The Basics 
This site endorses the practice of The Rise and Rise of Online Poker
Online poker has exploded in popularity largely due to the exposure the game has received on television. Televised poker with hole card cameras, on-screen odds calculation and knowledgeable informative commentators have turned poker into a TV sport and contributed to the huge growth in popularity that we have witnessed over the last few years. In 2005, revenues from online poker were estimated at US$ 200 million per month and some sites claim to have as many as 150,000 players online at any moment in time.
The increased popularity of online poker shows no sign of abating with figures at online poker blog Plan3t Gong Poker showing that over the last 14 months up to April 2008 there has been a 55.77% increase in the amount of traffic seen at online poker sites
The major online poker sites offer varying features to entice new players. One common feature is to offer tournaments called satellites allowing winners to gain entry to real-life poker tournaments. It was through one such tournament on Poker Stars that Chris Moneymaker won his entry to the 2003 World Series of Poker. He shocked the poker world by winning the main event.
The substantial media coverage led to three times as many players entering the 2004 World as had entered in 2003. At least four players in that year’s WSOP final table won their entry through an online card room. Like Moneymaker, the 2004 winner Greg "Fossilman" Raymer also won his entry at the PokerStars online card room. 2004’s total prize money almost doubled from the previous year, eclipsing $49 million dollars, with $5 million going to the eventual winner. There was no looking back for online poker.
Perhaps the easiest introduction to playing online poker for the novice is to join a free online tournament - a poker game where the players all play until one has all the chips and is declared the winner. Unless the tournament is winner take all, the top 10 percent receive some kind of prize, with the winner receiving the largest share and each player after receiving successively less. There are lots of online casinos offering online poker in the form of tournaments which along with one of the oldest, the online poker site pokerroom.com is well known for good and exiting tournaments.
One big plus of an online poker tournament is that you can play from your own home which is handy given that tournaments can take up to five hours or more to complete. Some players may not have the endurance to spend hours and hours at a bricks-and-mortar casino. For these players the online poker tournament is ideal as it is so much easier to play for hours with your home comforts and conveniences.
Online poker tournaments are also popular because you can keep constant track of your standing in the tournament. In a live tournament it is impossible to have a running total of who has how many chips and how many players remain at all stages of play. During online poker tournaments this analysis is easily accessible and can be factored into decision-making during the game.
Online poker tournaments are readily available around the clock, so you can get tournament experience as often as you like.
