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There aren’t many card games you can play on your own, but even before the internet, Solitaire was the game that best fit into this category. Commonly referred to as “patience” with UK and US audiences, Solitaire originated in France, just like many other casino games. Historians believe the current embodiment of roulette and blackjack has deep roots in French history.
The Appeal Of Solitaire
Solitaire encompasses other parts of casino card gaming. It doesn’t require quick hands and games that are over in 30 seconds, like blackjack, nor does it rely on reading your opponent and trying to psych them out like you do at a poker table. The solitary nature of the game meant that when online game designers were looking for early gaming ideas that would transpose easily onto the earliest versions of a home PC – Solitaire was the obvious contender.
Since then, other card games have exploded onto the scene, including online poker, which underwent massive changes before establishing itself as a vital part of the broader poker world. Although there’s still a considerable market for land-based tournaments, the best online poker tournaments are becoming more popular.
Granted, there are differences between the land-based and online poker variants, but this highlights just how much the concept of playing card games online has developed over the last 40 years. Solitaire lit the fuse on what eventually became a multi-billion dollar arm of the iGaming industry.
Early Pioneering Days Of Solitaire
When Windows launched its groundbreaking operating system over 40 years ago, several innovations attracted it to a broader audience. However, their implementation of free games like Minesweeper and Solitaire allowed a bridge for a bigger audience, who were not as equipped to understand the technical innovations of the initial Windows operating system, a better understanding of how much potential PCs had, and how they would soon transform gaming as we knew it.
The fact you could play the game on your own meant that it didn’t involve the same organization or mechanics as other card games. Once you fired up your Windows PC, provided you could afford one, which not many people could back in the 1980s, you could sit there, learn how the game works, and then play the game until your heart’s content.
Although Solitaire is a much easier game to project onto a digital interface than a live roulette table or a live stream that involves both live dealers and an in-game chat, this was where it became clear to those companies who specialized in card-based games that a lucrative online avenue was making itself known. Those companies that were able to corner off a large enough chunk of it could position themselves as one of the flagbearers of the new online casino world.
The Rise Of Online Poker
Online poker has had to overcome several hurdles during the last three decades. Many poker fans, experts, and professionals were nonplussed at the idea of a digital version of the game at one time. You have to remember that this was during a period when nobody had access to the internet via their smartphones, and those who did were accessing the internet at home via slow, expensive dial-up connections.
However, as connections became quicker and cheaper and more people used online platforms to seek out poker tips and keep up to date with the latest industry news, it became evident that there was a growing demand for online poker. Poker icons like Phill Hellmuth have moved with the times, and he has confirmed on several occasions that he enjoys the online variant of the game.
Tournaments such as the WSOP will continue attracting a global audience, and there’s no denying that land-based poker will still play a pivotal role in the game’s future development.
However, as more people switch to digital casinos and platforms become more adept at hosting online poker tournaments and games and expanding on the available variations, it feels like online poker still has more mileage in the tank to continue establishing itself as a real competitor to the traditional form of the game.
Summary
Although Solitaire might have planted the seed that showed those in the card gaming industry that there would soon be a colossal market online, it’s not the sole reason that online poker has become such a success.
Yes, it played some part, but without the societal switch to mass smartphone adoption, almost ubiquitous internet connection, and a climate where online casinos were given the legroom to truly flourish into a global industry, then online poker would have hit a ceiling.
As with any industry that becomes a global breakthrough, it’s never just one element that plays the catalyst. We’re not trying to detract from the importance of these early computer gaming days. Solitaire was one of the first games that Windows had on its operating systems and highlighted the possibilities. However, it has been a long journey since, involving several variables and a changing world in which online poker game designers and tournament organizers have thrived.