The Future of Online Poker and VR (Virtual Reality)

It’s been a couple of years since some in the poker world believed the next big thing in online poker was going to be virtual reality.

12:21 21 September 2018

Although playing poker in the virtual world is not the most popular or mainstream way of playing, it does exist and to be honest? It’s brilliant!

I own an Oculus Go VR headset, which if you don’t already know, is the poor man's Oculus Rift costing approx. $200-$250 compared to the Rifts costs of around $400 (and you need a pretty high-end PC to plug that into.)

The Oculus Go requires no PC at all and is basically just like a mobile phone VR set up but you don’t have to have a mobile phone. It might not be as powerful a device than the Rift but it's quite acceptable and a fun entry point into the world of virtual reality.

But back to the poker experience. I found a free app called Poker VR and as it was free I decided to take a look to see what it played like. You can visit the site and download it here.

When you first enter the game, you find yourself in a sizable lounge which has a list of tables as well as there being a ‘Play Now’ button that floats in front of you. There is a fireplace in the lounge and above that you will see your screen name and your current chip balance. If you look to the left of the room you will see the tournament games that are upcoming, and to the right of the room is the monthly leader board.

You can customise your avatar, change your gender and everything else like hair and your clothes. There is a cost to some adaptations and these are paid for in ‘gold’ which is earned by levelling up or by buying it yourself. Chips can also be bought using real money too.

Playing a hand of poker in the virtual world is just like sitting at a table in the real world although there is no visible dealer in this version. You can check out the other players, and even turn all the way about to take in the whole of the poker room if you wish to see the other poker tables about you with other ‘real’ players enjoying their games.

This is such a cool way to enjoy a casino game or three. I looked down and saw my chair and I could even see the other players feet under the table. When it was my turn in the game a couple of boxes floated in front of me which gave me the options to check, to fold or to call.

Obviously, the software wont please everyone especially if they are fans of gambling sites like Poker Stars or others as the game is pretty basic compared to those versions. But if you are new to VR and poker then trying out and app like this will be fun, entertaining and will leave you wanting more.