Free Poker Blog

The Toronto Blue Jays will be fighting to snap a losing streak on Mon when they play the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

Lefthander Brian Tallet will take the mound for the Blue Jays to start this game. Tallet is 2-2 this season with a 4.17 ERA.

It’ll be ace Jeremy Guthrie toeing the rubber for the Orioles in this contest. Righthander Guthrie is 3-4 with a 5.37 ERA so far this season.

Oddsmakers currently have the Blue Jays listed as 110-moneyline favorites versus the Orioles, while the game’s total is sitting at 9½.

The Blue Jays lost to Atlanta 10-2 as a +120 underdog on Sunday. The 12 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (8).

We have the best free expert pick on the web.

Vernon Wells was 2-4 and scored a pair of runs for Toronto in the loss.

The Orioles lost to Washington 8-5 as a +115 underdog on Sunday. The 13 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (10).

Adam Jones delivered a two-run home run for Baltimore, while Nick Markakis also drove in two runs in the loss.

We offer free nfl pick to all bettors.

Current streak:
Toronto has lost 6 straight games.

Team records:
Toronto: 27-20 SU
Baltimore: 18-26 SU

Toronto most recently:
When playing on Monday are 7-3
Before playing Baltimore are 6-4
After playing Atlanta are 7-3
After a loss are 3-7

Orioles most recently:
When playing on Monday are 1-9
Before playing Toronto are 3-7
After playing Washington are 4-6
After a loss are 7-3

A few trends to consider:
Toronto is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Baltimore
Toronto is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Baltimore
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto’s last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto’s last 7 games on the road
The baseball total has gone UNDER in 5 of Baltimore’s last 7 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Baltimore’s last 12 games
Baltimore is 2-5 Straight Up in its last 7 games
Baltimore is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Toronto

Our free pick of the day is the Baltimore Orioles

Next up:
Baltimore home to Toronto, Tuesday, May 26

When you play on online casinos, it is normal for you to find find that there are a lot of card or poker games. For example, a lot of players will join to play Blackjack. It can be sure that you must understand that you need the luck so that you can win. Strategies of betting are also something extremely important. You need to know the correct strategies to bet so that you can really win!

We can take Blackjack as an example, it is totally possible for you to increase the odds of winning. You may probably think that it will be something difficult for you to do. Learning the strategies is in fact not as difficult as what you perceive. The fact is that it can be easy for you to discover these strategies. What you should try to keep in mind is that your aim is to win when you are playing to games. You should always remember this.

Poker games are very popular on various online casinos. A lot of players to play these games. There are tons of poker games on these casinos when it comes to online gambling betting. In fact, you can chat with other players when you are playing. This certainly makes the games a lot more interesting. You should know that there are some advantages when you can chat with the others. You will be getting some valuable tips from the other players. You can learn from the others This will become important tips for you to bet and play.

One of the things you need to know is that internet casinos will usually use various random number generators. This means that the cards are randomly generated when you are playing the poker games. The games will become farier due to the use of effective random generators.

There is no doubt that you will have lots of fun on online casinos websites. It will even be more interesting if you play the card games. As discussed, you can chat with other players and this will be very interesting. By chatting with other players, you will get a lot of tips. You can also discover a lot of new skills to play. There are even some online casinos which may offer online tutorials for newbies. You can become a real pro if you can keep learning new skills and betting strategies. You can certainly be able to learn a lot from these tutorials and they will help you to win!

The brand lotto is among the famous brands in Poland. Winiki lotto or wyniki lotto means win lotto. Lotto is now permitted in Poland and the winners can carry home millions of Euro’s. Situations were different during the socialist era and winners had right to take home only a fraction of what their counterparts in other west European countries could take. After the defeat of communism  the number games are authorised in Poland and it is not frowned upon by the settlement. Totalizator Sportowy, is the only approved company to operate the number games in Poland.

The revenue paid to the government treasury is more from the lotto in Poland. Every year the online lotto operator contributes a whooping $245 million to the state budget. Only lotto games and lotteries are conducted by Totalizator Sportowy or TS according to the new legislation. The company is very bullish and is expanding its network all over Poland. The famous lotto games are Large lotek which is essentially 649. MultiLotek, Numerek, Express Lotek, and Zakzady Specjalne.

Lotto in Poland has helped in the development of several sports and many sports infrastructure projects are made possible due to the patronage of the company operating and running lotto in Poland. Different sports like table tennis, mountain biking, swimming , skiing, sailing, football, sailing have benefited due to bountiful support from Lotto.

In Poland profits from the lottery have benefited the cultural and social sectors. The lottery operator prepares special games of lotto and the income from that go to institutions that take care of widows and orphan children. In Poland lotto has changed many citizens into millionaires and has also touched the lives of common people. There is nothing to amaze about that brand Lotto is a Superbrand in Poland.

Support The Red Cross - Liechtenstein Lotto have a guaranteed jackpot of EURO 20 million and is the only lotto that sponsor the Red Cross. Your money will be going to much needed aid work all around the world so grab a lotto ticket today!

The belief that online poker pioneered the concept of casino gambling on the Internet is one of the fallacies about the development of the currently popular virtual sport. During the pre-boom period of the Internet the cyber community was mainly composed of people obsessed with Star Trek or had a poor sex life. However, after some time someone realized that poker can be played on this medium. By then an industry was conceptualized.

Another dubious fallacy that has been a source of laughter is Al Gore’s claim that he invented the Internet. So it is clear that the former presidential candidate was not only responsible for the Internet but also online gaming and poker. Based on that information the roots of online gambling become a little clearer.

The history of online casinos can be traced to Antigua, Bermuda in 1994 when the local government ratified the region’s free trade and Processing Zone Act. The ruling paved the way for the establishment of many online gaming casinos and sports books that were free to operate as a legal business. Antigua Bermuda to this day remains as the most popular licensing jurisdiction for online gambling industries. It was during this period that Microgaming was born.

Microgaming is known as the biggest software developer in the online gaming world or what is Microsoft to the information technology industry. Other applications followed the first software developed for online gaming. Brothers Andrew and Mark Rivkin started Cryptologic in 1995.

The main goal of the brothers was to create a communications protocol that would ensure that transactions are made surely and safely. Microgaming divested its casino business to concentrate on developing online casino technologies in 1996. During the same year, Boss Specialtidningar AB designed a network that would host casino operations online.

Another fallacy is that a major US bank developed the first ECash and gaming application on the Internet. This distinction goes to Cryptologic, which developed its first gaming application in the same year. InterCasino supposedly was the first online gaming casino that accepted a real bet on the Internet. However, it was in 1998 that the first ever online poker room was created. Planet Poker was the single online poker company for around a year and continues to operate today but is dwarfed by its larger counterparts in the industry.

Paradise Poker entered in 1999 and was the top firm in the online casino market for a few years. In the same year, the infamous Poker Spot arrived. Poker Spot became controversial when it failed to reimburse the winnings of its players because of glitches in the betting system developed by its affiliate credit card company.

The Ecash system has been an integral part of the growth of online casino gaming, as it bolstered the reliability and security of tournaments and consumers became less concerned about losing their money to fraud. Party Poker and Poker Stars entered the market in 2001.

Paradise’s stranglehold of the online casino industry ended in 2003 when it was overtook by Party Poker. Party Poker’s emergence was fueled by its effective advertisements in television during the World Series of Poker and its launch of the Party Poker Million. However, belief that Party Poker Million drove the industry to new heights is a fallacy, as the Cinderella story of Chris Moneymaker is what put the sport on the map.

Mr. Moneymaker won a satellite tournament of Poker Stars to qualify for the World Series of Poker. Despite being participated by 839 other poker experts, Mr. Moneymaker beat all odds and won the tournament’s top prize of $2.5 million despite it being only his first try at a live tournament.

The so-called “Moneymaker effect” considerably increased the popularity of online poker in 2004 and also inspired more people to gamble in virtual tables. A survey conducted in 2001 found that 8 million people had joined online gambling casinos and by the next year, the industry produced its first ever million dollar winner. The lucky individual pocketed $1,594.649.

Top Online Poker Schools

Poker Clothing
Poker School Online
Low Limit Holdem
Poker Pages
PlayWinningPoker.com
Low Limit Omaha
Poker Performance Psychology
So You Wanna Learn Poker
Poker Pro Association
The Gamblers Edge
Poker Club Belgium
PokerStrategy.org
Studstrategy
Ichiban Poker

Online poker software not only makes online poker more accessible for you, but it also gives online poker a much better game for you to play.

Party Poker is the globe’s largest online poker software. This online poker software hosts the best tournaments and provides an absolute class A online poker software service.

The commercializing of online poker software relies a great deal on their endorsers. Party Poker is endorsed by three world champions: Chris Moneymaker, champion in 2003; Greg Raymer in 2004; and last but certainly not the least, Joseph Hachem, the champion of online poker of the year 2005.

What makes Party Poker the largest online poker software, is, first, its uniqueness. This online poker software does not share its platform with other Skins; Skins like those of Empire Poker and MultiPoker. The two online poker softwares that have been mentioned are still built on their old platform.

Another online poker software is the 888 Network. It is dominated mainly by its primary brand, which is Pacific Poker. It used to be a private online poker software, but when it did go public, this online poker software focused mainly on 888 poker and a number of casino brands.

Paradise Poker belongs to the big number of online poker software that are first, ever, poker networks. This online poker software dominated the market until the year 2001. Paradise Poker had the first, ever, online poker room to open no-limit Texas Holdem.

If you want to talk more about the starters on this online poker business, Ultimate Bet was one of what have just been said. Ultimate Bet is the first online poker software to incorporate players that are considered to be of high profile. Players like Phil Hellmuth. 

This online poker software has sleek and very unique graphics. It certainly would cope well with your vision. And with this online poker software, you do not have to have your eyes bulged from the frustration waiting provides, because Ultimate Bet runs quickly and very reliably. Laggis is not one of this online poker software’s options.

Another, Ladbrokes Poker is an online poker software that contains one of the busiest European poker rooms. Poker clothing available online.But you would have to take note of this before attending to this online poker software, Americans are not allowed to play! Hopefully, this would not bring you to the conclusion that Europeans are discriminative, this is only so because of the fact that the mother company of this online poker software, which is Ladbrokes, is a leading UK sportsbook.

Titan Poker is most probably the strongest brand listed under the Playtech network. The graphics are very nice and is with utter clarity, and also with good functionality. This online poker software’s poker listings oftenly offer exclusive promotions, at the same time, amazing.

24h Poker is a Java-based online poker software. It also has, like majority of online poker softwares, sleek and nice graphics. 24h Poker also offers a top class gaming experience. Its functionality is highly advanced. To prove the advancement of its functionality, take note of its 7-second-rebuy after all has been in. And also check its extra thinking time when it comes to the big pots.

24h Poker is the only online poker software that has developed five hundred percent, only within the span of June to December of the year 2004. nowadays, its popularity is also blooming because of its innovative style.

Tigergaming.com is a very classy online poker software. It has a very clean look and also a clean feel. The cards are of big size, which makes them a lot easier to see, thus making the game a lot easier to play. Tigergaming.com has a good playability for it runs really fast but smooth at the same time. 

The highly recommended game room to play in is nine.com. it is a very much renowned sportsbook and has been online ever since the year 1997. Tigergaming.com has a buffet of skill games. It offers casino, poker, racebook, sportsbook, Bejeweled II, lastly but certainly the most popular, Solitaire.

The online poker software functionality of Celebpoker has very nice graphics and is primarily decent. In this online poker software’s lobby, you will find standard information like hands dealt per hour, average pot and the view flop percentage. It is indeed an opportunity to play with the online poker stars.

Origination of Poker

The origination of poker playing is widely disputed. There are various possible birthsites as there are different types of the game. Although, the most popular belief is that poker was an invention by the Chinese at around 900 A.D.

Poker was said to have been derived from the original Chinese dominoes. On New Year’s Eve of 969, the Chinese Emperor Mu-tsung is documented to have played a game of “domino cards” with his wife.

Other experts on poker claims that poker originated from a Persian game called “as nas”. As Nas is a 5-player Persian game that requires a very special deck of 25 cards with the 5 suits. This game, however, is only recorded far back to the 17th century.

Others say that poker orginated from the French “poque”. Poque is a card game that involves bluffs and bets. Around 1480 when the French settled on New Orleans, they played this game. This game uses a deck that consists of spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts.

— The Advent of Online Poker

Eons ago, people invented various games that could be identified as the possible game where the poker originated.

Today, people are going crazy with the advent of online poker. Online poker offers many advantages over the traditional casino poker games. The poker craze is spreading to every kind of people not only limited to businessmen or rich men.

— Possible Best Online Poker Site

One of the poker sites listed below is a possible best online poker site. Beginners need only to check out these website and he may find the best online poker site that he needs to further his knowledge of poker playing.

1. Poker Clothing and accessories to wear while playing and socially

1. Cardschat.com Poker Forums

This website is a possible best online poker site. The site features a poker and a general card game message board. Players of the poker game can actually view the various forum discussions that transpire on this website.

If you want to check out Cardschat.com Poker Forums, go to www.cardschat.com

2. Learn Texas Hold’em

This website is available for beginners and could be their choice for the best online poker site. In this website, you can find various articles about the rules of hold’em, also about the poker hand rankings, and also the basic and advanced poker strategy. There are also the poker tables on odds and probabilities, tips about poker playing, and a question and answer section about poker.

If you want to check out Learn texas Hold’em, go to www.learn-texas-holdem.com

3. Celebrity Poker Showdown

This website is the official site for Bravo’s TV series, complete with video clips and recaps. By its fame alone, it can be considered as the best online poker site.

The website features an interactive Flash video complete with the rules on how to play the Texas Hold’em poker. This features the professional poker player Phil Gordon.

If you want to check out the Celebrity Poker Showdown, go to www.bravotv.com/Celebrity_Poker_Showdown

4. Poker Babes

The website includes profiles of the champion tournament poker players. Players that are women that plays poker, said to be “a man’s game.”

This could easily be the best online poker site for women. Not only does it provide many information about poker to women desiring to excel in poker, it adds a few perks for the woman players.

If you want to check out Poker Babes, go to www.poker-babes.com

5. Poker Online Guru

This website is a resource for various poker game rules, poker strategies, the history of poker, poker tips, vocabulary, and much more. This website can also be judged by beginners as the best online poker site.

If you want to check out Poker Online Guru, go to www.pokeronlineguru.com

6. Poker News.Com

Another website that could be singled out as the best online poker site is Poker News.Com. The website offers reviews of several poker sites that are unbiased. This website helps to guide users to the tournament poker room that suits them well.

If you want to check out Poker News.Com, go to www.pokernews.com

7. Glossary of Hold’em Poker Terms

This website offers the beginners and novices various poker slang, terms, and definitions for the basic poker play. A contender for the best online poker site award.

If you want to check out this site, go to www.conjelco.com/pokglossary.html

8. Low Limit Omaha Strategy and Tactics

This website provides beginners and novices all the starting poker hands and poker play strategies for the low limit Omaha hi/lo split games.

If you want to check out the Low Limit Omaha Strategy and Tactics, go to www.lowlimitomaha.com

When you mention poker, people usually associate this with the cowboys of the West. We imagine a set of grizzly and rugged cowboys inside a Wild West bar or saloon. One of the cowboys could be fiddling with his gun preparing to draw it up anytime until before the other had a chance to collect his winnings.

Some people might associate poker with businessmen. A group of high-rolling businessmen, those who lay down very large bets in some underground poker tournament or at the back room of an ultra high-class casino somewhere.

Good for us common men, the onset of online poker proved to be one of the best things to come out of the Internet. Good as it was, it made poker craze to spread beyond the mega-rich, the business-suited elite.

Due to the proliferation of a number of the best online poker site, they made possible poker-playing to beginners and novices. They made it possible for people to place modest bets from the comfort of their own homes.

Looking For The Best Online Poker Site

The problem of the beginner or novice is to look for the best online poker site available. When you are a beginner, you can be sure to have problems choosing the best online poker site simply because there are thousands out there.

Each poker site has something to offer that other poker sites do not offer. There are also poker sites that does not necessarily provide enough information to the beginner or novice, instead of learning, the beginner might find poker playing confusing.

A couple of poker sites or websites with information regarding poker sites are listed below for checking by the beginner. The poker sites below were chosen randomly and therefore does not necessarily reflect the option of the writer.

By actual testing of each poker sites, the beginner might have an idea of what the best online poker site should be. The best online poker site might just be one of these poker sites.

List Of Possible Best Online Poker Sites

1. Poker Pages

This website is focused solely on poker and has a chance of being judged the best online poker site. It includes an international directory of websites all about poker. In this website, you can see information regarding poker tournament schedules, poker rooms, poker strategies and tips, articles about poker, and more.

To check out Poker Pages, go to www.pokerpages.com

2. Card Player Magazine

This website offers the poker player an online publication of articles about poker tournaments and strategies. Likewise, it has a chance to be judged the best online poker site.

To check out Card player Magazine, go to www.cardplayer.com

3. Poker Forum

This website includes several information about poker. A discussion forum, the rules of playing poker, poker tournament schedules, poker book reviews, and much more. This is also a possible contender as the best online poker site.

To check out Poker Forum, go to www.thepokerforum.com

4. Play Winning Poker

This website includes articles about poker strategies, and various articles and resources about poker. This can be judged as the best online poker site.

To check out Play Winning Poker, go to www.playwinningpoker.com

5. Poker Top 10

This website boasts a collection of top ten lists that includes poker games, rules, and players. This is a serious contender for being the best online poker site.

To check out Poker Top 10, go to www.pokertop10.com

6. United Poker Forum

This website offers a message forum that is interactive. Aside from this, a bulletin board is available to discuss various poker strategies, the competitive events, the poker players, and all sorts of game variations.

To check out United Poker Forum, go to www.unitedpokerforum.com

7. Texas Hold’em Poker for Beginners

This website is also possible for being the best online poker site. It provides a Texas Hold’em and several general poker guides. It has poker strategies, odds, the rules, and much more.

To check out Texas Hold’em Poker For Beginners, go to www.texas-holdem-zone.com

8. Low Limit Hold ‘em

A possible best online poker site, it offers the beginner the various strategies of poker, the tactics, and a starting hand selection for all low limit games of Texas Hold ‘em.

To check out Low Limit Hold’em, go to www.lowlimitholdem.com

9. Serious Poker

This website offers the beginner or novice various poker articles, the reviews, and all available poker links. An online glossary is also available. This is also a possible choice by the beginner as a best online poker site.

To check out Serious Poker, go to www.seriouspoker.com

10. Poker Clothing and Accessories

The casino games started long ago where the earliest signs of gambling games started from bets about the outcome of events. These kind of games covered and influenced all ancient cultures that includes Greece, Egypt, and Rome.

People made various kinds of materials for use in their gambling games. The materials usually used in gambling are disks or bones that properly marked. These disks or bones are the forerunners of the dice, along with the spinning well or the shields.

Cards did not come until later after the invention of the paper by the Chinese. It is noticeable that these materials are the basic foundation where the modern casino games began their evolution.

The dice games were played and existed in different forms for about two thousand years. These games were usually played with a dice that is fashioned from a sheep’s knucklebones. None are the more fervent aficionados of these games than the Romans. When the Roman troops conquered the whole of Europe, they brought along the dice games.

A dice game played by aristocrats, called Hazard, during the 18th and 19th centuries was very popular in England. Hazard is played in gambling houses in private. In this game, a pair of ones, called crabs, is the lowest possible score.

— Gambling Games In America

When European settlers came to America, they took the gambling games along with them. The gambling games was simplified further and finally evolved into a game that is now played in casinos all over the world.

The roulette games were said to originate from the Greeks, although, historians are continuously debating about this.

Greek soldiers ingeniously made a game by using a shield. The shield was spun atop a spear. Marked sections on the shield were made and players would place bets on what section they suppose the shield would stop. The Greeks used their shields, the Romans used their spinning chariot wheels instead.

The Chinese immigrants brought Lotteries to America during the 1800s. Gambling games were now played inside makeshift buildings that are aimed at providing entertainment to people. Inside these special buildings, people can dance, and can listen to music, aside from gambling.

The Italians of those days christened these places as “casinos”, probably a form from the word “casa,” which means house in English. As time passed by, casino began focusing on gambling activities. By the 19th century, casinos are so embedded to the word gambling.

— The Present Gambling Industry

The present gambling industry now boasts of various sizes of locations and areas. Notwithstanding, casinos have started to conquer technology by offering online poker gambling.

Online poker gambling casinos are virtual gambling rooms on the Internet. Online poker gambling is just one of many gambling games available to the people. Other online gambling games available are the roulette, the slot machines, the baccarat game, the blackjack, the keno game, etc.

Online poker gambling is a game of skill. A game of skill requires a certain strategy to come up with the needed outcome and which is more than luck.

Other games of skill besides online poker gambling are baccarat, the blackjack, the video poker, the brick and mortar poker, horse racing etc.

In a game of skill like online poker gambling, the results or outcomes of a past event can readily influence the succeeding results.

As an example, in a game of blackjack, if all the aces have appeared during the first round, a player have an idea that no more ace card will turn up unless the whole card deck is reshuffled.

Similar in an online poker gambling game, if a player plays perfect strategy in his game, he will be able to increase his chances of winning. In these games of skill like the online poker gambling games, a player has to be aware and conscious of what really is going on. He has to be able to make his own calculations and also get informed even before starting to play.

other than games of skill in which online poker gambling is part of, there are also what they call the games of chance. The games of chance mostly depend on luck rather than the great skills of the player and alot of people like to be wearing the right poker clothing.

Some of the examples of the games of chance are the roulette, craps, the slot machines, the keno game, bingo, the lottery and the wheel of fortune.

For many poker beginners, this card game can be very hard to learn. Many online poker sites give new users free download software programs that can teach them the poker game. There is even a poker school in some online poker sites that give out the tips on how to improve the users game.

Soon enough, after learning all the basic skills of poker, you will have to go to a live online poker event. What is a live online poker? Well, as you are only a trainee, if you have been playing alone in front of the computer then you are playing an offline poker game.

A live online poker event is where you log on to your online poker room and join thousands of other poker players in tournaments hosted by the website. Why is it called a live online poker event? It is live because you are playing against other people from different places in real time.

What is exciting about a live online poker game is you can actually put your knowledge and skills to the test. Betting a computer is one thing, especially if it is pre-programmed. Trying to outwit another human being in a live online poker event, you now have a competition.

There are different types of live online poker tournaments that you can join in. Over 60,000 players try to beat each other in these live online poker rooms. Finding the live online poker tournament that matches your current budget and skill level could helo you eran more winning.

The first live online poker tournament type is a freeroll tournament. This is a multi-table tournament where more than 10 participants can play. Multi-table means that you can play on different tables without having to tear yourself off an ongoing play. Freeroll in freeroll tournament means there are no entry fees needed to play in this live online poker game.

The second live online poker tournament type is the guaranteed tournament. Guaranteed Tournaments are also multi-table tournaments played with more than 10 participants. Guaranteed means there is a guaranteed prize pool amount, regardless the number of entrants in the game.

Unlike the freeroll, guaranteed tournaments require a buy-in and an entry fee. This type of live online poker game has a guaranteed amount for the prize pool, which is always bigger than the 10 combined entrants value. This makes sure that the prize is big even if only a few entered the live online poker game.

Some guaranteed tournaments provides for “rebuys” and “add-ons” of the game chips.. This means that if you lose all of your chips, you can “re-buy” your entry into the live online poker tournament and continue to play. An add-on is offered at the first break. Add-ons give those who have a short stack a chance to “top up” their chips at the same original buy-in amount. Some tournaments have “double add-on” which will give you twice as many chips as the starting chip count, but for the same cost of an original buy-in.

Another kind of live online poker tournament is a freezeout tournament. It means there are no “rebuys,” so once you lose all your chips; you are out of the game.

The fourth live online poker tournament available to users is the sit and go tournament. Sit and Go tournaments are played on a single table, but it can also be played as a multi-table, depending on what the participants agree upon.

Sit and Go live online poker tournaments have specific buy-in and entry fee amount. This will form the prize pool money. At the end of the game, this is split up among the top three ranked winners and can follow a payout schedule in claiming the pool amount.

There will be times when you will encounter some problems, like being confused by the rules of the game. Some online poker rooms provide telephone support that you can call and ask about some clarifications.

Whatever live online poker tournament you play on, just remember that you are still a novice. Just feel your way into the game and everything will be fall into place. Who knows? With constant practice, you just might be the next World Series Poker Champion!

Poker as a form of gambling has been in existence for nearly two centuries but has reached new heights with the arrival of its online version. Various online casino gambling sites have sprouted in the past few years driven mainly by the popularity of poker. However, online poker did not pioneer casino gambling online, as sportsbooks were the first to arrive in the Internet during the mid-90’s.

One of the first online gambling casinos was from Microgaming, which arrived in 1994 and is now a popular gaming software developer.

The first mainstream online gambling casino was Planet Poker, which was established in 1998. A number of bigger and better online casino gambling sites came up after a few years. The initial rate structure of 5% and a max rate of as high as $3 have been the industry standard ever since.

Current industry leader Paradise Poker was created in 1999 and at the same time Dutch Boyd founded the controversial Poker Spot. Poker Spot was the first online gambling casino group to operate poker tournaments online and continued to do so until it was hit by a major problem. Poker Spot was unable to withdraw player deposits from its credit card partner. Players failed collect their winnings, as the funds were not transferred to Paradise Poker’s system. The unreliability of Poker Spot’s system eventually resulted in its collapse afterwards.

By that year there were around 700 online gambling casinos, while a March 2001 survey found that nearly 8 million people have gambled their money in the Internet. A year later, the first millionaire from an online casino was produced. The lucky winner pocketed $1,594,649 on May 30 2002. 

Other online casino gambling sites were able to avoid Poker Spot’s fate with the use of Neteller’s e-cash system. Neteller is today known as having the top funds transfer system for the online casino gambling sector. The e-cash system frees the player from using a wire transfer service or a credit cardswhen depositing in an online poker room. Neteller’s system has also minimized fraud and boosted the credibility of the industry.

2001 was an important year for online casino gambling given the entry of the two industry giants, Party Poker and Poker Stars. Party Poker’s overtook Paradise in 2003 as the industry’s top player with its strategic advertising on television. 

In addition, Party Poker introduced Party Poker Million and the World Poker Tour, which have become attractions across the US. The intriguing story of Chris Moneymaker also contributed to the popularity online poker gambling. Mr Moneymaker paid a $40 fee to enter a satellite poker contest of Poker Stars.

His victory in the small tournament gave him a spot on the World Series of Poker. Mr Moneymaker defeated 839 other online poker contestants and won the top prize of $2.5 million. That year’s World Series of Poker tournament is still believed to be as the biggest ever staged in its short history.

Mr Moneymaker’s inspiring Cinderella story attracted more beginners to learn online poker and the game expanded to new territories in 2004. Heaps of Poker Clothing to make sure your looking your best when playing at the tables.

Online training site www.pokertips.org offers easy to learn advise on how to play the game. Revenues of online casino gambling firms rocketed during the year, which also saw the entry of new players such as Full Tilt Poker and Noble Poker. Sportingbet’s acquisition of Paradise Poker also opened new doors given the new owner’s status as a listed company. Listing on the stock market has become an option for online casinos to raise funds for expansion.

In addition, the UK government’s recent passage of a bill that legalizes and regulates Internet gambling casinos indicates that online poker is close to becoming a global phenomenon.

Top Online Poker Gambling and Tutorial Sites

Low Limit Holdem www.lowlimitholdem.com
PlayWinningPoker.com www.playwinningpoker.com
Low Limit Omaha
Texas Holdem Poker
Poker School Online www.pokerschoolonline.com
Poker Pages www.pokerpages.com
Poker Performance Psychology
Poker Club Belgium www.pokerjokers.co.uk 
Ichiban Poker
StudStrategy
PokerStrategy.org
So You Wanna Learn Poker
Poker Pro Association
The Gamblers Edge www.thegamblersedge.com