A BRIEF HISTORY OF POKER PART II: TELEVISION AND THE INTERNET REVOLUTION.

So far we have looked at poker's convoluted history, and its path from a number of related variations to a global phenomenon. But no accurate history of the game could ever fail to look at how crucial television and the Internet have been to the spreading of the game. When poker was first televised many could not see the appeal, seeing the filming of a game of cards as not making particularly riveting television. But as audiences steadily grew it became apparent that poker was fast catching the imaginations of a massive section of the population. The introduction of the 'hole-card' camera in the early 2000's, which clearly revealed players' face-down cards to the audience, was the simple stroke of genius that catapulted the game forward as essential viewing for all poker dabblers and professionals alike, both as entertainment and education. T.V poker and the online revolution would work hand in hand, each making its mark at exactly the right point. By the time the first poker websites would appear online, the public was well and truly hooked, and televised poker had played to crucial part of not only making poker cool, but also spreading it around the world as the most prestigious skill game of out times. Televised poker not only created a new poker industry, it also created the first ever poker stars, the importance of which should never be overlooked.

While all this was going on in one area, developments in home computing such as broadband Internet and gambling software were setting the stage for an explosion of interest that would send the game of poker farther and wider than it had ever been before. Poker was one of the first forms of online gambling to truly kick off, forcing everybody in the gambling industry to sit up, take note and make plans. One one level it proved once and for all that an unprecedented amount of money could be generated by providing players with safe, easy to use and attractive online gambling environments. On another level it made it clear that there were a assortment of other games combining luck and skill that could be explored in the same way.

The combination of its convenience as well as the potential for winning large amounts of money and luxury prizes proved to be an irresistible attraction for millions upon millions of poker players worldwide. By the mid 2000's the earnings from online poker were said to be in the billions of dollars every year. Online gambling had not only arrived, it was taking over, eventually dwarfing nearly all other industries that rely on some sort of Internet commerce. Today unthinkable amounts of money are moved around the planet on a daily basis as more and more people step up to the table for a piece of the action. If like all other upstarts, the bubble is waiting to burst, it has yet to happen and is looking unlikely to happen in the near future.