The free online poker has continued for well over two years now.  There are three key reasons why free online poker has risen to the top of the online casino parlour charts: 

1. There are so many variants of the game of poker to play.  It seems that there is a poker variant for everyone – someone might favour Jacks or Better Poker while someone else might prefer Texas Hold’em or Seven Card Stud Poker.

    

2. The worldwide economy has discouraged players from playing poker for money in a frivolous fashion.  There are major protests in New York City, San Francisco, Oakland, London and in cities in Greece, Italy, and Germany as well.  For the most part, the protestors resent the inequity in salaries and job opportunities.  Unfortunately, these people no longer have money to travel on casino jaunts to casino towns to participate in games of poker.  Thus, the land-based casino industry continues to suffer, and the revenues from these casinos have dropped precipitously in three years.

    

3. Free online poker costs you nothing to play and you can participate in free online poker for as long as you care to.  Since most of the top free online poker venues offer at least one poker variant, there is tremendous interest in free online poker.  In addition, players save a bundle in transportation and ancillary costs that they would have to expend if they travelled to a land-based casino.

    

Over the past ten years, the online poker gaming industry has blossomed on the Internet, and free online poker has taken center stage since the worldwide economic recession took hold a few years ago. 

Here is the most popular of all poker variants: 

Jacks or Better Poker:  This is the basic and original form of poker from which all variants are derived.  It is also the basis for Video Poker games.  In Jacks or Better poker, you need a pair of Jacks as a minimum to stay in the game.  In its video poker form, it returns the same money that you wagered.  For example, if you wagered 5 coins and finished the game with a pair of Jacks, you would get 5 coins back as your return.  Any hand considered lower than a pair of Jacks would return you nothing for the hand you just played.   

The best way to improve your poker acumen and have a ton of fun at the same time is to play free online poker.