The Online Poker Pro

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There’s no question that online poker is getting more popular by the day. And with U.S. gambling regulations being called into question right now in Congress, the game could get an even stronger foothold in the future.

In the coming weeks, hearings will be held in Washington to see whether the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) should be overturned. Representative Barney Frank has led the charge to overturn this law that provides hindrance to players, yet little protection. Many, including Parry Aftab of the Internet safety group WiredSafety, believe that legal online gambling governed by well-thought-out regulations would protect players better. Online players are currently falling victim to unregulated companies that rip them off and clear regulations could potentially circumvent a lot of this cybercrime.

Frank and many others who support overturning the UIGEA have taken their stance because it’s clear that online poker and other forms of gambling are not only here to stay, but they’re on the rise. Statistics show that so much money can be made by players that people will find a way to play, legal or not.

According to the PokerListings Traffic Report, the top four poker sites currently have nearly 100,000 players on their sites at peak times. And out of 3,757,629 players being voluntarily tracked by PokerListings, there are at least 100 recent players who have made more than $300,000 playing online poker, five who have made over $1 million, one who made over $3 million and one who brought home a whopping $4.5+ million — and those are only the players who are being tracked.

The opportunity to make so much by playing poker online is no doubt is due to the hordes who came online after learning to play Texas Hold’em while watching the many TV shows about it, or by participating in ubiquitous local tournaments. Transferring those skills to the online arena was simply a natural progression.

With any luck, the U.S. Congress will see the handwriting on the wall and understand that trying to block online poker and other froms of Internet gambling will be about as effective as Prohibition was in the 1930s: a lot of money will be spent in enforcement and not a lot will be achieved.

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