Online Poker is without a doubt one of the most convenient and easiest ways to play poker being that you never have to leave your house and you can bring the feel of Vegas into your house and never change out of your pajamas. While it may not hold the same excitement as traditional face to face casinos it is still convenient none the less.

Poker has been around for almost 200 years and it's no secret that the recent online version of poker is a phenomenon. It has certainly without a doubt changed the face of poker and how poker is played and to this day continues to boom with players and activity. It was around the mid 1990's that online sports books were showing up along with the launch of some online casinos.

The first operational online casino was developed in 1994 by a major online casino software supplier called Microgaming. Although, this was released in 1994, it wasn't until 1998 that the first online poker room was brought on to the internet and established. The very first online poker room was named Planet Poker and not long after it's launch became a relatively small poker room but still enjoyed it's time as the only sole poker room playable online.

Many other poker rooms copied it's structure with a rake structure set at %5 and up to a $3 max rake. While the industry constantly and drastically changed since 1998, it's no surprise that the rake structure has remained consistent and for the most part, the same.

Around 1999, Paradise Poker was introduced onto the web and in no time at all became a top industry leader and it was also around this time that a successful poker player named Dutch Boyd developed the online poker firm called Poker Spot. Poker Spot was launched in May of 2000 and it was the very first online poker room to offer tournaments to it's players in September.

In 2004, Online Poker drastically boomed because of increasing popularity and demand for online poker rooms and it was because of virtual playing tables that the industry's revenues skyrocketed. When new firms such as Full Tilt Poker and Noble poker were introduced, the industry saw even more entry from new players skyrocketing profits even higher.

Today, many major successful online poker firms are considering becoming public companies. It was in October 2004 that a company called Sportingbet purchased Paradise Poker for almost 300 million dollars. Now there are many online poker rooms that are candidates for public offerings as the value of poker rooms continues to climb higher and higher.

Poker took the online world by storm almost as much as cell phones when they were first introduced. Online Poker rooms offered so many things that a live casino could not such as playing from your home and less money being risked. Online Poker is here to stay and I honestly can't say I see it going anywhere anytime soon. Whether you're a novice or beginner, Online Poker is one of the most convenient ways to play no matter who you are, whether you play for fun or for real money.