Over the past couple of years, thousands of people have been trying to cash a quick buck off its popularity, and hundreds of web sites have suddenly popped up, but despite all of this the WSOP has been around when poker was considered serious card playing. It wasn’t a fad that was made to be televised into some sort of fashion.  It was quality poker.

Back in the day, men smoked cigars and sipped whisky while eyeing up their opponents.  It was a game made for men like Nicolas Dandolos, commonly referred to as Nick the Greek, and Benny Binion. These two were champion gamblers and poker players back during the 1940s. It was no wonder then when Nick the Greek approached Binion to set up a world class match. Nick challenged the supposed champion of all poker players, Johnny Moss.

There was one exception though, Binion made sure to attract as much attention to the event as possible by holding it in public. It was to be on public display and seen as a marathon.  After five long months of discussion and compromises, all parties agreed to continue with the match. Thus, the World Series of Poker was born in 1949. It was a grueling event where the players only took breaks to catch up on sleep. Moss came out on top and reportedly took home around $2 million in cash, nearly an entire casino’s worth in 1949.

Nearly 21 years later, Binion decided to try his hand with the WSOP again. It was 1970, and this time he officially deemed it the WSOP. And once again, Johnny Moss did what he does best and walked away with the pot.

He continued the World Series of Poker yearly from then on. By 1982, there were 104 top poker players signed up for the WSOP. Now in 2006, at the height of the poker craze, everyone believes he or she is the next gift to poker.  Last year, there were 5,619 people entered into the main event.

Thousands of poker players are expecting the 2009 World Series of Poker. The organisers of this great event are expecting around 5,000 participants to play poker.
The commissioner of  World Series Of Poker,  Jeffrey Pollack, said that high numbers are anticipated despite the economic difficulties. He explained that their obligation has been always the same, creating annually a festival to improve aspects of the tournament. Anyone who plays poker must be ensured that he receive the best possible experience. This was what Pollack claimed.

The tournament will begin on May 26th, while other two poker tournaments will start on May 28th and 30th.
The World Series Of Poker first took place in 1970 attracting around 50 participants. Today, the WSOP’s participants number has grown up.

In a poker game if you don’t know your game of choice in and out, front to back, you are at a statistical disadvantage. Many poker players make this mistake and it can end your poker career prematurely.

Online poker is vastly different from casino/real-life.  You need to learn the difference between the two or it will cost you.

If youwant to be a good poker player and make money, you have to practice. This means playing as much poker as you can fit.

Read as many guides, books, tips, strategies. Poker is also a mental game. The more you know, the better off you are.

Knowing your opponents and how they play is the key to winning online poker. If you know what kind of player your opponent is, you can know when to bluff, call, raise, fold, trap, etc.

If you keep losing hands, take a break. If you just can’t seem to win, don’t keep throwing your money away.

Don’t be fooled by the animations and graphics of the poker rooms. This is the reason that all casinos will exchange your real, hard cash for colorful chips.

History of Poker

Even though Poker is the most popular cards game in the world, its origins are not completely known. The name from poker is also unknown and may come from various languages. Some historians think that it comes from an eighteenth-century French game called poque. Others mention the German game pochspiel.

Poker was played in New Orleans  in 1829 with a deck of 20 cards and four players betting on which player’s hand was the most valuable.

The game had spread from New Orleans to the rest of the United States by gamblers playing on Mississippi riverboats.

In the early 20th century, Poker became the most popular card game in the world. The game was no longer a game of cheaters and professional gamblers, it became known as a celebrated skill game, a sport, which is played worldwide.

With the World Series of Poker, followed by other poker tournaments such as the World Poker Tour (WPT), European Poker Tour (EPT) and others, heralding the coming of poker to the attention of the world in 1970, the game’s popularity has been soaring.

Poker has become immensely popular in the real world with the help of the virtual world. With the growth of the Internet and numerous online poker rooms, poker players found the perfect place to play, without even leaving their homes.

Today, many major pro poker players have accepted and adopted the online poker medium.