Online Poker Revolutionizes the World Series

by Dan Goldman | Published: Jun 20, 2003

The World Series of Poker started in an unassuming way 33 years ago; 38 poker players wanted to prove who was the best in the world, so they played a five-game rotation, and then voted on who was the best. Johnny Moss took the title that year, a predictable outcome inasmuch as he was clearly one of the world's best players (not to mention that he won all five events). But not even Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, who was in attendance that day, would have bet that the World Series would one day host more than 800 players from all over the world, and award a first prize of $2.5 million to a player whose entire previous tournament experience was on his computer.

Many in the poker world were stunned at the dramatic increase in WSOP championship event attendance from 2001 to 2002 (more than 20 percent), but the increase from 2002 to 2003 was an even more shocking 33 percent (839 played this year vs. 631 in 2002). Where did all of these new players come from?

There are lots of contributing factors, of course, including WSOP satellites in far-flung poker rooms everywhere. But the most impressive numbers came from Internet poker sites, which contributed nearly $500,000 in prize money and innumerable players who learned how to play poker online before entering a cardroom.

By far the largest contributor in this area was PokerStars (www.pokerstars.com), the largest online poker tournament site. PokerStars sent 37 players to the 2003 WSOP, 4.4 percent of the total field. Twelve of these players earned their seats through freeroll tournaments (including one in cooperation with Card Player). The other 25 earned their $10,000 WSOP entries through online satellite tournaments for as little as $40 – in fact, that's how this year's champion, Chris Moneymaker, won his World Series entry, a 62,500-to-1 parlay.

"I have played a fair amount of live poker, but all of my tournament experience has been online, mostly in no-limit tournaments on PokerStars," Chris explains. "Although I don't get to see other players, I have gotten so much more experience playing online than most players get in live tournaments that I still felt I had a big edge."

Online play may be the most dramatic change in the World Series of Poker since the advent of satellite tournaments in the early 1980s. Prior to satellite play, the World Series was usually composed of a handful of the world's top players, the $10,000 buy-in being out of reach for most. Eric Drache, director of the World Series of Poker for many years, came up with the idea of conducting smaller tournaments to allow lower-staked poker players to compete with the world's top (and best-staked) players. The idea was an immediate hit.

By 1983, 108 players entered the main event, up from 5 in 1971, the first year the $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event was played. In 1983, Tom McEvoy and Rod Peate, both of whom entered the WSOP as satellite winners, played heads up for the championship, with McEvoy outlasting Peate in a seven-hour battle. 1983 marked the first year that a satellite winner captured the coveted bracelet and the title of World Champion.

Satellites extended the reach of the World Series of Poker to a vast new market of poker players who, while highly skilled, lacked the resources to enter the "Big Dance." Online satellites have extended this reach even further, giving players with limited resources, and limited access to poker rooms, the chance to play in the world's most prestigious poker event.

Lou Krieger, author of the recently released book Internet Poker: How to Play and Beat Online Poker Games and other poker bestsellers, explains it this way: "Chris Moneymaker earned his way into the world championship the modern way – by winning a $40 satellite at PokerStars.com. And Chris did what so many players worldwide seem to be up to these days. They're playing real poker, for real money, against opponents who may be next door or in another hemisphere altogether.

"Of course, Chris did something else, too. In what is poker's feel-good story of the year, he parlayed a $40 investment into $2.5 million – not bad at all for one week's work."

Online sites didn't just contribute players directly through satellites. Poker in casinos is quite different from other casino games – a player can walk up to a blackjack table and learn the mechanics of the game in a few minutes and feel comfortable. In contrast, poker rooms often look mysterious and intimidating to the casual gambler. An increasing number of poker players are playing their first hand of cash poker at online sites, making them comfortable with playing in a cardroom when they have the opportunity. These players represent a huge untapped market for the poker industry.

Poker is experiencing a worldwide boom of epic proportions. Larger and longer tournaments, exposure on the widely televised World Poker Tour, and other factors have certainly influenced this. But online poker has given the World Series of Poker (and other major tournaments) international scope. These events are now true world championships, since players from around the world have an equal opportunity to compete. The World Series champion is, in fact, the champion of poker around the world.