Wed, 03/09/2011 – 20:31 – PokerPages Staff

#5 – 2002 Launch of World Poker Tour
Televised poker is now so ubiquitous it’s hard to remember that it wasn’t always so.  Then in 2002, the WPT hit the screens and boosted the popularity of poker overnight.  We might never have seen today’s international tournament poker circuit were it not for this show.

#3 – 2004 WSOP changes hands to Harrah’s
Binion’s Horseshoe once owned the WSOP.  But that all changed in 2004, when the giant Harrah’s corporation bought the tournament.  They immediately sold the hotel and moved the WSOP to the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, where it’s been burgeoning ever since.

#4 – 2004 PokerStars EPT is born
The brain-child of TV director and poker aficionado John Duthie and PokerStars, the European Poker Tour was launched in 2004 as a kind of European sibling of the WSOP.  Since then, it’s become a sensational international success story, making Euro-millionaires of its winners most of whom come from around the world to take part.

#2 – 2006 UIGEA nukes poker
The world of poker took a serious torpedo hit in 2006, when former President George Bush signed the notorious Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act into law.  Instantly, major companies like PartyGaming and PartyPoker were forced to pull out of the US market.  The industry is still strong, but it’s definitely been dented by this Act.

#1 – 2003 The Moneymaker Effect
This will go into the record books as one of the most jaw-dropping – and inspirational – poker events of all time.  Chris Moneymaker came from nowhere to wipe out 837 other players and beat Sam Farha heads-up at the Main Event and went home $2.5 million richer.  In one move, he became the first non-pro and the first online qualifier ever to win the WSOP Main Event.

Wed, 03/09/2011 – 01:07 – PokerPages Staff

#5 – Phil Hellmuth: Play Poker Like the Pros
A nine-time WSOP bracelet winner just has to be a mine of information for the intrepid poker learner, and Phil Hellmuth doesn’t disappoint.  Filled with vivid personal stories, Phil has authored a veritable master-class on poker.

#4 – Dan Harrington: Harrington on Hold’em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments: Strategic Play
This is simply one of the best Hold’em instructional tools to appear in years.  Harrington describes his own tight conservative play candidly, and gives brilliant insights into the ultra-aggressive antics of more turbo-charged players.  This book is next best thing to having a top pro sitting beside you mentoring you.

#3 – Barry Greenstein: Ace on the River – An Advanced Poker Guide
Easily one of the finest poker books out there at present, the Robin Hood of Poker has written a sizzler filled with superb pictures and pure wisdom.  It’s aimed at the more advanced player but everyone who reads it will come away feeling considerably more enlightened for their efforts.

#2 – David Sklansky: The Theory of Poker
As books on Texas Hold’em go, this is probably one of the most important ever written.  You won’t get a lot of detail on individual hands here but you will let invaluable gems of wisdom on general strategy.  A Texas Hold’em masterpiece; look and learn.

#1 – Doyle Brunson: Doyle Brunson’s Super System
When it came out in the 1970s, this book convulsed a few Hold’em pros who accused Brunson of revealing too much about the game.  It’s now deservedly an all-time poker classic and its indispensable reading; most pros now regard it as one of the best books on the game ever written.  We think it’s a must-have item and happily award it our #1 slot.