Sure, poker is fun. Theres the risk. Theres the challenge in reading your opponent. Theres the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Theres also waiting 15 minutes while the guy next to you tries to figure out what he wants to do.

Dont have the patience for slow-paced games? Speed poker might be right up your alley, and its popularity has started to catch on across the Internet with players bored with all day events.

Heres how its different: Most noticeable, new hands are dealt about once a minute. Once the cards are dealt, players only have 15 seconds to make up their minds and act. The clock starts as soon as the players know how much the bet to them is. If the player fails to act, then the dealer calls them out and the hand is dead. No second chances. To be good at poker, you have to learn to rely on your instincts. In speed poker, you have no choice but to rely on them.

As a testament to the games growing popularity, theres even a World Speed Poker Championship thats gained a huge following among poker fans in Great Britain and Australia.

If thats a little far for you to travel just for a poker fix, worry not. Most of the largest online poker rooms are starting to offer their own variations on this new phenomenon. Special high-speed games are indicated in a websites listing of games.

This is poker in its rawest form, and its not for the faint of heart. But if you think you have the nerve, pull up a chair. The dealer wont give you enough time to regret it.