Poker first became available online towards the mid-1990s, and since its inception, it has had a colorful history. Before there was poker as we know it today, there was a time when IRC Poker ruled the virtual world. This was a game that was played through a chat client and similar to chess, players had to key in their moves and then leave the program to perform the actions for them.

Players weren't sat around animated tables like they are today and there were no in-play features. This was at a time when poker was in its most primitive form. It was still just as popular as it is today though and it soon became apparent how many people enjoyed the game and desired to play it online, but there were still very few portals to play at.

Online poker was born in 1998, and even some of the oldest companies are still around today such as PokerStars, but many of them have resigned themselves to the history books for various reasons.

The types of poker varieties that players can expect to find online today include Texas Hold'em (limit and no limit), Omaha (limit and no limit), Razz, 5 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud and most of these games can be accessed in either the free play demo mode or in the real cash mode. Various settings and in-play unique features soon found their way into the virtual game, which increased the entertainment value and made players feel more comfortable.

Many of today's licensed software companies that develop poker programs supply both downloadable platforms and non-downloadable instant flash platforms. The amount of traffic that floods today's most trusted poker sites means that you can always find others to play poker against, any time of the day and throughout the year.

It doesn't take very long for a table to fill up with players, even at the lesser known poker sites. Online poker today is designed to appeal to a wide range of players, including both the seasoned pros and the beginners, with a variety of different tables that are suitable for all levels of skill.

Table limits on cash tables start from as little as $0.01/$0.02 (small blind/big blind), and they can range all the way up to as much as $200.00/$400.00, but these High Stakes tables tend to take longer to fill up.

Poker enthusiasts can also now choose to play in different currencies, such as US dollars, UK Pounds, and Euros, plus there are various new helpful filters that are designed to help players locate the most suitable table that has a spare seat in no time at all. If cash tables aren't for you, you can just as quickly enter a frequently held Sit 'n Go tournament, which will begin as soon as the maximum number of entrants has registered, or you could compete against more players with much more significant prize pools in the tourneys known as Scheduled Tournaments.

These will start at a specific time and date, providing the minimum number of players has registered. Scheduled tourneys are otherwise known as Multi-Table Tournaments.

Over the past 14 years, online poker has dramatically changed for the better, regarding security and the actual quality and functionality of the poker software. Today, players can visit one of the hundreds of different secure poker sites and play the game from the comfort of their own home while on their PC or laptop, or more recently, from modern mobile devices.

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