There’s a brewing discussion online regarding the future of virtual poker.  Some believe that online poker is simply a different animal than live poker, and will evolve to a unique point, standing alongside as a complement to live poker, neither a replacement nor a replica.  Others believe that the future of online poker relies on the format becoming as close to live poker as possible.

It’s hard to know which camp is correct at this point, but it’s hard to dispute the creeping ubiquity of live poker dealers popping up at online poker rooms.  If you’re unfamiliar, the concept is essentially just as it sounds: Instead of the software dealing you the cards, a live dealer distributes the cards to players, visible by webcams, and then the content of the hand are digitally transferred to the players screen (or shown via hole cam, just like poker on TV).

While the format is still new, some believe it’s completely unnecessary.  They posit that the demand for such poker online doesn’t exist, and that live poker dealers are little more than a desperate marketing move by smaller rooms looking to grab any small share of the online poker market they can.

Others, however, aren’t so sure, leading to rumors that PokerStars may eventually offer webcam-based tables as part of their lobby to accommodate players who prefer an online experience as close to the live poker experience as possible.  While there’s been no direct confirmation from PokerStars as of yet, it’s hard to imagine that the room isn’t at least considering alternative formats.  After all, Stars grabbed the top spot through a combination of luck and savvy, and if live dealers represent any significant portion of the online poker market in the near future, it’s a safe bet PokerStars is exploring the format.