pokerposted

Online Poker has come a long way since 1998 when Poker Planet first hit the Internet.  The industry has seen many improvements over the years in software playability, banking options, customer service, bonuses and much more.  But which direction will the industry take into the future?  What can we expect the online sites to do to make our playing experience better than it is right now?

Online poker rooms understand that improved customer service is the best way to increase their customer base, so having the next best feature can be very profitable for a poker room.  The latest feature we see is 3D poker.  This type of software gives the player a more realistic environment than the usual overhead view of the table to which online players have become accustomed.  Instead you’re in a three-dimensional poker room with background scenery and numerous camera options to choose from as you play.  These rooms are by far the closest thing to live poker out there right now, and are one step closer to virtual reality poker.

On a 3D poker site you can customize your playing character any way you want.  You can choose from a character the site provides, or you can send in a picture of yourself and they will create a character in that likeness.  It’s like you’ve got a cyber-self playing in the electronic environment against other live players.  You can adjust the facial options until you think it looks most like you, or even create a version that might have some improved traits than the real you.  There are even options to show emotions through your character (laugh, cry, clap, etc).  There are only a small number of rooms that currently offer 3D graphics, but it’s expected that other poker rooms will follow suit and begin to at least provide the service, if not completely switch to it.  There will be a few glitches to work out first.  The software is big and requires that players have computers that can handle and run the programs.  Many hardcore online players have issues with the software’s inability to run multiple tables simultaneously, and the character voices need to be improved in order to be more realistic.  There will be a day when we put on a helmet and transport into a virtual reality poker room that will be almost as realistic as playing at the Bellagio.  Instead of flying to Vegas for the best poker action, you’ll have access to it in your own living room.  Like many things in our society, poker comes to us now, and it’s only a matter of time before the biggest tournaments in the world will be accessible online.  Not to mention not having to drive to your friend’s house, the beer store, and the bank to play a home game in the dead of the winter.  You can still get together with friends online when reality holds you back from getting out.

But these changes take time and it’s not going to happen overnight.  Two-dimensional poker will continue to be the most common software type until the bigger rooms become threatened by the 3D sites.  When that happens, every site will be forced to provide this improved software or fall by the wayside.  Software providers are hard at work developing new 3D options for their affilaited poker rooms right now, and the innovations that will come out over the next couple of years are sure to be amazing.

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