Last years Texas Hold Em Poker became one of the preferable poker games all over the world. Not only adults play this game but the student in colleges and universities also practice it. What is the reason of this increasing popularity? Well, several TV channels shown two of the biggest poker events happened every year and which bring a lot of emotions to the poker fans. One of the events is World Series of Poker Tournament and World Poker Tour.

World Series of Poker made its official debut in 1970 but the idea of the Horseshoe's annual tournament was actually conceived more than two decades earlier. In the summer of 1949, inveterate gambler Nicholas "Nick the Greek" Dandolos turned to Benny Binion with an unusual request - to challenge the best players in a high-stakes poker marathon. Binion agreed to set up a match between Dandolos and Johnny Moss, with the condition that the game would be played in public view. During the course of the marathon, which lasted five months with breaks only for sleep, the two men played every form of poker. Moss ultimately won the biggest game in town and an estimated $2 million. Benny Binion noted that the public had gathered outside the casino each day to watch the game with the zeal of dedicated sports fans, and he was amazed at the attention the event had attracted. But it wasn't until 1970 that Binion decided to re-create this battle of poker giants - dubbed the

World Series Of Poker - to determine who would be worthy of the title World Champion. Some of the best players in the country were assembled, and Johnny Moss came out on top. The decision was democratic in that the champion was decided by popular vote. The following year, the winner was determined by a freeze out competition, with players being systematically eliminated until one player had all the chips. Moss again was declared the World Champion. In 1972, when Thomas Amarillo Slim Preston won the title and went on the talk-show circuit, the WSOP began to gain a wider following. It was only a year later that Binion participated in the Oral History Project at the University of Nevada-Reno and discussed the World Series with interviewer Mary Ellen Glass.

In the early 1980s, with the introduction of preliminary satellite competitions with lower buy-ins, Binion's forecast came to realization and the popularity of the World Series of Poker increased. In 1982, the tournament drew 52 entrants.

Five years later, there were 2,141 participants, and the 2002 event attracted 7,595 entries. The prize money has increased proportionately, from $7,769,000 a ten years ago to a stunning $19,599,230 in 2002. Whereas only 12 events, mostly Texas Hold Em and seven-card stud, were scheduled as recently as 1988, the 2004 tournament offers 33 competitions that feature a wide variety of games. Today, the testament Benny Binion left the poker community ranks as the oldest, largest, most prestigious, and most media-hyped gaming competition in the world.

Some details about the last winners - 2004 - Greg Fossilman Raymer - $5,000,000; 2003 - Chris Moneymaker - $2,500,000; 2002 - Robert Varkonyi - $2,000,000; 2001 - Carlos Mortensen - $1,500,000. The last two winners entered at the tournament after winning online poker tournaments. The rules of the World Series of Poker for Hold Em Tournaments are following - each player is first dealt two cards down; a round of betting occurs as players decide for the first time if they are in or they're out; then five community cards follow with betting after flop, the turn and the river; in the end, the best five card combination wins the hand and takes the pot.