Moments howto moments
Modern tournament play became popular in American casinos after
the World Series of Poker began, in 1970. Notable champions from
these early WSOP tournaments include Johnny Moss, Amarillo Slim,
Bobby Baldwin, and Doyle Brunson. It was also during that decade
that the first serious strategy books appeared, notably Super/System
by Doyle Brunson and The Book of Tells by Mike Caro , followed later
by The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky.
Poker’s popularity experienced an unprecedented spike at the
beginning of the 21st century, largely because of the introduction
of online poker and the invention of the hole-card camera, which
turned the game into a spectator sport. Viewers could now follow the
action and drama of the Poker game, and broadcasts of poker tournaments
such as the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour brought
in huge audiences for cable and satellite TV distributors. Because
of the increasing coverage of poker events, poker pros are becoming
more and more like celebrities, with poker fans all over the world
entering into expensive tournaments for the chance to play with
them. This increased camera exposure also brings a new dimension to
the poker professional's game—the realization that their actions may
be aired later on TV.
Major Moments howto tournament fields have grown dramatically because of the
growing popularity of online satellite-qualifier tournaments where
the prize is an entry into a major tournament. The 2003 and 2004
WSOP champions, Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, respectively, won
their seats to the main event by winning online satellites.