Online Poker Gambling Sees

Tremendous Growth

Online poker gambling at casinos and poker rooms is one of

the fastest growing forms of wagering on the Internet. Fueled by the

televised tournaments seen on Travel Channel's World Poker Tour, ESPN with

the 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP), and Bravo's Celebrity Poker, the

popularity of the game is seen everywhere. A huge number of the qualifiers

for the 2004 WSOP gained their entries from playing in online satellite

tournaments for a fraction of the large entry fees paid by others. Look

for more players to enter 2005 world series of poker satellite tournaments

for this reason.

Tournaments at land based casinos are becoming so popular

that people are being turned away, with waits at some lasting two hours to

get a table on the weekends. Smaller land based casinos are promoting

poker tournaments in order to capitalize on the growing trend of the game.

Even though the cut for the house is pretty slim, they report increasing

revenues by the number of patrons who play other games, buy drinks and

food. It is also allowing them to attract new players which are mostly

twentysomethings and women which expands their customer base.

It seems that most of the upcoming poker stars are a lot

younger than in the past. This is because the years of experience formally

gained at the brick and mortar poker rooms is compressed into months when

playing online. College students watching Texas Hold'Em poker on TV have

taken to playing at crowded tables on campus or online where they can take

advantage of the 24/7 availability of other players when they can. One

college student stated that "Being able to lie (bluff) and get away with

it is exciting when you know the hand you have is inferior to the one your

opponents have." Plus being able to play for free is also a nice way to

learn the game which is a feature that most poker rooms on the Net offer.

Learning the game is also becoming easier with free

lessons at brick and mortar casinos and also The Travel Channel featuring

review and analysis of poker hands on Wednesdays through it's WPT Poker

Corner. Viewers will learn more in-depth about what they did not see.

Discussions will go over the tells, the big mistakes, and the bluffing

made by others players. This is an excellent way to learn how to improve

one's game.

With the huge piles of money that people can win, more and

more are getting into the game of poker. The 2005 WSOP championship for

next year will boast a $6,000,000 first place prize and anyone making the

final table will be a millionaire. The 2004 WSOP winner turned a $160

buy-in satellite shootout into a massive $5,000,000 check and so many

endorsements he quit his job as an patent attorney. Visit our sister site

to learn more about the

2005 World Series of Poker

.

Tom Howze is a webmaster for 9 sites that relate to online

gambling, World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour events and updates.

For more information, please visit

2005 World Series of Poker

. He can be reached at

webmaster@justgambleforfree.com

for questions.