Poker the end of an era…. or is it?

Has Poker lost its shine and are we looking at the end of an era? There’s no arguing with the fact that the 2011 Black Friday shutdown between the US Justice Department and PokerSatrs, FullTilt and Absolute Poker had a role in the downfall of the games popularity, but has the bounce back been too slow?
In a word NO, Poker is alive and kicking, but it has changed. The image of the offline game has changed for the better, with moustached cowboys in a smoke filled room being replaced by Poker professionals playing a skilled game at the highest levels. Even more crucially, male domination of Poker is at an end. Well in the online version anyway.

Men tend to like the illusion of a face to face game, the stare downs, bluffs and the general manly chest pounding, smoke blowing feel to a real life challenge. Women on the other hand being generally more sensible, like the anonymity of Online Poker. Having the option of a neutral avatar and an undefinable user name, creates equal pegging at the online tables. In short you don’t know who you are playing so you concentrate on the game rather than the gender.

Some players define Poker at a real table in a real casino as being the skilled game that requires more than just good cards. You need to know how to play and you need to know when to either play or fold. Whereas online Poker tends to be easier on the new players because you get a certain degree of automated play. You get a heads up when you need to raise, stake, play or fold. Which doesn’t guarantee you a win, but it does reduce the chance of you losing the house on your first hand.

In short a very user friendly way to start. Predictions based on online sign-ups, show that by 2017 more than a third of online players will be women. And it’s not just Poker, but Bingo, Casino and slots are seeing more and more female registrations. OK Bingo was always a female dominated game, but with the massive payouts that most sites offer, men have dipped into the pot too.

Every new Poker player needs some advice and or schooling in the skilled art of Poker, and that’s where online play trumps the more traditional Poker tables. Online it’s easy to sign up to a site that offers FREE schooling. Basic stuff like tips, tricks and do's and don'ts help new players pick up the game quickly. Add that to a healthy slice of common sense and you have a Poker come back that’s more evolution that revolution.

Poker is here to stay and Online play makes that possible. “vive la évolution”.