Planet Poker: first poker room

On 1 January 1998 Planet Poker, founded by Randy Blumer, dealt what is widely credited as the first real-money hand of online poker, a 3 to 6 dollar Texas hold'em game. Within months it was running games around the clock.

Planet Poker licensed dealing software and offered real-money ring games at a time when only free or play-money poker had existed online. Early technical problems such as disconnections were common, but the site proved there was genuine demand for cash poker over the internet and built a following through advertising and endorsements from well-known poker figures. It is widely credited as the first real-money online poker room. Its early lead was later overtaken by larger competitors, but it opened a vertical that would explode into the mainstream after 2003.

It launched real-money online poker, the vertical that would drive the mid-2000s poker boom.