the moment the original websites went online in the late 90’s. Of course it didn’t take long before poker websites were being launched at an astonishing rate to get their piece of the action.

Of course the winnings, renown, and adrenalin rushes found on the leading online poker websites brought the initial televised World Poker Tour to an international audience in ‘02. Participation rose by a stunning fivehundred percent over the next year, the WSOP arrived on our TV screens and along with it the well-known player Chris Moneymaker, who went on to take first place the tournament. Chris surprised everyone by illustrating that it really was possible to go from working 2 jobs to living a life of luxury simply by playing one game. Most people could only fantasize about playing full time and Moneymaker was showing everyone how it was done. By 2004, this at one time almost forgotten pastime was earning an unbelievable $1 billion and was still growing. Today, buffs from all over the globe log into poker websites to play for ready cash and massive prizes, but a few just want to try a couple of rounds without any risk. With numerous websites and different styles to pick and choose from, there is a spot for you in the game regardless of whether you’re a beginner or a professional. Once in a while it can be fun to learn from the pros online, you can easily spot the game’s greatest stars playing each day on television. Nevertheless, now that you can play fake money and eliminate any financial risk, you fundamentally have nothing to lose. It might even turn out to be the opportunity you have been waiting for.

When you consider that poker was virtually obsolete not long ago, it’s awesome to see just where the leading poker websites have gone. And so, now that cyberspace has made joining in extremely painless, it is a safe bet that the industry is going to go from strength to strength.