Texas Hold'em Poker - The Hold 'em Explosion

In the first decade of the 21st century, Texas hold 'em experienced a surge in popularity worldwide. Many observers attribute this growth to the synergy of four factors: the invention of online poker, the game's appearance in film and on television, the appearance of television commercials advertising online cardrooms, and the 2003 World Series of Poker championship victory by online qualifier Chris Moneymaker.

Television and Film
Prior to poker becoming widely televised, the movie Rounders (1998), starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, gave moviegoers a romantic view of the game as a way of life...

Literature
Twenty years after the publication of Alvarez's groundbreaking book, James McManus published a semi-autobiographical book, Positively Fifth Street, ...

Online Poker
The ability to play cheaply and anonymously online has been credited as a cause of the increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em....

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