In the years 2003 to 2005 online poker was the fastest growing segment of any sector of the online gambling industry. It is this growth and its continued growth which has lead to the words "explosive growth", "phenomenon", "boom" and "exponential" being regularly used with regards to online poker. We are talking about growth rates of 600% in some instances, so it is understandable why such words are used. 

Initially the majority of online poker "growth" was taking place in the United States, however this has expanded to the UK, Europe and of course the rest of the known world.  

Its starting point can be traced back to 1998, although poker itself has been played for many hundreds of years. Planet Poker set off the trend by launching in 1998, then came Paradise Poker in 1999. Paradise Poker is still a popular online poker room, although the fact that it was an industry leader at the turn of the century, does not reflect on this site in present day terms, in either technology or popularity.  

The beauty of making online poker available was that it exposed the game to a world-wide audience, and this is what took it to the growth levels it has achieved. Software improved and other companies started to see the benefits of offering these gambling services to such a wide audience. 

Party Poker, Poker Stars and UB followed suit in 2001, and these sites are still major players in the industry. As soon as playing poker was made mainstream by televising the World Poker Tour in 2003 - online poker playing took off like a bat out of hell and it is for this reason that the most massive surge in popularity was seen at this time.  

This tournament aired on the Travel Channel and the rest as they say is history. After the WTP, the World Series of Poker also received televised coverage in the same year and at this event a record 800 players took part in the No Limit Texas Hold 'em main event.  

This record was broken again in 2004 when 2 600 players competed and estimates say that as many as half the entrants qualified for this event by playing in online poker satellites.  

In 2005, 6 000 players competed and as well as televised coverage, the popularity of poker was promoted by the successes of Greg Raymer (Champion WSOP 2004) and Chris Moneymaker (Champion WSOP 2003). Both of these players competed and won, after qualifying online. Chris Money maker was the first and will no doubt go down in history, he started with a $39 bankroll and ended his tournament run with $2.5 million in his back pocket! 

Hollywood was also determined to get into the picture as more Hollywood stars became enamored by playing poker. Celebrity vs. Poker Stars tournaments took place, and these also sky-rocketed the popularity of playing online poker.  

Just a few small contributing factors; many of them accidental, has led to the expansive popularity of this game. I am a writer, not a gambler, but I can tell you one thing, just writing this article, makes me want to learn how to play poker online - how about you?