Poker News

Home > Poker News > Poker News - Poker still gaining...

Subscribe to PokerListings.com news feed:

Online Bonus

Monthly $2,000 freerolls at Sportsbook Poker
Read More

Sunday, Oct. 14, 2007

Recreational poker still growing

By Arthur Crowson

Although poker gets a lot of negative press in the mainstream media the popularity of the game is showing no signs of slowing down.

The first example takes us to jolly olde England where pub poker is the new craze. It's particularly beloved in Lincolnshire, where players total a massive 1,500 out of 6,000 nationally. Approximately 25 pubs host action in the city. In accordance with the U.K.'s Gambling Act 2005, pubs are allowed to host a limited number of low-stakes social poker games.

Professional poker player Dave Cain set up the league and told the Lincolnshire Echo he has been amazed with the response.

"It's taken off nationally, but for some reason it's gone mad around Lincoln," he said. "There are a lot of good players in the city and they relish the opportunity to socialize and have a bit of fun in the pub with the game they are passionate about."

In other words it's a great way for veterans of the game to enjoy some friendly action and it's even better for those who are looking to learn poker in a relaxed atmosphere.

Who knows? - maybe the next player to win the prestigious World Series of Poker Europe in London will have graduated from the pub poker leagues in England.

In related news, another Facebook poker application is making headlines. Poker Heaven has just launched its Poker IQ Test on the social networking site and it's receiving some rave reviews.

The application asks the player to take part in a series of quizzes about poker decisions on the river card of a No-Limit Texas Hold'em game. All the action is heads-up and you can see the other player's hole cards. The game is mainly about analyzing the chances of making your draw and pot odds. You are given a simple choice of call or fold on every decision.

While somewhat rudimentary, the application, which was just launched this month, features a robust ranking system and already has close to 1,000 daily users. Poker Heaven will be giving away prizes on a monthly basis to players who get at least seven questions correct.

The game comes hot on the heels of the already popular Facebook application Texas HoldEm Poker which allows users to compete in a game of poker directly on Facebook. The application has an astounding 170,000 daily users.

If you're looking to beat the various games of poker on the Internet you should check out our strategy section which has everything you need to get started in poker.