People have been playing poker since the 15th century. Prior to 2003, only a handful of players identified themselves as poker pros. In the 1960s, Texas Hold 'Em, today's most popular form of poker, found its way to Las Vegas. Before long, it stole the show, becoming popular among poker enthusiasts and gamblers alike. Professionals were notorious for keeping the tricks of the trade secret. It wasn%u2019t until Doyle Brunson's landmark book, Super System, was released that new players had any insight on the game of poker. Following Brunson's big hit, there was a market for poker strategy literature. The main means for enthusiasts to learn poker knowledge was through poker books.
 
With the creation of the Internet came a new means for poker players to gamble with each other. Money Poker Sites began in 1998 but were not popular until Chris Moneymaker, an accountant from Tennessee, took down the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. Moneymaker made it to the main event thanks to a $39 satellite tournament on the download PokerStars client. Those who watched the 2003 World Series of Poker were inspired and thought they could win piles of money by playing Texas Hold 'Em. With advertisements on television promoting online poker rooms, players signed onto their computers such as Ladbrokes and began raking in the cash. The addition of poker flash clients brought online poker to an even wider audience.

For a couple years after the 2003 WSOP, the games were rather soft. There were only a small percentage of sharks while others seemed content to give their money away. Frustrated hobbyists discovered poker books and began to gain an advantage on free poker no downloads. Others sought out fellow poker players to discuss strategy with. Poker communities, like FlopTurnRiver.com, were formed as a place to post poker hands, strategies, and hold poker discussion. As the years passed, more beginners sought advice on poker forums.
 
Thanks to improvements in computer hardware and the availability of high speed internet, several creative individuals presented alternative ways to acquire poker theory. What were they? Dynamic and interactive poker videos. Poker videos are a brand new teaching tool to reach novices. The best poker videos are produced by a player who is not only a great player, but a great teacher within the poker community. There are different types of poker video content. Poker lectures can be given via video as a PowerPoint presentation while the creator of the video narrates the slides. Players can record poker videos of them playing an actual session. In session sweats, the viewer can see hands an expert player has already played. While the recording light is on and the action is fierce, the expert states the reasons behind his decisions. Other sweat sessions are of a skilled player going over a less experienced player's video. This analysis forces players to see mistakes that they made. Lastly, in hand history review videos, a successful player may review their hands or the hands of others and convey their thought process and ideas.
 
The general consensus among poker players is that watching poker videos is the number one way to get better. Most of the best euro poker sites have them. Watching videos is more stimulating than reading a book since it provides actual hands and situations rather than simple text that cannot capture the moment as easily.  Also, unlike books, poker videos are updated quite frequently. Players can learn from the best players on the internet simply by checking out recent videos. A book is not dynamic, it can't stay up to date. Lastly, poker videos educate players on many levels that poker books cannot compete with. Relying solely on books is a good way to risk your poker deposit. With the changing poker environment, a multitude of poker videos are available to the up and coming players. Thanks to hundreds of authors making videos, viewers will take in different perspectives on why a particular move was made. After watching these videos, a player will develop a true understanding of poker fundamentals and begin to outsmart their foes.
 
Choosing how to learn poker can be a difficult decision. Knowing where to begin is the hard part, but we know the best place to start one's poker career is a poker community like Flop Turn River. There are many poker professionals that are ready and willing to help with winning at top texas holdem sites. For instance, nutsinho is a great player who posts on FlopTurnRiver's 6-max forum and is one of the biggest winners at PokerStars today. In addition to great posters, there are tons of free poker videos waiting to be watched at FlopTurnRiver. They cover subjects from cash games to tournaments and from full tables to shorthanded play. Viewing them is guaranteed to improve one's poker game much faster than reading a book. Additionally, if there are any questions about hands played on the poker video, a friendly poker forum that will help you grow as a player is very close by.

You can%u2019t log on to the PokerStars download without seeing Daniel Negreanu%u2019s smiling face plastered all over the client. He is an idol for many aspiring poker players, who long for a chance to sit at the table with him. Now, thanks to the PokerStars Big Game, you have the chance to compete with Daniel without risking any of your own money. A whole squadron of the game%u2019s best players are descending on a TV studio to play a lengthy $200/$400 cash game, with one seat saved for a lucky online qualifier. The show broadcasts every night on FOX, with all the episodes available for viewing online on the PokerStars Big Game website as poker video content.

It costs a minimum of $100,000 to take a seat at this prestigious table. Even the lucrative PokerStars bonus won%u2019t pay out that kind of money. Luckily, PokerStars are offering a group of skilled online players a stake into this event. The Loose Cannons who win their way to the table are permitted to keep all of the profit they make from their starting stack. So if you really think you%u2019ve got what it takes to get in the ring with the toughest players in the world and pick off poker tells, PokerStars will put their money where your mouth is.

To get involved, potential players need to run through a series of online qualifiers. Put your name down for a free daily online qualifier and you%u2019re on your way. If you finish inside the top 300 of this MTT Poker tournament, you%u2019ll be eligible for the Round 2 event on the following Saturday. End your run in the top 1000 of that event and you%u2019re through to the Final Round on Sunday. Finishing in the top 200 of that contest won%u2019t immediately get you on TV, but it does make you eligible to send in an audition tape. You need to be on top form to impress the head honchos at one of the top texas holdem sites in the world. The most entertaining of these will be put into the Loose Cannon pool and selected to fill a seat at the table. The very top qualifiers might be able to make it through the whole week, but there are always more Loose Cannons snapping at their heels. The very first of these players was Ernest Wiggins, who left at the end of the week with a neat $50,000 profit. You can keep up to date with the results of all the Loose Cannons on various poker wordpress blogs and news sites across the internet.

The pros who will grace the PokerStars Big Game table are the very cream of the crop when it comes to playing texas hold em hands. The figurehead for this series is Daniel Negreanu, who sits alongside The Godfather of Poker, Doyle Brunson. Throughout the series, they will be joined by Joe Cada, Vanessa Rousso, Jason Mercier, Tony G, David Williams, Barry Greenstein, Justin Bonomo, and many more. If you want to analyse the pro%u2019s performances in a little more detail, there%u2019s an unprecedented amount of information on the Big Game website. They are tracking a number of stats, including percentage of hands won, poker range, and profit/loss across their whole session.