Card playing

Much can be credited to the China of old. Owing to the fact that the Chinese used paper currency, it is said that they had much experience shuffling paper money in 900 A.D – a possible prelude to card shuffling. Many cultures and religions can lay claim to adding their contribution to card playing. It is not only the Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Greeks, Egyptians and Romans who were actively involved in gambling, but many other nations along the way.

Twists and Turns

Throughout history gambling has gone through periods of regulation, prohibition and close scrutiny. King Henry – an avid gambler – banned gambling; Native Americans embraced gambling; Revolutionary Americans played federal lotteries but gambling survived and always prospered. Today the USA lays claim to Nevada and Atlantic City among others and indeed the world sports many bricks and mortar casinos.

Online gambling gains traction

The e-boom of the 1990s gave rise to online gambling. By 1994 Antigua and Barbuda passed the Free Trade and Processing Act which essentially legislated to allow gambling licenses. Soon thereafter Microgaming was born – a world leader in hi-tech leading gaming software for poker rooms and casinos. As early as 1995 Microgaming’s Gaming Club opened and in 1996 InterCasino was launched as was the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada. The latter regulates online gaming from the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake.

The late 1990s were marked by strong revenue growth in the industry. And around the same time, Intertops became the first online sports book, licensed under the gaming laws of Antigua. Today they cater to tens of thousands of daily wagers in almost 200 countries. Of all the online gaming attractions, online Poker is tops. Party Poker, Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and other notable brands have become household names in this big-revenue industry. Many of these companies list on leading stock exchanges where they trade as blue-chip enterprises.

Amidst ongoing moves towards regulation and the USA’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), online gaming is still in flux. While the US market has limited participation via payment processors to outside and unregulated online casinos, the world market for e-gaming is growing at a healthy rate. eCOGRA provides for safe online gaming practice and there are moves to regulate gaming in the USA. Such measures could generate much-needed tax-revenues and greater control over the industry. Big name operators such as 888 Holdings, William Hill, Bwin and Playtech are navigating the waters and operate under European and other licensed operators. The industry is expected to generate in excess of $20 billion by 2010.

The future of online gambling is already here, with online casinos of all creeds and colors. Now you’re invited to read about the history of the games.

It’s a numbers game

Poker is viewed by many as a game of strategy and wit. Unlike many other gambling games such as slots, roulette and baccarat which rely largely on Lady Luck, poker has definite elements of skill, patience and ability attached to it. If anything, the numbers speak for themselves. From 2001 to 2005 online poker revenues grew by over $2 billion.

The benefits of online poker far outweigh those of land-based casinos for many reasons. These include costs involved in travel, accommodation and time needed to frequent these casinos. Besides that there is the very real element of unskilled poker players not feeling comfortable gaming alongside the pros at bricks and mortar casinos. But mostly it’s the costs of maintaining physical poker rooms that make it hard to promote on a mass scale.

Driving costs down

Online poker rooms are not based in any geographic region, cyberspace is their domain and multiple geographic IP addresses are able to access the game. The stakes are significantly lower, as is seen in the low costs to players of participating in online poker games. As a case in point, freerolls are often free to enter. Another popular online poker play is called satellites. These tournaments award winning online poker players entry into real-life poker tourneys.

Big names like Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer are household names in online poker today. The WSOP (World Series of Poker) tournaments are now highly anticipated annual events showcasing the best of the poker world’s talent. In 2005 PartyGaming launched PartyPoker and quickly went public on the FTSE with initial offerings of $8 billion in stocks.

Making big money

The online poker sites generate revenues through several channels. First off are the small percentages of all player deposits, known as the rake. Other ways are entry fees into tournaments, bets against ‘the house’ and of course interest earned on player deposits – which is significant.

Keeping a watchful eye

Online poker has been prone to collusion between players and even hi-tech wizardry aimed at viewing hole cards. However, the net on illegal activity in online poker is rapidly closing as the game’s checks and balances are brought into line. Enhanced security features, anti-fraud prevention measures and efforts to combat player collusion are firmly underway.

The big online poker sites include a handful of compliant networks such as PokerStars, PartyPoker, iPokerNetwork and Full Tilt Poker. Between them most of the online traffic is shared.

In its simplest form, poker is really an easy game to understand. True, there are multiple versions of poker which have all been juxtaposed into the online format of the game. For the purposes of instruction let’s stick to the basics: The 5-Card Draw Poker.

The basics of poker are as follows:

• The game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards
• The ranking descends from Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9,8,7,6,5,4,3 to 2
• Aces are always high cards
• Suits are: Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds

Getting into it:

• 5 cards are dealt to each player
• Players aim for the highest valued hand

Ranking your hand in poker

• Royal Flush – 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all the same suit
• Straight Flush – Five cards in numerical order, all of the same suit
• Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same numerical rank plus a random card
• Full House – Of five cards in your hand, three have the same numerical rank, and the two remaining have the same numerical rank
• Flush – Five cards of the same suit, regardless of rank
• Straight – Five cards in numerical order, regardless of their suits
• Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same numerical rank
• Two Pair – Two sets of pairs + a random card
• One Pair – A single pair + 3 random cards
• High Card – The highest card in the player’s hands wins in a face-off

Keeping a poker face

A big part of the poker experience and one which players revel in is the bluff. It’s simply a term for pretending to have or not have a certain hand. This requires an intimate knowledge of the game or an innate ability in the art of deception. There are many intricacies in poker such as knowing when to raise the bet, when to hold and when to fold. These techniques require patience and practice. Poker has been likened to a game of tremendous skill and isn’t simply a game of luck.

Claiming the pot

In a round of poker – whether it be online or bricks and mortar gambling – players will deposit money to buy into a game. Bets will be raised and those players who wish to fold will forfeit their bets and those who wish to continue may raise their bets. In the end the player with the best hand may reveal it to the remaining players in the final showdown. Then the player may claim the pot.

The reason that poker is more than a game of chance is that it goes with player expectations. If a player feels reasonably confident of his/her ability to bluff other players in order to gain a psychological edge, then a reasonable expectation would allow for a comparative advantage to such a player – regardless of the hand being held.

Remember that winning smaller amounts consistently is better than losing the big bucks – so stay away from high-limit gaming until you’re really skilled. Always pay attention to what other players are doing and be mindful of the cards on the table. Questions you should be asking include: ‘What would be the best hand to fit the flop?” and try to remember what cards have been folded before you calling your opponents.

It’s always best to play when you’re in a calm mood and not distracted by other things – it’s a game of skill, not emotions. If your online playing hand is really poor, you don’t have to keep throwing money into the pot, rather fold, there’ll be more hands to play. Bluffing is probably one of online poker’s best-known strategies, but learn when to bluff, how to bluff and why to bluff. It can be a powerful tool if employed correctly.