With the introduction and enhancement of the internet over the past decade, followed by its growing accessibility, poker has become a very competitive and profitable online game. The contest, which involves players placing initial bets, and then profiting when they get the right card, has many different variations, but the core principles have remained the same since its introduction. Adults and students love the game of poker, and through different avenues are able to play it all the time in today’s society.
The internet has contributed to the game’s recent resurgence. Poker has benefited a lot from the World Wide Web. Players can now log in to one of the several major online poker websites, and play with tens and even hundreds of competitors from around the world, instead of having to travel all the way to casinos and pubs.
The game’s growing popularity not only comes from the fact that it is a fun game, but also from the trouble-free ways of exchanging money over the internet. Most online sites play with actual cash, which means users can bet whatever they want; and since everything is electronic, there are very few transaction problems.
Students are the group that is most attracted by the game. Due to its availability online, the possibility of making fast cash and competing with others, it seems to be very enticing to young gamblers. Furthermore poker, which is a game that utilizes ones wits, is easily learned and mastered by many youngsters, with money being the driving force.
In recent years there have been many poker tours, such as the Red Hot Poker Tour that came to Toronto last week, and that will be at the Madison every Thursday night in November. Over half the competitors were students, and for a small entrance fee students were able to potentially win big money.
There are also poker nights every week in pubs and clubs. These venues draw large student participants, as many students are in paradise with chips on the table and a drink in-hand.
Online poker is becoming a student’s gambling haven. Almost 40 per cent of all online poker players are 30 or younger, which demonstrates how the internet has allowed poker players to become more actively involved in the game. The chances of winning money also increase in a sense, since there are many more players and not all of them are equally skilled.
A U of T student recently won some money playing online poker at a site called College Poker Championship. He was a weekly winner on October 27 and took home $125 for his effort. The site is specifically geared toward university students froim all over the world, and the top players during the year get an all-expenses paid trip to Cancun to compete head-to-head with each other.
“Its actually more fun since your not always up against the best,” said Darryl Caster, an avid online poker player. He has been playing for over 10 years, and feels that the online dimension has only brought more people to the game.
Online poker is being embraced by many students because of its ability to reach youngsters in their homes and dorm rooms. The prospect of winning money, at better odds no less, has resulted in a huge boom of online poker players- especially of youngsters.
This trend can only mean that the internet has once again asserted itself as a dominant force in today’s society. It has given birth to a whole new generation of poker players who never have to stare into the cold, menacing eyes of their opponents.
