ComeOutPoker.com Opens Up for GLBT Community

ComeOutPoker.com opened for business last week, giving the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) community its own online poker room.

Going beyond what most traditional Internet poker rooms offer, ComeOutPoker.com gives players the ability to post photos and profiles to connect with other players. Players with pink triangles next to their screen names enjoy chatting with others, while those without are "shy," according to the ComeOutPoker.com Web site.

ComeOutPoker.com has also created a variation of Texas Hold'em with an interesting twist. "ComeOut Hold'em" is played in precisely the same manner at Texas Hold'em, except that straights are eliminated from the hand hierarchy.

Marketing itself as the only online poker site specifically for the GLBT community, ComeOutPoker estimates there are close to 3.6 million gay poker players in the U.S. alone.

"Poker has long been a way for people to come together in a community-like atmosphere to meet, play and have fun," said ComeOutPoker.com spokesman Marc Willis. "The GLBT community is long overdue to enjoy the same excitement and fellowship that has been readily available to the straight community for years."

While the site was created for the GLBT community, anyone can sign up for an account and play at the tables.

The site, which is run on Propriety Software and licensed in Antilles, shares most tables with the Bugsy Club network of players.