Hi,
I wish to do a simple online poker game in java. Shall I write the code throgh socket programming? Is there any need to create a server through socket?(becuase I wish to implement this on a remote host). If I create a server, How will I run it remotely?Should I use the remote server instead of server program created by me?
I have experience in PHP programming. Also I have created simple chat programs run on My school's LAN. Shall I use remote Tomcat server for this purpose?

Thanking in advance.
From,
Vinod A.