Online Poker - A Brief History

Online poker may have been around since the late 1990’s, but it wasn’t until the 2003 World Series of Poker where the game made a monumental leap forward into the global spotlight. Chris Moneymaker (pictured to the Left), an until-then unknown accountant from Tennessee, qualified for the World Series of Poker through an online poker site called PokerStars.com. He then went on to win the whole tournament for a grand prize of $2.5 million. His total investment: $40.

When the public saw that even a regular “Joe Schmo” could simply jump online, play a $40 tournament and go on to win millions of dollars, online poker exploded. Suddenly there were poker TV shows, poker commercials and countless poker books. Looking back, it is clear that Chris Moneymaker was the catalyst for the poker craze of the 2000’s.

This craze, now known as the “Moneymaker Effect,” hit the internet just as hard. Google searches for poker terms like “texas holdem” took a huge leap forward and thousands of people started playing online. The internet was (and STILL is) the perfect place for people to satisfy their poker cravings. As a popular PartyPoker ad put it: “Don’t have any friends to play with? Play online!”

The poker craze couldn’t have come at a better time than during the internet age. Online poker gives millions of people a chance to cut their teeth at poker even if they don’t live anywhere near a casino. Even better, complete newbies can jump right in and learn the game at their own pace. And since casinos can be intimidating for tons of new players, being able to catch on and pick up the nuances of poker through the interwebs was something extremely appealing to the “noob” and/or novice player.

With all these new players hitting the tables, the seasoned live pros would soon follow suit. Instead of sitting in dusty poker rooms hoping to bust weekend tourists, the professionals could now simply login online and play against thousands of new players (and fish alike)! To make Internet Poker even more appealing, hands are dealt three to four times faster, the rake is cheaper and players could run sessions on multiple tables on just one computer screen.

It hasn’t all been easy-street for online poker, however. In 2006, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in an attempt to curb online gambling and poker. The act was essentially toothless and it didn’t even target individual poker players (just the banks and credit card companies that allowed them to deposit). Nevertheless, it was effective in scaring away a lot of would-be online poker players.

Despite that setback, poker is now a multi-billion dollar a year industry with players logging in from all around the world. Thanks to its huge array of tournaments and top-notch customer service and software, PokerStars.com continues to lead the industry just as much today as it did when the “Moneymaker Effect” was taking place. Other sites like Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, Cake Poker and hundreds of smaller ones now compete for a piece of the online poker pie.

If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of playing poker online for real money, I suggest you give it a shot. It’s an American past time that is showing absolutely no signs of weakening. To get you started, check out the Professor’s recommended online poker sites to find a room catered to fit your needs.

WSOP Champion Chris MoneyMaker Found The Poker Star in Him - Now It’s YOUR Turn.