Texas Hold'em Poker - The Hold 'em Explosion - Online Poker

The ability to play cheaply and anonymously online has been credited as a cause of the increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em. Online poker sites both allow people to try out games and also provide an avenue for entry into large tournaments (like the World Series of Poker) via smaller tournaments known as satellites. Both the 2003 and 2004 winners of the World Series qualified by playing in these tournaments.

Although online poker grew from its inception in 1998 until 2003, Moneymaker's win and the appearance of televisions advertisements in 2003 contributed to a tripling of industry revenues in 2004.

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