The Moneymaker Effect: The Inside Story of the Tournament That Forever Changed Poker

This is the story behind the most dramatic World Series of Poker ever and its lasting effects, told by the players, the TV execs, the tournament directors, techs, writers, and the 2003 WSOP champ himself, Chris Moneymaker. Moneymaker, an amateur poker player with a name too good to be true, defied the odds to win the 2003 WSOP main event, just as the twin inventions of online poker and the hole-card camera simultaneously arrived to revolutionize a game long-relegated to smoky bars and living rooms. More than a decade later, with the online-poker world in an ongoing state of flux, the Moneymaker effect continues to reverberate while the recollections and insights of the more than 30 eye-witness contributors remain as relevant and insightful as ever, whether you’re a player yourself or simply interested in a great real-life narrative.

Eric Raskin is no stranger to covering poker: He has been the editor-in-chief of ALL IN magazine and its website allinmag.com since 2005. Eric is also a contributor to countless magazines and websites, including Grantland.com, Playboy, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, and HBO.com. When he’s not writing or editing poker articles, the majority of his work focuses on boxing. He is a six-time Boxing Writers Association of America award winner.