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Published by Programme B
The golden age of poker started in 1998 and lasted until the late 2000s. After that, the game’s popularity faded but not so much as to make it obsolete. Poker is still one of the most popular card games online. In fact, poker websites have increased tremendously since 2008 and the fan base keeps growing.
The growing rate of online casino legalization is providing hope the poker boom could back. People could get obsessed with the game once more. And perhaps this time, it will become a mainstay part of the popular culture. Meanwhile, this is what you need to know about poker’s popularity in 2021.
Poker Sites Attract up to 20,000 Players Daily
Leading poker websites attract up to 20,000 players per day. It might not sound like a lot of players for a world-famous website. But when you add up all the sites that provide poker, they host up to a million players if not more during peak days. Poker Stars, the biggest poker website in the world, hosts in excess of 30,000 players daily.
Full Tilt Poker, Poker Stars’ sister company, hosts an average of 20,000 players per day. 888 Poker, the poker arm of 888 Holdings, attracts up to 10,000 players on busy days. As mentioned, there are hundreds of online casinos that provide poker games out there.
Most of them offer a blend of games, from slots and blackjack to roulette and poker. Still, some poker players prefer to use these websites because of bonuses or that they are the only companies they have access to.
If you want an exclusive poker platform, check out this guide about online poker at GGPoker. It’s an established brand with bonuses, great game variety, and a large community. You can also use the site to practice poker for free or work on your skills.
Poker Communities have thousands of Active Fans
There are poker communities on nearly every active online platform. So, you like Reddit? The poker thread on Reddit has 160,000 subscribers. If you spend more time on Facebook, there are hundreds of open and closed poker groups. There are even more groups dedicated to poker on YouTube and Twitch.
Poker communities differ in objectives, targets, and rules. Some forums are places to talk about poker games, trade jokes, and share success stories—creating a culture of promoting the game. Others also feature schools through which you learn to improve your skills with the help of experts.
All the same, the huge number of active poker forums and communities online is a testament of how popular the game is. Some of the community members don’t play the game to win money. They’re in it for money. Others are professional gamblers who pay their bills through poker tournaments.
Many Professionals Play Online
During the poker boom, most professional gamblers played at brick and mortar casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. There are still lots of players who prefer to play poker at land-based casinos. That’s why the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is still the biggest poker tournament in the world.
That said, there has been a growing number of online professional poker players in the past decade. According to some experts, this has created so much competition to the point that some professionals are quitting. In other words, the game is popular and competitive that thriving is difficult.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for new players. However, you have to deal with a lot of experienced, and knowledgeable poker players now than in the past. For that reason, it’s wise to start at the bottom ranks and upgrade slowly depending on how dominant you become.
Free to Play Poker Apps have Millions of Downloads
Poker might not be on ESPN every week anymore. And no, people aren’t playing Texas Hold’em in every street like it’s 2003. Still, to be clear, there are hundreds of people who play the game daily through free to play poker apps and websites.
These apps have millions of downloads and hundreds of thousands of active fans. The reason they are so popular is clear—people love poker. Their only requirement is to find a platform that offers a way to enjoy the game in its purest form: using official rules and playing with real people.
The best part about free to play poker apps and websites is that they don’t ask for your money. Of course, this means you can’t win real cash too. Nonetheless, you get the chance to play your favorite poker games any time of the day without worrying about account creation and KYC verification.
It’s a Global Game
Texas Hold’em might have started as an unknown game in Texas in the 1950s. But now it’s a global game played in nearly every country in the world. The fact that it’s an online game helps—most casino games played online have grown in popularity in the last two decades.
However, no poker variant has grown as popular as Texas Hold’em for various reasons. For starters, it’s pretty popular with professional gamblers like Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey. Then there’s the attention it has been receiving from mainstream media and celebrities since the poker boom.
When you think about it, Texas Hold’em is also a pretty fair game. It rewards skillful players, unlike most games that are entirely based on luck. People know that they can get a fair chance to beat anyone in poker if they perfect their Hold’em skills.
Nearly Every Casino Provides Live Poker
Live poker is arguably the best way to play poker online. Nearly every top-rated online casino has a live poker section—another sign that the game is still popular in 2021. Live poker works out like live video game tournaments or real-world poker contests.
There are web cameras, microphones, human players, human dealers, real cards, and tables. Players use their cameras and microphones to connect with deals that operate inside a decorated poker room. You can talk to the dealer and interact with other players during a session, which spices up gameplay. All you need is to ensure you have a reliable Internet service provider and enough money to participate in tournaments.
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels