Poker is everywhere now. There was once a time when poker was best known for being restricted to dark corners of pubs, playing for matchsticks (when the landlord was looking!) or back at home after-hours, playing for clothes. So what changed? People found a new place to play it called the Internet. Before the Internet boom if you wanted to play poker you either had to visit your local casino – having saved up enough money – or find yourself a pub and hope the money you won would not get taken back off you in the car park afterwards. Poker has always been a great game. For beginners its a fun evening playing with your friends, for the more seasoned player its a deadly serious sport. The Internet covers all the bases, free and small bet tables for beginners, no-limit tables for the high rollers.
The poker boom isn't restricted to just the Internet. You can bet your royal flush that if you've got Digital satellite television they'll be poker on a channel somewhere. Late night poker hit the television screens of Channel 4 and Sky Sports back in the 90s. It gained a cult viewing straight away. Poker and late-night viewing slots just worked and despite what many people would think, poker is a great spectator sport.
Texas-Hold'em makes for great television. You get to see what everyone has, you get to see the dealers cards and watch the players reactions as they either make them, or, break them. You get to see Barry from Sunderland going all-in on his 3 aces when Frank from Glasgow has a straight which will break his heart and his wallet. You see them walk into the walls, you see their bluffs and thanks to all the television odds graphics and dark commentary you get to see the guy with only a 5% chance of winning the hand get the 10 of clubs he needed and stealing victory from the jaws of defeat. You can go from knowing nothing at the start of the show to fancying your chances at a spot of on-line poker at the end.
Poker is also great for the bad player. You can be new to the game, but thanks to the luck of the cards and some bad decision making you can walk into winning a big hand by accident, and then you're hooked. It's like a form of sports betting, but you feel more in control. You don't have to worry about the horse falling over the final fence or the striker missing an open goal. You make yourself and you break yourself. This is what makes poker so great.
So if you're new to poker, you can learn by watching the telly and playing in the hundreds of free play rooms. Perhaps you'll love the game but not find any desire to move onto playing for money, so you stay in the free rooms, but you might fancy a chance at winning a little, or losing a little. Whatever you want out of the game, just enjoy it as there's no shortage of places to do so and you'll find links to and reviews of the best places on this website.