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The Poker Explosion

by: RoboHarrier
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Word Count: 395

Most of us had an image of poker that wasn't too pretty. Smoke filled rooms, with shady people, with cheating almost expected. So, let's see how poker became big business.

This has come about from three main events. These events have change the course of poker in the world, and made it into a huge industry. As this story unfolds you will see how amazing all this has been.

The first step in the evolution of poker is when in 1998 Planet poker became the first online poker room. Online casinos had been around for about four years by then. So, with people starting to play poker from home our story begins.

Televised poker has been around since the late seventies. This was a one hour show, once a year, showing the WSOP Main Event. Not many people were watching.

The next step actually was created first. This is the "pocket cam", the camera that shows you the cards the players have. This was patented by Henry Orenstein in 1994, and first used in Europe in 1997. This invention would prove to be instrumental in the poker boom.

2002 becomes sort of a stepping stone to the poker explosion. Having picked up the WSOP coverage again, ESPN uses the pocket cam for the first time. Also, the WPT (World Poker Tour) is formed and in 2003 will air the first season of the tour, with the pocket cam.

The use of the pocket cam gets more people watching. The fact that the viewer can see what the players have increases the drama, and exposes the strategies. ESPN decides to show a lot more of the event the following year.

ESPN decides that they will get coverage from every day. They will have pocket cam on the feature table. They also start profiling the players.

The tournament concludes with unknown Chris Moneymaker beating all the pros to capture the $2.5 million dollar first prize. He is basically just a small time internet player. He won $10,000 entry for $40, by working his way through two levels of qualifying.

When an unknown internet player turns $40 in $2.5 million, interest in poker explodes. Everyone wants to get involved in poker. The poker industry takes off.

The internet makes poker accessible. The pocket cam makes it fun and intriguing to watch on television. And, Chris Moneymaker makes us believe we all have a can be world champ.

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About the Author

The top flight poker pro now has celebrity status. My personal favorite is phil ivey. His game is versatile and his composure unmatched. I think he might be the best player in the world. poker edge software  

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