The Rise Of Online Poker And Why This Could Spell Disaster For The Inexperienced Gambler

The growth in online poker has been phenomenal over the past two years with the industry more than tripling in size to a staggering $1.5 billion. But why is this?

There have been many avenues available for people to indulge in online gambling for years now; bookmakers, casinos and bingo sites have spread across the internet and have had some level of success, but nothing compared to the rise of online poker.

Is it that people think they have a more realistic chance of winning at poker?

Is it that they think poker requires more skill than other forms of gambling?

Is it more of a thrill to take money from another human being rather than a company?

Has poker become a fashion trend?

It is probably a combination of all those things, but whatever has pushed poker into the spotlight will no doubt lead many people into trouble. The problem with all forms of gambling is the obvious addiction that occurs in many players and if people are not careful they may find themselves spiralling into financial meltdown.

The biggest problem will be with people who have no previous poker experience, who just plough straight into the high stakes end of the betting spectrum looking for that "big win" that will see them happy for life. It is a dream for everybody and, for many, the lure of big money wins will prove too much.

On top of that, it is clear that out there in the realms of the poker rooms will undoubtedly be some people trying to spot these inexperienced players and to take advantage of them. For these poker sharks, nothing could be easier than stripping these amateurs of all their cash.

That's why, to be successful in poker, you need to work your way up from the very bottom rung of the ladder, gaining experience as you play, before you can count yourself ready to take on players at the top.

The best ways to begin your journey into online poker are by playing on free tables for fun and playing in freeroll tournaments until you feel confident to take the plunge with real money.

As an extra tip, if you are being successful playing at a certain level with lower limits, don't change anything. Many small wins will soon add up to a big win but you may feel just a little safer getting there.

Steve Waller has gained much experience in the field of gambling and writes regularly in his blog http://betting-guides.blogspot.com to help people bet safely and sensibly.

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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081015/OPINION03/810150329cid=1258063152ei=OEn2SJf9HKjk6gOfttmRCQusg=AFQjCNHYG8_7cpFXQfKysdXRrk2TLRn7JALetter: Wake up, Ohio, and vote for casinos/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMansfield News Journal,nbsp;OHnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Hoosier hijacking, via Argosy and Belterra, will lure fewer Ohio bgamblers/b to their Ohio River sites. Caravans to the Keystone bcasino/b at Presque Isle and to b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.salemnews.net/page/content.detail/id/505989.html%3Fnav%3D5003cid=1258063152ei=OEn2SJf9HKjk6gOfttmRCQusg=AFQjCNHSZW0D1YUDmt9cvAaiK19DQvdwogbCasino/b drive would create a monopoly/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSalemNews.net/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.10tv.com/live/content/onnnews/stories/2008/10/14/issue_6.html%3Fsid%3D102cid=1258063152ei=OEn2SJf9HKjk6gOfttmRCQusg=AFQjCNFG4wyURj2jqzfPgvl4Ak8bufBmcAIssue 6 Stirs Debate/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobr10TV/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1258063152hl=ennobrall 3 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.guampdn.com/article/20081016/NEWS01/810160301/1002cid=0ei=OEn2SJf9HKjk6gOfttmRCQusg=AFQjCNEsYKS4ghNlNPUbbsMal2FD-Q7QeAProp A focuses on workers: Opposition makes case at UOG/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fPacific Daily News,nbsp;GUnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The initiative, known as The Responsible bGaming/b Act, proposes to license bcasino gambling/b at Guam Greyhound Park in combination with development of a b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1222091,CST-NWS-casi15.articlecid=1257880082ei=OEn2SJf9HKjk6gOfttmRCQusg=AFQjCNEC8DcvcPU3ff73RYGpwZWG5ASQRwRacetrack could win bcasino/b license/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fChicago Sun-Times,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Emerald bCasino/b Inc. once controlled the bgaming/b license and had begun building a bcasino/b in Rosemont in 2000. But the bGaming/b Board stopped construction and b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/article.cfm%3FcontentID%3D175456cid=1257880082ei=OEn2SJf9HKjk6gOfttmRCQusg=AFQjCNF9nqPvUMwo9WOWxuV3srhYF-_wewTowns pairing with bcasino/b partners in bid for bgaming/b license/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCasino City Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/10/14/news/doc48f54966ecc7b549788676.txtcid=1257880082ei=OEn2SJf9HKjk6gOfttmRCQusg=AFQjCNGZ5UZwKMaOgi14XhnhjvfTLlOE7APotential sites for new bcasino/b in state will be announced Wednesday/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBloomington Pantagraph/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1257880082hl=ennobrall 11 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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