Congratulations Online Poker – 10 Years Old!
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Online poker has only been around for little over 10 years.
But for us who started playing during the first poker boom it feels like a whole lot longer than that. In many ways, poker on the internet shaped our lives; for good and for bad.
This year, online poker celebrates its 10th birthday, and as homage to the game, we will take a look in the rearview mirror.
Poker was reshaped when the game went online. Just look at the first prize in World Series of Poker. From the early 70s to the mid 90s it grew slowly but steadily to $1 million. Then online poker came, and in just a few years the grand prize in the Main Event ballooned to over $10 million. It's hard to even understand that poker was a game only played in casinos and smoke-filled card rooms before online poker. Most people didn't even know the rules to Texas Hold'em back then.
Do you remember how it felt when you logged on to Planet Poker, Paradise Poker or Party Poker for the first time? Do you remember when you made your first deposit and played Texas Hold'em (probably) for the first time in your life?
Personally, my memories of this time are vague. Those $5 sit-and-gos and tight fixed-limit games feel like 30 years back rather than 10. Therefore I took a little trip down memory lane assisted by web archives. This was how the poker sites looked back then:
Planet Poker - The First Poker Site
Although Planet Poker was launched in 1998, it wasn't until the year after the games really took off. The people behind Planet Poker set the standard for how a poker site is supposed to work, especially regarding rake. The 5% cut up to $3 was introduced here and still remains on most sites to this day.
Paradise Poker - The First Big Poker Site
After Planet Poker, quite a few sites tried become the industry leader. Paradise Poker won the race. In 1999, Paradise was the biggest poker site in the world. Unfortunately though, they didn't remain in that position for very long. For me, this is somewhat of a riddle. Paradise Poker was a good poker room, at least that's how I remember it.
Poker Spot - The First Tournament Site Fails
Before 2000, online poker sites were only offering cash games. Poker Spot were about to change this with their unique tournament software. It didn't work out that well. Poker Spot wasn't able to collect players' deposits, and in consequence, unable to pay out any winnings. I never played at Poker Spot, which probably is a good thing, and I don't think the site ever had any substantial player traffic.
Party Poker - The First Gigantic Poker Site
Party Poker is without a doubt the site I have spent most time at. When looking at old screenshots I get very nostalgic. But to be honest, you don't have to go back in time for that. The table layout actually has the same design as in 2002. As they say," if it ain't broken don't fix it."
Congratulations Online Poker
You have brought me some of the happiest moments of my life, but also some of the worst. Sometimes I love you but sometimes I only feel hate. Never mind, what I'm trying to say is: Happy birthday online poker!17-Nov-2009, 10:42
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