Once the preserve of men in smoke-filled dens, poker is now endorsed by celebrities and enjoyed by millions. Nowhere is this transformation more apparent than on the internet, where more and more people are playing online poker. What is it about online poker that has proved so compelling? What variations are most popular? And what strategies most successful?

Of course the explosion in popularity has not been without its naysayers. But does online poker really pose a risk to ‘problem’ gamblers? Or are critics unfairly stigmatising a harmless hobby? We will be exploring these issues, and many more, over the next 12 weeks.