The Pivotal World Series of Poker Tournaments

Poker tournaments can get pretty exciting. The World Series of Poker has made its own share of history and while every tournament carries with it energy and epic plays, some tournaments simply stand out for many reasons. Some stand out because they marked a time in poker that changed its future for the better - or for worse. Poker historians would do well to take note of the following events.

First off is the 1968 World Series of Poker, of course notable for being the very first World Series of Poker ever. With Crandell Addington as the winner, this pivotal effect would have repercussions reaching to our time and beyond. Without this event, poker probably would not have had nearly as much exposure as it currently enjoys.

Chris Moneymaker's victory in the relatively recent 2003 World Series of Poker got everyone interested in the worldwide favorite again. Chris Moneymaker was just an online qualifier, which further cemented the idea that truly, anybody can make it on the poker tables with the right skills and the right amount of luck. If he had not won, poker would not be such a fan favorite today.

Phil Hellmuth is another person that created tournament history through the 1989 World Series of Poker. When he became the youngest poker player to ever win the tournament, he made his own kind of history. While poker has always had bad boy players around, Phil Hellmuth brought it to the forefront with his questionable etiquette and generally offensive behavior. Whether his effect on table behavior is positive or negative largely remains in the realm of opinion. Whatever a person thinks of it, the trash talk at the table at least made the already tense game all the more entertaining.

Last but not the least, the somewhat tragic 1997 World Series of Poker will be one remembered through history. It was the last and most epic victory of legendary poker player Stu Ungar as this is where he won his third main event bracelet. This act is not only unprecedented, but he won it after approximately sixteen years of substance abuse, coming into the game essentially gimped. The tragic part of the tale comes in when a player finds out that his winnings were quickly whittled down by a series of bad decisions, some of which involved drugs. Cocaine had already taken his nostrils and the cautionary tale ends with drugs taking his life.