Online Poker

By Priscilla Ford

I have been a professional poker player for many years now but it was around 4 years ago when I first ventured to the virtual card rooms. Around this time online poker was in its' infancy, as was, in many ways, live poker.

The birth of internet poker and the widespread TV coverage have catapulted poker into the 21st century and made it the fastest growing sport in the world.

However, 4 years ago, poker both live and online was still a minority sport. Many of the people I knew, who had played poker for years were sceptical about the values of online poker. The main bone of contention being that there would be no "tells" online and the excitement and adrenalin rush of the face to face confrontation would be lost over the World Wide Web. Today of course, I know not of a single player, who does not, at least occasionally, try their luck at the online tables, with varying degrees of success.

So what is it that has persuaded those that are used to and able to play live, to keep returning to their pc in search of the"nuts!"? Well, obviously the explosion in poker has caused the number of players to exceed all expectation, TV coverage being the catalyst for this. There are games of every size, shape and colour 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Surely any poker fiend would find this kind of temptation irresistible? This combined with the utter convenience of playing at home must be 2 of the key reasons.

But what of the complaints of no "tells" and no "adrenaline rush" in the virtual world. Well these facts are true to a certain extent but rather paradoxically are also the reason I believe it to be so popular. I find, and I am not alone in this, that when I play online, especially in tournaments, the style of play is definitely more aggressive.

I have been fortunate to play with many of my online competitors live, in 3 WPT events and was staggered to see the difference in their style of play. The players whose favourite button was the RE raise button were terrified to call let alone much else! I started to think that perhaps they had swapped name badges just to confuse me!

It then dawned upon me that the difference was simply due to their complete naivety in live poker. The adrenaline had literally paralysed many of them. This led me to thinking about confidence and its integral part in success at any poker table. The confidence players' play with from home enables them to play with a fluid and aggressive style they are unable to replicate in real life.

So if this is true for beginners who have learnt their game online, what of my comrades who are seasoned at the "old school" of poker? Well, the same applies. We all find ourselves playing with less fear as the physical situation we find ourselves in is familiar and friendly. So the very things that stopped them playing before are the things that draw them to play now. It is advantage to us all not to have an opponent staring at the whites of eyes. It makes it easier to make decisions and causes us all to panic less.

It has proven that though poker is about your opponent, it is also supremely about ourselves. About our comfort zone at the table and our level of confidence. Fear is the thing that we should all fear most at the poker table. And though this fear is palpable in a live game it is almost completely removed online. We all play better when we are confident and comfortable with our situation.

This, I believe, is why online poker is just so popular. It enables players to play in an un-daunting and safe environment and actually play better than they would live as they have lost the "fear" element. It is great for the game and those that play it!

LONG LIVE ONLINE POKER!!

Priscilla