Fantasy online poker has come to your favorite PC or smartphone. But for those of you who are unfamiliar with fantasy sports, let us backtrack just a little bit. Fantasy Football began in 1962 thanks to a limited partner of the American Football League’s Oakland Raiders by the name of Wilfred “Bill” Winkenbach. He teamed up with 7 other fantasy football managers who were administrative affiliates of the AFL or pro football journalists. They held a fantasy draft in 1963, where they each took turns “buying” players from around the league. Their performance during the year gave their fantasy owners points, with a winner declared at the end of the season.

This is a way for armchair quarterbacks and sports lovers to get a feel of what it would be like to own a professional sports team. Fantasy sports include football, baseball and basketball as the big three representatives, but recently fantasy poker has reared its inevitable head. Launching as Fantasy Poker Manager on Facebook as a free social game, the contest is an offering from The Global Poker Index (GPI), which is owned by GPI Zokay Entertainment Company. This unique new fantasy online poker application allows poker lovers like you and I to organize into leagues of up to 10 players, with a virtual spending allowance of $1 million each.

According to the rankings provided by GPI, all the best poker players in the world, the top 300 be exact, are assigned dollar values. Values are designated by recent results in poker tournaments as well as name recognition and player popularity. You can also establish private leagues with your friends or simply compete head-to-head. Since poker tournaments around the world are held daily in some instances, and at least weekly, player values constantly change. And if you purchase a player who rises drastically in value, you are only debited the value that player had when you originally bought him or her.

An intimate knowledge of online poker as well as the professionals who play both online and off-line poker for a living is not really required. The play is fast and furious, and makes for a fantastical and light-hearted experience for the online poker lover, providing excellent fodder for the competitive trash talker. Fantasy Poker Manager CEO Alex Dreyfus stated that the game is definitely laid out in a social online poker community type of user interface. He said his company believes that it acts as a “bridge between social poker, online poker, and live tournament poker.” It is also a good way for the beginning or veteran poker player to enjoy some no risk poker fun, and how cool is it to be able to buy and sell Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey?

A mobile version has not yet been released, but the company said it is on the way. As a newcomer to Facebook, the app has already attracted more than 7,000 consistent monthly users. Upcoming nationally recognized tournaments are listed, and you have until the start of each subsequent tournament to field a team of players purchased with your $1 million. Think you know who the best and brightest online and off-line poker players in the world are? Head over to Facebook and let Fantasy Poker Manager enhance your online social gaming experience, while also priming you for some online poker play.