The game of online poker and, indeed, its popularity can be put down to the winning streak of one unknown poker sharp, it has been claimed.
Charles Cohen of Probability noted in an article for EGR magazine that it was Chris Moneymaker’s victory at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) back in 2003 that put online poker on the map.
"You can date the start of the online poker boom to precisely that day," he noted, adding that had Mr Moneymaker not secured first place, poker today would still be the fare of college dormitories.
At the WSOP main event, Mr Moneymaker lined his pockets with $2.5 million (£1.5 million), a seat at which he had been afforded by entering an online tournament at PokerStars.
However, he has been unable to secure another bracelet since taking home the $10,000 buy-in no limit hold’em prize.
And Mr Cohen went on to observe that the uptake of mass broadband also contributed to the growing interest in online poker.
Leave Comment