Poker is an incredibly popular game. We all know that. It’s hard to find a person who hasn’t heard about poker, and it’s certainly easy to find people who play it.
When these numbers are considered, there are more poker players in the world than players of some very popular sports like golf or tennis.
So what makes it popular? There are six crucial reasons.
#1 The Convenience of Online Poker
Poker has always been quite popular, but never more so than today. One of the main reasons for that is online poker and how accessible it is to people worldwide. Millions of people are playing poker variations like Texas Hold’em and Omaha, both of which are available online. The best part is that these games are exactly the same online as they are in real life.
The only downside of online poker is that you don’t get the same thrills you feel while playing on a true poker table with cards you can touch, surrounded by real players. Things like bluffing and body language play a big part here, all of which are not present in online poker. This is unfortunate but necessary, and most players don’t mind playing online poker as the main parts of poker are still there. The game is still played live, and you’re still playing with real players — that’s what matters.
#2 Skills Matter, Not Luck
Many people believe that poker is all about luck, just like most other games of chance. However, poker was explicitly designed to make it more about the skills of each player and only partly about luck. What’s more, if you look at the long run, poker is completely skill-based.
A significant amount of luck is involved in the short run, but professional players deal with that by learning the best poker strategies they can. You can do the same, and the better skills you get, the more you’ll be able to win. That’s precisely why the players who win the most in poker in tournaments and other major events are those with the most skills.
Professional players know that poker is all about maths and odds. To win, you need to invest more when you have a statistical advantage and invest less when you have a disadvantage. Naturally, there’s a lot more to it than that, but this is the gist of things, and you need to be aware of it before you start playing poker as a real professional.
#3 Overwhelming Competitiveness and Desire to Win
All games in the world are played to win, and poker is no different. However, many believe that most players play the game only to win money, and they forget that the main goal of many professional players is the win itself. It’s true that money is a powerful motivator, but as is usually the case with games and sports, people usually start playing them for the sake of winning.
Poker is exciting and makes you incredibly competitive, which is the main motive of many players. Naturally, they know the money won’t hurt, but the competitiveness is often so overwhelming that you’re ready to invest a lot just to win. The rush of adrenaline you get when you’re playing and when you win is intoxicating, and anyone who has ever played poker knows that.
#4 Poker Is Very Social
Poker is so popular because it’s a social activity. Unlike many other games of chance, you play poker with other people. What’s more, you play against each other, which is rarely the case with other social games of chance, like blackjack.
This fact makes poker a perfect game for friends and tournaments. That’s precisely why many people often play poker at their homes with friends or family and why so many tournaments exist. The popularity of poker tournaments is so overwhelming that the prize pools often range in the millions of dollars.
#5 The Popularity of Legal Games of Chance Is Inevitable
The importance of skills is not the only factor that separates poker from other games of chance — the legality matters as well. Unlike many other casino games that are often illegal, the rules around poker are often less stringent. This essentially has to do with the fact that poker is mostly a game of skill, and games like that are outlawed to a much lesser extent than games of pure chance like slots.
Naturally, in the US, poker is still mostly illegal, especially online poker. However, four states have made online poker legal — New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and Pennsylvania. That, combined with the fact that players join offshore sites, is more than enough to warrant the high number of poker players in the US.
All in all, thanks to the legality of poker all around the globe, the game is consequently more accessible to regular people than other games of chance. What’s more, many countries are looking to legalize poker, including many states in the US. This is enough to make the game a lot more popular than other casino games.
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