What's the future of online poker?

Poker is one of the oldest games that is still played today. 

Playing cards themselves can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty [3] sometime before the 10th century AD. They were first found in Europe around 300 years later where they were used to play several different card games.

Poker can be traced back to around the 1600s where it was played in primitive casinos, the first of which opened in Venice in 1639. It didn’t become popular until much later though, being popular in the fledgling city of Las Vegas and Texas.

Texas Hold’em, which is the popular version of poker that is played today was not created until the early 1900s and didn’t appear in Las Vegas until 1963. From there, it quickly grew in popularity and professional tournaments were taking place at the Dunes Casino from 1969.

This has continued through to today, becoming one of the most popular games in the city and attracting many people to the Nevada Desert to play poker in Vegas casinos.

Since then though, poker has changed a lot. Not in terms of the rules, Texas Hold’em continues to be the most popular game, but in the way that it is played. It also looks like it will continue to evolve for years to come.

Video Poker

Video poker, where the game is played against a computer rather than another person or dealer. It first appeared in casinos in the 1970s and 1980s and was popular amongst players who found the machine less intimidating than playing at a table.

Today you can play video poker UK [4] online meaning it’s possible to enjoy the game without even leaving your house.

Mobile Poker

While the birth of the iGaming industry first brought poker to our homes in 1995, the smartphone revolution of the 2010s made it even more accessible. Today, we can enjoy poker while on public transport, when we’re watching TV, or just about anywhere else.

Today, the mobile poker experience is on par with what’s available through a computer and is likely to become the preferred format for customers in the coming years.

Live Poker

Live casinos have become increasingly popular in recent years. They over the most realistic casino experience without actually visiting one in person by providing a live video stream of a real dealer or croupier who talks to players just like they would in person.

While it’s not possible to play against other players, live poker has proven popular. Versions like Caribbean Stud Poker, where the game is played against the dealer work perfectly in this format. We’ll likely see a continuing trend towards more of this in the future.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality gaming has been talked about for decades, although it wasn’t until 2015 that the first commercially available VR headsets [5] hit the market. Virtual reality gaming has been slow to take off, but it has attracted a small but dedicated fan base.

Some iGaming brands have been developing VR poker games that allow players to take part in online tournaments and ring games against other players in a VR environment.

Whether it will attract a broader audience is not yet clear, but it’s likely we’ll see it be developed for a little while longer yet.