Online poker is a multi-billion dollar industry, and its phenomenal growth is set to continue, writes Claire Doble.

Poker, check. Beer, check. Snacks, check. Friends - well, sort of ... I'm holed up on a Saturday evening with my online poker buddies: Suzi99, a 21-year-old American housewife; CryingBob, a dude from Michigan; gr8hand in Ontario; Ivan000, the silent Russian type; and Wernker from Adelaide. The deals are all perfect - no flipped cards, no slow shuffle-time - and when it's your turn, a helpful impatient-siren sounds if you take more than 15 seconds to bet, check, raise or fold. It's easy to see why people get addicted.

Worldwide, online poker is a multibillion-dollar industry and it continues to grow. The three factors behind its increased profile are television coverage of big tournaments such as the World Series of Poker, the convenience of playing online and the enjoyment and challenge of the game itself.

Internet poker is played against real people and you can bluff, fold or ride out a royal flush just as in live games. The differences are anonymity, 24-hour access and guaranteed fast, accurate play. And you lose some of the atmosphere, interaction and tactics of trying to read your opponent's poker face.

It's illegal to play poker and other games of chance online for money in Australia, but it's ridiculously easy to gain access, and you can play without spending a cent. Visit a site, sign up for a username and password, and download the software. Then you have the option to use the play-money tables free (sites can give you an automatic $US1000 play-money that can be "renewed" once a day if you lose your wad), or proceed to the real-money games and tournaments. The sites have plenty of incentives for this, with deposit bonuses and big-prize matches, such as a $1 million prize-pool game every Sunday or the chance to win a spot in the world series.

You can choose game speed, start and bet limits and the kind of poker you wish to play - Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud. Compared with most other forms of gambling, poker is compelling because, online or off, it relies far more on a player's skill than, say, roulette, consultant and world series host Mike Sexton.

"Poker is a game that has everything that most people like: a skill factor, luck, and risk versus reward," says Sexton, who recently challenged Paris Hilton to an online poker match after she allegedly lost her $US150,000 ($201,000) car at a live game. The prize was a new Bentley.

Unlike evil pokie machines, which are programmed so players lose more often than they win, the sites that run online poker do not set the odds and make the same amount per game whether $1 or $10,000 is bet.

Enthusiasts such as Richard O'Neill, managing director of a Sydney poker equipment seller say this makes online poker fair: "You're playing against other people, not the house, so in theory it's a level playing field. There's no advantage to the house because they don't make money from you losing - they just want as many people as possible to play."

Poker Stars, which boasts high-profile ambassadors such as Australia's Joe Hachem, who won the world series last year, has 5.2 million registered players, with an average of 80,000 playing each US night, according to company spokesman Nolan Dalla. Hachem, who catapulted the game into the Australian public's eye with his surprise $US7.5 million win last year, says he enjoys the convenience of internet poker and has been playing online since 2001.

"I have to travel a lot and I have to spend a lot of time with my family, so I can't go to casinos all the time," Hachem told Icon before heading off to Los Angeles for this year's world series. "I use online poker to stay in practice by playing people all over the world."

O'Neill says there are about 100,000 Australian online poker players. Globally, he says, most players fall into the 18-40 year-old "computer generation", and he estimates about 35 per cent are female and 1 million are professionals. But Hachem says this shouldn't worry the rest of us: "You don't have to be a professional. I played in a $5 tournament today for promotional purposes. People love that it only costs $5 to play the world champion. You can't do that with tennis, golf or any other professional sport."

Playing the pros and winning a place in the world series is a distinct possibility with online poker. Former WSOP champions Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer both won through to the comp via online games, as did one of Hachem's friends, providing the motivation for Aussie Joe to stump up the $US10,000 entry fee. Last year's World Series had 5600 entrants and Hachem says 8000 are expected this year, about half of whom will have qualified online.

The money pit

Sydneysider Neil Pheeney, 32, a non-professional who has played internet poker off and on for the past few years, says he wants to try to win through to the World Series by playing online. However, he's well aware of the risks. Pheeney hasn't visited the cyber tables for a while because of the time and money it takes. He says that some of his friends spend about $1000 a month on internet poker and it's tough to make a profit.

"You've got to really know what you're doing, because there are loads of patient people on there for hours and hours, waiting to take your money."

The old combo of booze and gambling may sound appealing for some, but Pheeney says he learned the hard way that coming home from the pub and playing a few hands could quickly relieve him of several hundred dollars.

"You've got to spend so many hours working out strategy and generally you will lose money," he says. "At some of the bigger tables there are people losing $40K an hour."

Others, however, are happy to play with only virtual money. Lesley Fernandez, 23, has been into online play-money poker for six months. Fernandez plays for three hours every weeknight and says she got into it because she spends a lot of time online and enjoys pitting herself against real opponents.

"I would play for real money if I had the disposable income to do so," Fernandez says.

Addiction

Australians, it is said, would bet on the proverbial two flies crawling up a wall. That adage is backed by statistics: we have the highest per-capita spend on gambling worldwide. And poker is in many ways the ultimate gamer's game. It's easy to master the basics, but takes time and practice to become a pro; in the interim there are many rewards to keep you engaged.

Relationships Australia's gambling help services program leader Neil Mellor says online poker is too recent a phenomenon in Australia for people to present with problems. However, the number of people seeking help for online gambling addiction overseas is increasing. Mellor says it's a "particularly dangerous form of gambling" and likens it to playing the stockmarket, where people have been driven to suicide after committing money they cannot recoup.

Even the play-money games are bad news in Mellor's opinion. Research shows the earlier a person begins gaming, the more likely they are to be habitual gamblers their whole life. "It's not necessarily a harmless activity, people should be very wary."

O'Neill, who doesn't play for cash, says the time spent playing online poker is almost as much of an issue as losing money. "You get roped into it, even for the fun-money games. You can find yourself playing for hours ... On the sites they offer heaps of giveaways and money bonuses, which gets you in [and] keeps you playing."

Is it legal?

Australian company Centrebet provides legal, online sports betting in Australia and online gaming to its overseas clients. The company says it takes extensive measures to ensure Australians cannot illegally use its online gaming services. "However, if the regulatory environment in Australia was to change with a relaxation of regulatory restrictions, [Centrebet] will be well positioned to offer a full range of online gaming services to Australian residents," its prospectus says.

Centrebet, which floated on the ASX this week, is anticipating poker will be the fastest growing part of its business over the next few years. "The online poker market surged in 2004, generating a 342.1 per cent increase in global revenue on 2003 to $US1.4 billion."

A spokesman for Star City Casino says the popularity of poker on television and online has attracting a new group of customers to the casino.

None of the players Icon spoke to said they were worried about the illegality of playing for cash via the internet, and most also play live games regularly with friends or work colleagues.

O'Neill, who runs an Australia-wide live pub-poker tournament, says he has never heard of anyone prosecuted for playing online. The Australian Federal Police did not respond to Icon's request for an interview.

Top tips for avoiding trouble

* Never bet more than you can afford.

* Only play if you're over 18 - for legal and maturity reasons.

* Never bet with credit.

* Keep track of and limit the amount of time spent online at the tables.

* Don't chase your losses.

* When it starts moving from being fun into an activity that's taking up increasing amounts of your time and attention, it may be time to stop.

* Programs such as Gamblock (www.gamblock.com) can prevent gambling software being used on your PC. This can assist problem gamblers and/or prevent minors from accessing gambling sites.