5. JAMIE GOLD’S MAIN EVENT WIN 2006

Jamie Gold’s victory at the 2006 WSOP main event catapulted him to the top of the all-time money list thanks to the single biggest payday in tournament history ($12 million). The size of the 2006 main event was in itself staggering: a swathe of internet qualifiers meant 8,773 runners contested a prizepool of over $82.5 million. But one man dominated. Gold held the chip lead from day four and was rarely threatened on the final table as he powered to victory.

But his victory was not the end of the story, with the new winner facing a lawsuit from a friend who claimed Gold reneged on a promise to share his $12 million win. And his table manner, where Gold had a tendency to tell opponents his actual holding, created much hostility. He received no formal warning, but tournament officials retrospectively said his actions were not within the spirit of poker. However, all the controversy only added to the drama of what remains the biggest poker tournament ever and a high watermark for the modern game.

4. LATE NIGHT POKER 1999

The creation of Late Night Poker in 1999 threw together some of the UK’s biggest poker talents, such as Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott as well as overseas superstars like Phil Hellmuth. Screened on Channel 4, the show presented no-limit hold’em to a mainstream audience in the UK for the first time, and the game quickly gained huge popularity long before the online boom.

But what made Late Night Poker truly revolutionary was the introduction of under-the-table cameras revealing players’ hole cards to the watching audience. This was a truly groundbreaking innovation, to the extent that many players at the time were fearful of playing and giving away their secrets. More commonly known today as ‘hole cams’, the cameras played a huge part in the success of poker on TV – and without them, it is doubtful the game would ever have achieved the global popularity we know today.

Late Night Poker was also shown in America, with the cameras setting a precedent in the US that other shows, such as the World Poker Tour, set out to follow. Late Night Poker ran for a total of six series until 2004, and was recently brought back for a seventh series in early 2008.

3. THE FIRST WORLD SERIES OF POKER 1970

When Benny Binion decided to put on an exhibition of poker at his casino in downtown Vegas, he could not have known he was about to alter the landscape of the game forever. In May 1970, Binion persuaded an eccentric cast of players to gather around a few poker tables in an alcove to play a series of high-stakes cash games. Johnny Moss was voted the winner by his fellow players, to little public acclaim. But the seeds of a great idea were sown, and when it returned in 1971, the first ‘main event’ was introduced – a $10,000 no-limit hold’em freezeout. Moss beat seven players to take title.

In 1972, the numbers swelled to 12. It was won by Amarillo Slim, who made sure the whole world heard about it. Suddenly, the WSOP began to attract some attention. In 1973 the TV cameras turned up for the first time and things were never the same again. The Series has grown in scale every year, and while rivals come and go, it remains the focal point of the poker calendar.

2. ONLINE POKER IS BORN 1998

This was the moment the game of poker changed forever. The launch of Planet Poker may have been a low-key event, but it was the spark that led to the internet poker explosion. Back in January 1998, Planet Poker became the first real-money online poker site offering $3/$6 limit hold’em games to a predominately US audience. For the first time the poker-playing public got to experience the future of the game by playing speedily dealt, lower raked games in their underwear.

It was a brave new world, albeit one populated by just a handful of poker devotees. By 1999, Planet Poker had dragged Mike Caro on board as its official spokesman, expanded its range of games to $5/$10 and $10/$20 and, more importantly, began to attract some competition. Paradise Poker launched the same year and started to take the online game in the direction we know and love today. By the turn of the century, we were on our way to online poker nirvana. Nothing would ever be the same again.

1. CHRIS MONEYMAKER WINS WSOP MAIN EVENT 2003

Choosing our number one wasn’t easy, but in the end we just couldn’t see past poker’s ultimate fairytale: Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP win in 2003. For one magical week, the poker gods decided to take a shine to an anonymous 29-year-old accountant from Nashville. For the viewing public, the most amazing thing about Moneymaker’s win was that he didn’t have any real experience of major live tournaments. He was a rank amateur who had dabbled a little in online poker and was a heavy sports gambler in his earlier years.

The story is even more intriguing with reports that in the toilet break during his heads-up contest with the far more experienced Sammy Farha, Moneymaker was chasing a deal – something that Farha laughed off. All history will remember is that Moneymaker turned a $40 satellite into a $2.5 million windfall, and in one fell swoop achieved legendary status, becoming the ‘face’ of PokerStars.com and inspiring a new generation of poker players. The importance behind the Moneymaker story has always been about more than the life of one man.

The win showed that the poker table is a great leveller and the exponential growth of the World Series between 2003 and 2006 means he can easily lay claim to launching a million poker careers. The so-called ‘Moneymaker effect’ is sure to be felt for years to come.