The poker craze has also spread onto the television. People all around the world tune in to watch some of the world’s best poker stars betting ridiculous amounts of money to decide on the ultimate poker player. There are a whole range of poker shows such as the World Series of Poker as well as celebrity poker matches and charity poker games. Ben Affleck even qualified to make it into the World Series of Poker in 2005. The World Series of Poker has become such popular viewing that the prize money for next year’s series is estimated to be at around $10 million for the winner of the series. One of the newest television poker crazes is Fox’s new poker show Poker Dome. The prize money is at around $60 million which is more than that of any other sport in the world.
Possibly one of the most popular trends in the poker craze at the moment is online poker. People are logging onto online poker websites in their millions to play both just for fun and for money. There are now thousands of online poker sites around the world, most of which are advanced and interactive and offering you a huge range of poker playing options. You can play any type of poker and against people from all around the world. From online poker alone a revenue of over $408 million is produced. It is illegal to host an online poker site in the USA, however there are many sites based in other countries that offer their services to people in the USA. The online poker craze is evident in the fact that the word ‘poker’ is one of the top five searches on the Yahoo search engine. Many people, including some of the best players in the world, use online poker as a way to practice their skills and techniques before hitting the real life tables.
Shops around the world are now stocking various types of merchandise to keep up with the new poker craze. In the last few years, poker related merchandise has increased in sales dramatically. There are a huge range of options for merchandise, ranging from books, poker chips, poker tables as well as t shirts, hats and other items.
The World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker have both released their own range of merchandise, which has been very popular across the USA. You also have the option of getting the merchandise cheaper if you play at certain online poker sites. Some sites offer their merchandise for free if you sign up or play enough.
As you can see, the poker craze is huge, and is set to continue growing. It is a fun and addictive game that can be played anywhere. As the poker craze gets bigger, there are more and more ways of playing the game becoming available, and online poker sites are becoming increasingly advanced and realistic.