How Did Online Poker Start?
The game of poker dates back to almost 200 years. However, the online version of the game came to fruition in the late ‘90s. Since its establishment in 1998, online poker remains an exceptionally fantastic pastime globally. The popularity of online poker has grown tremendously over the past decade. Prominent online poker sites, including Absolute Poker and PokerStars, continue to register new players daily. The wave of online poker is particularly familiar with the millennials. So, most of us are loyal fans of online agen judi idn poker. But do we have an idea how it all started?
Virtual Poker
Virtual poker came to birth in the early 1990s. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was used for poker games. Despite marking a significant development, games on IRC were quite slow and complicated. Also, the games had relatively poor graphics. As such, the number of skilled players then were on an all-time low. However, the graphics improved gradually, and this saw an increase in the number of new gamers. IRC poker was a virtual money site, and the players didn’t risk losing their money. Thus, it provided a platform for gamers to hone their skills. The future of online poker gradually began to take shape.
Birth of online poker
Planet Poker was the first online poker site to be launched. The site was founded by author and poker legend, Mike Caro. Mike was later recognized in 1999 as the face of Planet Poker. On January 1, 1998, the first real money online poker game took place. The Texas Hold’em game had stakes amounting to $3-$6. Within a few months, Planet Poker gained a massive fan base. In 1999, Paradise Poker came into the online space. Unlike Planet Poker, this new site had provisions for Seven Card Stud and Omaha. As you would expect, Paradise Poker quickly rose to popularity, thus, outshining Planet Poker. However, this glory soon dimmed out in 2000 when Ultimate Bet launched. The following years saw the development of more online poker sites. These include PokerStars and Partypoker. PokerStars brought in the aspect of holding online poker tournaments. In 2001, the site contained a series of competitions. The climax was the famous Partypoker Million Cruise. By 2004, online poker had grown at an unimaginable rate. It was now an unstoppable trend. Partypoker now made daily profits close to $1 million. Full Tilt Poker emerged and invested heavily in TV advertisements. Consequently, it secured a powerful presence in online poker. By 2010, approximately 550 online poker sites existed, with PokerStars being the largest site. 2011 forever remains the “Black Friday” of the poker world. The federal US government seized domain names of three online poker giants. They include PokerStars, Absolute Poker, and Full Tilt Poker. Later that year, more than ten sites forcefully shut down because of carrying out illegal gambling. PokerStars paid its fines and soon revamped. By 2014, it was the largest site trading publicly.
Online Poker today
To this day, online poker is an undying wave. In the wake of COVID-19, the traffic on online sites has increased massively. Online poker is simply a globally insurgent phenomenon.
