Research done by the Pew Internet Organization describes online gaming as, “as one of the fastest growing entertainment branches, although there’s little data on the development and acceptance of this new medium.”
The categories of games studied: video, computer and internet, reveal an interesting insight into whose playing what games and why. The Pew also surveyed, that 45 percent of men admitted to playing online games because it’s fun, while 33 percent of women admitted to playing because they were bored. Despite boredom or pursuit of fun, online gaming is here to stay and attracts millions.
A study of college students and game use showed that “those surveyed reported to have played a video, computer or online game at one time or another. College student gamers reported hours studying per week were similar to those reported by college students in general.”
The most remarkable statistic is that “more than half, 53% of all American adults play video games of some kind, weather on a computer, on a gaming console, on a cell phone or other handheld device, on a portable gaming device or online.”
Whose playing what game? One of the most popular games being played by adults online is Poker. For those who just won't wrap their minds around the human activity of betting and gambling games now online, the number of those playing poker has increased significantly due to online access. The annual revenue from the game is over 2.1 billion.
As of 2012 the US Federal Online Poker Bill expired. The bill follows from the passage of the Federal Wire Act that prohibits electronic transmission of information for sports betting across telecommunication lines. In a lower court, the court ruled that internet gaming was not prohibited as a game of chance. Finally, the United Justice Department posed that the Act covers all forms of gambling.
With the Bill's expiration, online players are still playing and for those who are good at it, are searching out the best platforms to do so. One of the top sites for keeping playing platforms accessible and safe is Pokersites.com. The site claims itself as “a place for players to seek out and compare the best poker websites to play at.”
Why has poker become increasingly popular in the United? According to Pokerinca.com,
- It’s accessible
- Higher prelevance of popular culture acceptance
- Television broadcast of poker tournaments
- Enjoyment of the game
So what might be the future of the game? A computer with artificial intelligence that can win every time? Programmers that will master human thought? Garry Kasparov, the chess Grandmaster says “if programmers really want to master human thought” they should “take on poker.”
He adds, "While chest is a 100 percent information game—both players are aware of all the data all the time—and therefore directly susceptible to computing power, poker has hidden hands and variable stakes, creating critical roles for chance, bluffing and risk management.”
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