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.

Poker has been shown on television since the late 70’s. First by CBS, and later taken over by ESPN, a one hour show of the WSOP main event was shown every year. The audience was small and things were going nowhere.

This would change dramatically, eventually. The second key factor in changing poker is the hole card camera, or “pocket cam”. Patented way back in 1994, and was used briefly in Europe in 1997. Once used to it’s fullest, this tool revolutionized watching poker on the television.

From these two things, online poker and the pocket cam, things will start to take off. In 2002, in their WSOP coverage, ESPN uses the pocket cam for the first time. Later that year the WPT forms, and will also broadcast taped coverage with the pocket cam.

With audiences growing, due to the pocket cam allowing viewer to feel the action so much better, ESPN decides it will expand its coverage in 2003. This seems prophetic looking back.

They decide they will cover the tournament from beginning to end and increase the air time. Pocket cam is used at the feature table and obviously the final table. The story that unfolds changes poker forever.

The first fully covered WSOP Main Event sees an internet amateur beat 839 players to win the title and $2.5 million. He outlasts many top name pros in the late stages. Chris Moneymaker qualified online for $40 to get his $10,000 seat.

When Chris Moneymaker goes from an unknown, small time, internet poker player, to WSOP Main Event Champion, the poker boom accelerates massively. He gives hope to every player that anyone can win the biggie. The rest is history, and the world has gone poker crazy.

The pocket cam got people watching on television. The internet made poker available to everyone. Chris Moneymaker gives us all hope that maybe we can be the world champ.

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