Why Poker Has Triumphed The World

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.

It begins in 1998 when someone decided to open an online poker room. There were online casinos since 1994. But there were no poker rooms. Now we have people relaxing in front of their computers playing poker.

We have had poker on television all the way back into the 70’s. The coverage was very limited. Small audiences didn’t help inspire more coverage.

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.

With increased coverage the whole world sees Chris Moneymaker fight his way through the field of 839 to win the event. He outplayed many of the best players in the world in the last two tables. But, Chris is just an online player, having earned his $10,000 entry from a $40 satellite event.

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.

It started with internet poker, the ease and convenience of playing at home. Then the poker cam made watching poker on television exciting. When Chris Moneymaker, wins the biggest tournament in the world, the poker industry booms.