The game of poker has a long history – it first appeared in the United States in the 19th century, but its roots can be traced back to a Persian game called As-Nas invented in the 17th century. In time, poker continued to evolve and today we have many variances of the game.
Nowadays, the most popular version of poker is undoubtedly Texas Hold’em that originated in the 1900s. It was introduced to Las Vegas by Corky McCorquodale and was popularized by famous poker players like Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, and Crandell Addington.
However, what made poker truly popular is the first ever poker tournament held in 1969. Just a year later, Benny and Jack Binion acquired the rights to the tournament and renamed it the World Series of Poker. As years passed, the tournament grew to become the most prestigious poker event in the world. In recent years, thousands of people regularly apply for the tournament.
As the Internet became a lot more accessible, poker moved from land-based casinos to the Internet, which was great news for many players. Apart from making poker more available, this encouraged many online casinos to start offering bonuses like the Betfair casino first deposit bonus to help you get started.
However, while platforms dedicated solely to poker have a lot of players, it is video slots that are the most popular form of entertainment in online casinos. Good news for poker players is that all of that might change with the advancement of technology; the reason for that is virtual reality poker.
What Is Virtual Reality Poker and How Is It Played?
Virtual reality poker is the same as its real-life counterpart; the only difference is, as the name suggests, that it is set in virtual reality. To play it, you need a pair of virtual reality headset, such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive Pro, Sony PlayStation VR, or Samsung Odyssey. However, even though both versions of poker are played in the same way, virtual poker provides many more benefits than regular online poker.
The main benefit of virtual reality poker is that it is a lot more immersive. Namely, after online poker became available, it didn’t evolve or change much — it was still played in front of a PC/laptop or a mobile phone, but it didn’t involve players that much into gameplay.
On the other hand, with virtual reality poker, you are undoubtedly going to fully experience the game that you are playing due to the design of virtual reality headsets. As these are both sound-proof and light-proof, the only thing you will focus on is the gameplay.
The second most significant benefit of virtual reality poker is that it offers more social interaction and a better online experience overall. Granted, people who play poker are mostly in it for the money or simply looking for a thrill, but why not make the whole activity more entertaining and add some fun to it? Virtual reality poker does precisely that — it allows you to interact with other people and their avatars by complimenting them on their moves or light up a cigar as if you were in an actual casino.
Since virtual technology is relatively new, the graphics aren’t top-notch. However, as it continues to improve, the details might end up being refined enough to read people’s facial expressions, which brings back the crucial aspect of poker that we lost with online poker — bluffing.
The Future of Virtual Reality Poker
The main reason why people play online poker is that it is accessible and convenient. You can play it from the comfort of your home, enjoy your own beverages or snacks, and save yourself the trip to the casino.
Some of the giants in the gambling industry like Microgaming and NetEnt didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to become leaders in the industry of virtual reality gambling and are thus slowly adapting to this new trend. By producing games that players can play in VR they are directly and indirectly increasing not only the popularity of virtual reality but also the number of online casinos that support VR technology.
When it comes to virtual poker, as we’ve mentioned, the whole concept of VR is still relatively new. While that doesn’t make it extremely appealing or as accessible as regular online poker, it is still a great thing to hear. Why’s that? Because of its potential, of course! It means that virtual reality technology is still in its infancy and it will continue to grow and improve. In time, it might even completely replace other versions of poker.
