They called it poker but it was really just text like "flop QhTs5s."
The first online poker room offering real-money play was Planet Poker.
The first hand was dealt on January 1, 1998. It had Mike Caro as the face of the brand.
Then came Paradise Poker. It made Planet Poker obsolete because of much better software.
It grew to a couple of hundred real-money players at the same time. The general consensus was that it had the whole world market and such a grip that nobody could ever compete.
You know, like PokerStars today.
Lucky and Good
Then came Party Poker with the help of superior marketing on TV in the form of the World Poker Tour. Then came PokerStars, and then Full Tilt Poker.
PokerStars did every thing right and was really the shining star, but it got very lucky as well with Chris Moneymaker, Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer.
PokerStars also got very lucky in 2006 when President Bush signed the UIGEA into law, making it illegal for online gaming companies to perform transactions with American financial institutions.
The by-far biggest online company, Party Poker, had to shut down its USA business immediately because it was publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. The stock value went down 90 per cent over night.
Then PokerStars got lucky again when the fastest growing network, Full Tilt Poker - who definitely was the sexiest brand at the time - was shut down because of a combination of greed, ignorance and bad timing.
The Sharks Will Show Up Anyway
PokerStars has reigned supreme for several years but if you know your history you should know that things can change, like it has in the past, every time.
It can be a change in the legal landscape (Black Friday), it can be better software (Paradise Poker) or a new product (Fast Poker), or a cheating scandal (UB). But big changes will surely happen again.
A good player is lucky. The owner of PokerStars knew it would never get into the US market on its own because it kept doing business in the US when Party Poker and others couldn't.
So he sold. At a price I believe will be considered high in the future.
For many years people believed that it was all about volume. The fish were endless and the best customers were the ones raking the most.
Everybody told you that you should play to win. To find the poker star in you. Today all networks know that the way to run the business is to get recreational players and give them entertainment for the money they lose.
The sharks will show up anyway; no need to market to them or take care of them.
A Bad Sign for Current State of Business
Most networks have worked very hard for years to change their business models, which inevitably means making the rules and regulations harder for professionals.
It would be harder for PokerStars than others to tell its customers to no longer find the poker star within. Since it's so much bigger than the rest, the need has also been not as profound as it was for others.
Now it seems that the inevitable future is closing in. PokerStars has confirmed it is “strongly considering” a general tightening of rules regarding the capability of third-party software programs.
Some heads-up SNGs specialists have created software that lets them play automatically pre-flop including randomized bluffs.
It's very close to a bot and enables them to play a lot more SNGs simultaneously. The programmer even sold it to others.
That online grinders don't even realize when they absolutely have crossed the line is probably a pretty bad sign for the current state of the business.
But how could they when PokerStars initially approved it?
After severe criticism from other players PokerStars is looking into the situation and strongly considering adding something like this in its bannable offenses:
Any tool or reference material that offers commentary or advice that goes beyond a basic level, such as stack-size-based starting hand tables, decision trees or heads-up displays that dynamically change based on player action or card values.
Inevitable Day of Inevitable Solution Closing In
I've been telling everybody for years that it's completely sick and really stupid for a poker network to allow the pros technical help to fillet the fish even faster.
It seems that the inevitable day of the inevitable solution of banning all technical aids is closing in.
PokerStars will lose a lot of traffic and rake but understands it must be done. The other networks will follow really fast once the decision is made.
I predict online poker rooms will be a lot smaller in the future to control the environment better and prevent bots, colluding, rudeness and other things killing the game.
About Ken Lennaárd:
Sweden's most controversial poker blogger Ken Lennaárd has been around the professional poker circuit for almost 20 years. Among his numerous accomplishments are Swedish Championships both live and online, three WSOP final tables and over $1.5m in live earnings. He's now bringing his singular poker voice to the English world via PokerListings.com. Look for new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Note: Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not represent the views of PokerListings.com.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com