In 1969, perhaps the biggest and most elaborate of poker tournaments was started by Johnny Moss. Moss, a travelling gambler, organized this no limit hold’em event into a larger than life which spanned the whole of the United States. Thousands of people, possessing the vaguest of notions about poker, turned out in droves to witness the event. Their reasons for doing so varied. There were those who believed it was the purest form of gambling, an unadulterated game of luck. There were those who believed poker to possess more of an element of skill than luck.
Perhaps the most memorable of poker tournament was the Casino Hold’em held at the Golden Nugget Casino in Bangor, the state of Utah. The Casino Hold’em was for the very first time a tournament finals where the best poker tournament players from the state of Utah were invited. It was arranged that the best five poker players from the state of Utah as well as a professional casino dealer would play at a final table for the winner of the Casino Hold’em.
In 1978, the first World Series of Poker was held in Binions Horseshoe Casino in Glitter Gulch, Nevada. The event has grown since then to become the largest poker tournament in the world with over 100 players participating. As a matter of fact, this is the venue at which many of the professional poker tournament winners today are born.
The 1976 World Series of poker drew 150 players, and the winner was decided by the world champion of that time, Doyle Brunson. The event has been so successful ever since that occasionally new games are organized to attract even more players.
Although the World Series of Poker has played a significant role in setting poker’s popularity in the twenty first century, it’s probably best that the event’s champions are safe in their homes, away from the fans and media.
Bye-Bye, Bye Web
In a related story, the makers of Internet poker have taken their powerful software and made a somewhat eerie prediction about the future of the game. According to their prediction, sophisticated players will no doubt continue to dominate the market for poker online, leading to what they termed the “perfect scrimmage,” or online poker series; a situation where sophisticated players will ” Usage” poker and “ware” it to death.
Their prediction may come true, only it will take a long time. During the past two years, during which online poker’s popularity has exploded, there have been only two real upsets in the poker world: namely Full Tilt’s taking the crown of being the largest poker site and Poker spot’s taking the crown of being the largest poker site.
So, “ware” it is for now. Hi-tech poker tools are all the rage these days. Anyone with an Internet connection can try their hand at poker programming. The tools can make a game of poker easier to play, allowing tools to physically push and pull cards and the like. Tool lovers enjoy the ease and speed with which the game of poker can be played online. And, since poker is so easily played, it does not matter what the rules are, as long as the game moves correctly.
Poker Spot’s software is particularly good at teaching the rules of various card games. Children can learn the rules from the poker spot software. Further, the software allows students to practice problem-solving in the games. The Texas Hold’em game, which has become the most popular online poker game, requires a lot of patience and rapid decision-making.94% of all players use Hold’em as their first game.
Full Tilt Poker, the largest online poker site, has not been having a very good year. But, then again, neither has Poker spot. The two sites’ players have not yet had a chance to co-exist. Don’t expect the debate to last much forever.
Now that Full Tilt Poker is getting established, Poker spot is going to experience difficult times too. Unless theHardwayPokerbandit comes in and makes a promotion run for the old customers, Poker spot may experience a period in which it does not have many new players on their site.
Some of the issues that could possibly be causing the difficulty of growth include:
- Players may have moved on to other poker sites.
- The players may have different needs and are seeking other sites.
- The players are seeking other sites with custom graphics.
The third point could actually be the problem that is causing the second point to be amplified. New players are presented with a choice: play in a site that has the same graphics as ESPN, or in one of the new poker sites that are graphically different. New players may be intimidated by the prospect of playing in the sameClassic Poker skins that they are used to, if they are offered the option.
