Online poker has become very popular and since Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker after gaining entry from playing in a satellite at an online Poker site, the number of online players has skyrocketed. This growth in online play is world wide. In the Poker Britain Report (see link in sidebar) it was reported that thirteen million adults have played poker in one form or another and 2.9 million have already or are interested in playing online. In a country of 60 million this is a large percentage. Although there has no similar survey in the United States, given the population of the country one can only imagine that the number of online Poker players is huge and there is no question that this number is growing.
There are a number of reputable online sites that are now catering to millions of players every day. Several years ago I was a little leery about playing online and suggested you limit online play to practice in the free games. I still suggest that all new players get some free practice before putting their money at risk in a live game; however my views online poker has changed. After some research and some actual play over the last two years I am now convinced that it is safe secure and a great alternative for many players who are not able to make a trip to a cardroom without traveling long miles to play poker for a few hours. There are actually several other advantages to playing online. Several of them are listed on the next page.