Since the start of the TV show World Poker Tour in 2002, poker has started receiving great media coverage. Soon thereafter, online poker has spread faster than a forest fire across the world. Its popularity has increased manifold given its great entertaining value, flexibility of play and speed. Another thing that fuelled it was the win of online amateur player Chris Moneymaker at the WSOP Main Event in 2003. In effect, the live and online poker industries are benefiting greatly from each other.

Online poker rooms introduced real money games only in 1998, first at Planet Poker. This saw moderate growth in the subsequent three years, after which point Paradise Poker nudged its way into a dominant market position. The big upswing came with the entry of aggressive marketers such as Pacific Poker and the televised World Poker Tour events in 2002. In 2003 alone online poker game volume increased by a whopping 500%. With such massive growth, the online poker market showed gross earnings of about $1 billion in 2004.

The online poker business today has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Due to the competition online poker rooms today spend a lot of money on advertising as well as giving bonuses and re-load bonuses, promotions and other perks. Today many new players start out playing online and then move on to play at home games and casinos around the world.

Luck and concentration, play a large role in poker to make any player win in the short term. In many other skill games, the most highly skilled poker player almost always wins, even in the short term. As most people know, poker is a game of skill and the best players will win money over time. By following some simple rules you will be able to minimize your losses very quickly.