According to the famous poker player Amarillo Slim, the poker game Texas Holdem originated in Texas in the late 1950s. At the time it was referred to simply as Hold’em. Slim was impressed by the game and saw it as the ‘thinking man’s’ game unlike draw poker. Until 1969 it was only played in Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget Casino, which really did not cater to the more moneyed clientele. It was in 1969 that Texas Holdem was played by professional poker players At the Dunes Casino on the strip. The same year the first poker tournament featuring Texas Hold’em was played. In 1970 the tournament was then renamed The World Series of Poker. The main feature of the tournament was no limit Texas Holdem. Players entering this tournament increased from 8 in 1972 to over 200 by 1991. In the early 1980s, after a trip to the US, 2 bookmakers, Liam Flood and Terry Rogers brought the Texas Hold’em back to European card players.
In 1978 the first book on poker strategy was published and commanded a price of $100, an unheard of amount at the time. In 1983 the first book of details about the World Series of Poker and players in general began spread Texas Holdem to a wider audience. At this time, poker was still not a widely televised event; available on a late night show called Late Night Poker in the UK. Poker playing as a way of life was introduced to the public at large in The Rounders, starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton in 1998.
When ESPN chose to cover the 2003 World Series of Poker and the victory of online player Chris Moneymaker, poker and Texas Holdem in particular exploded as a popular spectator sport. The World Poker Tour and poker tournaments are now televised as often as any other sport. Texas Hold’em is now one of the most popular forms of online gaming in the world. People like to indulge their appetite for such games in an anonymous format that can be relatively inexpensive to participate in. The opportunities for players to learn new games and enter into tournament play; possibly even large tournaments, is a huge draw for those who like games of chance. Online venues such as www.pokerstars.co.uk now offer instruction and free play; as well as interaction with others that share an interest in Texas Holdem and other forms of poker.
