The late 1990's brought with it the beginnings of what was to become one of the fastest growing phenomena of the twenty-first century. The beginnings of online poker started with the free poker games offered by IRC Poker. This was such a hit that Planet Poker soon made its appearance online with electronic card games that could be played for real money stakes.

Soon established casinos entered the market with their own websites and games to encourage and entice new players to try their luck with the cards. The biggest difference in playing online poker is the speed with which play continues. While at a real casino, one must allow for the time to gather and shuffle the cards and count the chips, poker spielen is dealt instantly. The average for a physical game is about thirty-three hands per hour. Online this can increase to as much as one hundred hands dealt and played in the same hour's time.

Many of the real casinos use their online games as advertising for their physical locations and often reward players with extra bonuses that can be used when they visit. The laws regulating real casinos are different from the laws that regulate online gambling and there are some places in the United States that online poker playing is illegal. Therefore it is provident for the new player to check with local and state regulations to assure that online poker is allowed in your hometown.

Funding your games of online poker is easy to do. Some banks and credit card companies refuse to allow transfers to online poker sites. Thus the emergence of virtual credit cards and intermediary online "wallet" accounts allow the player to transfer funds without having to be constantly connecting to their bank accounts or being denied the use of their regular credit cards for funding their online poker accounts.