The History of Online Poker

Online poker is a relatively new concept in the world of gambling. While the game of poker has been around for ages, online poker has only recently been developed.

The Internet has changed how people complete almost every task in their lives. Bills are now paid on the Internet, and product purchases are also largely done online. With the advancement of the Internet, gambling has also evolved.

Finnish programmer and software designer Jarkko Oikarinen developed the Internet Relay Chat. Within the Internet Relay Chat was IRC poker. It was the first time that people could play poker against each other somewhere other than in a casino or in a house.

IRC used virtual money, which became a key ingredient to online poker as we know it today. People were being allowed the opportunity to learn the game of poker without risking real money. It would not be long before entrepreneur's took this advancement to the next level.

Mike Carro is said to be the person that started the online poker revolution. He began Planet Poker back in late 1990, and the response to the online version of the game was astounding. Within the first few years of its existence, Planet Poker started attracting hundreds of customers.

The software was not yet fully developed, but eventually more and more poker players started to believe that the game of poker could be played on the Internet in a safe and secure manner.

In the years since Planet Poker was developed, the online poker industry has grown to epic proportions, mainly due to the invention of the pocket cam. The pocket cam allowed poker to be broadcast on TV so that the viewer could see the cards in each player's hand. Now that poker was on TV, it caught on with the college crowd and the college crowd was hip to the Internet. The two together made for a perfect marriage.

The economy in recent years has sent even more poker players, who used to frequent casinos, online. Instead of spending money on travel, gas, hotels, drinks and food players just stay home and spend there time online with their friends.

The US poker market is the biggest online poker market in the world, despite the government's attempt to make Internet gambling illegal.

Sites such as PartyPoker, PokerStars, Full Tilt, Cake, Absolute, and Titan Poker all have a strong influence in the online poker industry. Even a poker pro such as Doyle Brunson has thrown his name behind an online site, Doyle's Room.

Internet poker may have started small, but it has turned into one of the biggest online industries in the world. With television coverage of the game and participation becoming even more widespread, online poker is expected to grow even larger in the future.