Poker is perhaps the most popular card game in the world, so much so that it’s actually considered as a professional sport in the United States. Not only is it viewed as a recreational game that combines skill, guile and luck, but it’s also widely played as a means of profit and competition. For the past decade, the largest event in poker has been the World Series of Poker Main Event. We have taken a look at some of the reasons why poker is such an appealing game:
Easy To Learn
The basic rules of poker are pretty easy to pick up, which means that any beginner can start enjoying the game from the get-go. That’s not to say that the game doesn’t have its complexities, because it does, and the more you play poker, the more you’ll see that there are so many different variations and permutations to each move you make. The beauty of poker is that you can still enjoy playing it without being advanced because each player by default starts without knowing what other cards their opponents hold.
Suitable For All
While poker may have been overwhelmingly male dominated for centuries, there were still famous female players as far back as the 19th century, such as Alice Huckert and Lottie Deno. These days, there are far more women that play poker professionally or recreationally. Take Vanessa Selbst, who became the first female to ever reach the number one ranking on the Global Poker Index, or Annie Duke, who somehow finished in an impressive 10th position at the 2002 World Series of Poker Main Event while being 9 months pregnant!
The Chance To Win Money
Perhaps the biggest appeal to playing poker is the chance to win money. Just like with any other type of gambling, you can win a great deal of money if you play your cards right, but poker is often seen as a step above other types of gambling because of how fun it is. Many people love it because a significant amount of it is based upon your decision making and your psychological acumen. It also comes with the social dynamic, where your wits are tested against everyone else around the table, but when the stakes are high, social niceties are often thrown out the window!
Play With Any Budget
The beauty of poker is that you can play it with virtually any type of budget, or you can just play for bragging rights! This is particularly the case for playing online, as you’re able to adjust the budget to your liking and play for just a few pounds if you want. If you’re a beginner, you can start off slow while you learn the ropes and adapt to new techniques, as the small budget games online are generally for novices, but eventually you can try your hand in games of a higher magnitude against the more seasoned players.
