]> http://www.pokerlaunch.com/taxonomy/term/381/0 en http://www.pokerlaunch.com/node/7 <p>Texas hold 'em (or simply hold 'em or holdem) is the most popular of the <a class="glossary-term" href="glossary/2#term191"><acronym title="community card: A card dealt face-up to the center of the table (not to any one player's hand), which can be used in some way by multiple players according to specific game rules. ">community card</acronym></a> <a href="http://www.pokerlaunch.com/Play" target="_blank">poker</a> games. It is the most popular <a href="http://www.pokerlaunch.com/Play" target="_blank">poker</a> variant played in casinos in the western United States, and its no-limit form is used in the final event of the World Series of <a href="http://www.pokerlaunch.com/Play" target="_blank">Poker</a> (AKA WSOP), widely recognized as the world championship of the game.</p> <p>In 2003, Texas Holdem exploded in popularity as a spectator sport in the United States, due to ESPN's coverage of the WSOP, featuring the unexpected victory of Internet player <a class="glossary-term" href="glossary/9#term394"><acronym title="Moneymaker, Chris: Christopher Bryan Moneymaker (born 1976 in Tennessee) is a professional poker player. Moneymaker attended the University of Tennessee and earned a masters degree in accounting. He first began playing poker in 2000 after seeing the movie Rounders. Moneymaker won his seat into the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker by spending $39 to enter a satellite tournament at the PokerStars online poker card room. He went on to win the first prize of $2.5 million. It was his first live poker tournament. He has since played on the World Poker Tour, finishing second at the Shooting Stars event, earning $200,000. After winning the WSOP, he quit his job to serve as a celebrity spokesman for Series' owner Harrah's as well as PokerStars. He also began traveling to play in more large tournaments. His main goal is to provide for his family, so although he quit his job, he does envision going back to mainstream work eventually.">Chris Moneymaker</acronym></a>. Two additional Texas Holdem series debuted in 2003, "World <a href="http://www.pokerlaunch.com/Play" target="_blank">Poker</a> Tour" and "Celebrity <a href="http://www.pokerlaunch.com/Play" target="_blank">Poker</a> <a class="glossary-term" href="glossary/2#term366"><acronym title="showdown: When the cards are revealed at the end of the game. Also used outside poker to mean facing up to an opponent.">Showdown</acronym></a>". Both of these shows are still currently in production, and garner a large and loyal viewership. Holdem is commonly played in the rest of the world as well, but seven-card <a class="glossary-term" href="glossary/2#term371"><acronym title="stud: A card placed upwards in Stud poker; also, that form of poker itself.">stud</acronym></a> and other local games may be more popular in some places.</p> <p>Although it can theoretically be played by up to 22 players, holdem is generally played by between 2 and 10 players. It is one of</p> Sun, 12 Dec 2004 03:36:03 -0500