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Is VR the Future of Online Poker?

Published by admin on April 19, 2017

Before the World Wide Web went live on August 6, 1991, the only way fans of poker could play was by visiting land-based casinos or by playing their own games at home with friends and family. Since then, the online world of iGaming has managed to carve out a considerable niche within the sprawling plains of the Internet, and we can play whenever, wherever and whatever we like.

There are poker sites that deal entirely in different forms of the game depending on which you prefer, while others have started broadcasting live tournaments that anyone can get involved in. You can even play on different platforms so if you happen to get out of the house and have a little spare time you can play on your smartphone or tablet rather than having to wait to return to your desktop. With so many developments within this field, we are fascinated by where poker will go in the future.

According to an interactive piece developed by online casino operator bgo, the casino of the future may not be that far away. The site, which is home to a variety of casino games including table games and slots as well as bingo, interviewed industry professionals Jeffrey Lande who reveals that incorporating virtual reality headsets into everyday poker games could become the norm by as early as 2020. Lande, founder of virtual reality casino software development company Lucky VR, also predicts that poker will begin to include video game elements over the next couple of decades. He argues that players of the next generations will look back at how we used to play online poker and regard it as “primitive” and even “boring” as players’ engagement continues to evolve.

“VR” (CC BY 2.0) by gordonplant

By incorporating virtual reality into the already interactive space that is an online poker game, players will be able to immerse themselves in the game on an entirely new level. In fact, some sites like Casino VR Poker and How To VR Poker are already rolling out the early versions of this. Right now the tech is a little lacklustre, but it can only improve as time goes by and the software matures.

Just think about how important body language is when playing poker at home – while that may be lost when playing on your usual desktop, you’ll be able to experience that using VR. Plus, you wouldn’t even necessarily need to be playing as there are sure to be spectators watching professionals play all from the comfort of their homes using VR gear.

“IMG_6330” (CC BY-ND 2.0) by muztiko

We have to agree with Lande when he explains in the bgo piece that the industry needs to make a smooth transition to VR. Games like poker have managed to stay popular and relevant as leading industry specialists are constantly ensuring that the game evolves alongside humanity. With every step they ensure that our needs and expectations are met so that we can continue playing this traditional game that has woven its way into the fabric of many cultures. Needless to say, we hope that poker continues to evolve for many years to come – though we would like someone to get to work on teleportation devices so we can actually witness tournaments in person.