Yahoo UK has just announced the imminent launch of its virtual poker room. This room will be open to real money players and will be initially reserved for the British and Irish markets.

This is a major first in the world of online poker and the arrival of Yahoo is sure to make a considerable impact on the market. The experience of playing with virtual money in AOL’s poker room has not gone down well with players and neither has the American legislation which outlaws online gambling for money.

Online poker companies are unanimous in acknowledging that the arrival of a new type of playing platform run by a company the size of Yahoo can only help to confirm poker’s status as the most popular online game in the world.