2008: A Look Back

It's that time of the year again. After 26 issues and more than 3,300 pages devoted to poker strategy, news, and everything in between, in this issue, we bring you a look back at all of the poker highlights that 2008 dealt.

It was a year marked by a seesaw legislative battle between the poker industry and Capitol Hill, rapid poker globalization, and Card Player proudly celebrating its 20th year of publishing the world's most extensive and most popular poker magazine. Check out Page 60 for the first part of this review.

A few of the stories we touch on in this issue are yet to conclude. The Player of the Year (POY) race is in its last lap. The top 10 players, with a combined $30.7 million in tournament winnings this year among them, are all at the Bellagio Five-Diamond World Poker Classic as we go to press with this issue, attempting to win the race, the $10,000 seat in the World Series of Poker main event that will be awarded by Card Player, and the prestige and bragging rights that come with the Player of the Year award.

After the Five-Diamond main event has concluded, we'll bring you a full recap of the final POY standings and pick the brains of poker's top talent regarding strategies that you can employ in your game to crush the competition.

Then, it's back to the grind. We'll be back on the tournament trail and off to the Bahamas on Jan. 5 to bring you full coverage of what has become poker's coming-out party: the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. This year, this popular destination that has seen many young online players have break-out performances (you must be only 18 to play in the Bahamas) is a European Poker Tour stop. Tournament officials added a huge $25,000 buy-in event, and are producing it for TV. Be sure to follow the action at CardPlayer.com.

You've probably already decided on your New Year's resolution. Ours is to bring you more and more of the best poker content we can. We're always interested in knowing what you're looking for, so please send your suggestions to [email protected].

Good luck at the tables in 2009!