I was not new to poker as I grew up in a card playing family. My fascination with poker started at a very early age. I played a lot of poker in college, and after graduation I would occasionally play in games on Friday or Saturday night with the guys. In 1980, I made my first trip to a casino, and I my passion for kitchen table poker was quickly replaced with blackjack and craps. I eventually studied and learned how to play all the casino games.

In May of 1998 I was hired as the Casino Gambling Guide for the Mining Company, which later became About.com. Since then, I’ve been writing a weekly column educating players around the world about the casinos and their games. In the latter part of 1999, I started receiving some questions about casino poker. Although I had played poker for most of my life, I had never played in a casino card room and in order to answer their questions accurately, I decided it was time to learn how to play casino poker.

At that time, seven card stud was the most popular game on the East Coast where I live. I was heading out to Las Vegas so I stopped by the Gamblers Book Shop (GBC) to pick up some books on stud to help me brush up on my game.

While I was at the GBC, I found out that there was a new game called Texas Hold’em that was becoming popular. I had never even heard of Texas Hold’em. There were only a few books about the game, so I bought them along with the only video tape showing how the game was played, and also a copy of Wilson’s Turbo Texas Software.

I had originally planned to write a few articles for my website explaining how to play poker in a casino card room. Instead I decided to document my education while I learned to play Texas Holdem. These articles would later become the basis for my best-selling book, Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em.

In January of 2000 I started my training program which consisted of reading the books, and practicing every day with the software. Three months later, I decided I was ready and went to a casino to play in my first game. When I got to Foxwoods, I found out that they held Texas Hold’em tournaments every Saturday morning with an entry fee of $35. I figured it was a good way to get my feet wet so I entered the tournament. Unfortuntely, I got knocked out of the tournament about two hour later, but I had gained some valuable knowledge about the procedures and etiquette of playing in a live game.

It turns out I became a regular at the Saturday morning tournaments, and in June of that year I won my first tournament. There were only 78 players entered in the tournament and I remember saying to my friend that I wished that Texas Holdem was more popular. It would take a couple more years, but my wish came true.

In the later part of 2000, I discovered an Internet site where I could play online with other players. It only allowed play money and did not offer real cash games, but it was the start of the online poker boom. Many online poker sites started springing up on the Internet. Several offered players the opportunity to win an entry into the World Series of Poker via satellite tournaments.

In 2003, a series of events colliding together that changed the face of poker forever. The first was the acceptance of online poker sites. Internet pokers sites were gaining in popularity, as players became more confident about depositing real money with them (and getting paid when they won). Poker players, who were not close to a casino or could not find a game in their area, could play online 24/7 from their home computers.

In March of that year, the Travel Channel started airing episodes of The World Poker Tour. For the first time ever, home viewers got to see the player’s hole cards as they played in a televised poker tournament. The show was a success, and thousands of people heard about the game of Texas Hold’em for the first time. Being broadcast in prime time on national television gave poker an air of respectability, and instead of being viewed as degenerate gamblers, some poker players achieved "Rock Star" fame.

The final event of 2003 that would impact the poker world was when novice poker player Chris Moneymaker won the World Series after winning his entry into the event by winning a $47 satellite tournament at an online poker site. Suddenly, everyone wanted to play Texas Hold’em. People who had never played a hand of poker before started flocking to the online poker sites and their casino poker rooms.

The growth of poker may have slowed a little in the last year but there are still thousands of new players flocking to the game every day. Online poker sites are making a comeback, and many brick and mortar casinos are increasing the size of their poker rooms. This presents a profitable situation for players, who take the time to study and learn the game. Everyone wants to play Texas Hold’em, but very few want to take the time to LEARN the game. The secret to playing winning poker is no secret at all. It takes patience, discipline, and the desire to play your best game all the time. Whether you are new to the game or a seasoned professional, you can always learn more. Start by reading a book, magazine, or article on the Internet on Texas Holdem. You’ll see the game is easy to learn and fun to play. Perhaps one day, I’ll be watching you play poker on television. You never know.

Note from the Editor: Bill is too modest. I highly recommend his Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em book, especially if you are knew to the game. We have it in our BJI online store at a 10% discount. Click here for more information.