There happen to be an abundance of well documented success stories in poker’s history, perhaps none More suggestions significant than that of Chris Moneymaker, a normal Joe who turned a $39 investment in a PokerStars satellite tournament in to a $2.5 million win at the World Series of Poker in 2003. It was his first major live tournament, and as such he was a virtual unknown in the poker world ahead of the tournament.

His win is usually cited as one of the driving forces behind the mass universal appeal of poker and online poker within the years since, as it gave players from around the globe hope to dream that they too could one day accomplish a similar feat. While such a victory will be improbable, it is in no way impossible, as we have seen, so what must one do to follow within the path of Mr. Moneymaker himself?

In other words, you will need to continue to practice and boost your game. Certainly, you’ll need to actively seek out the weaknesses in your game and strive to improve them. Do not be passive about your game and operate under the assumption that the better you play, the better you will get by default. This might be true to some small extent, but if you truly want to get better, you’ll need to actively work and improve to make it happen.

As Chris proved, you do not need a great deal of live poker experience to perform well in live events, your knowledge of the game is far more important. Of course the way you play online will likely affect the amount you improve. Naturally, playing in play money games is of virtually no benefit, as it will not accurately represent how real poker is played. The exact same can even be said of low limit real money games. The higher up the cash ladder you may go, the higher experience you certainly will earn from playing online poker, however the risks may also be greater of-course.

The way you decide to play and learn is ultimately up to you. You might wish to fill your head with as much knowledge while you can and read the playing advice of the many pros that have written books (and virtually all of them have by this point). Or you might choose instead to maintain your head relatively clear and focus on playing a simple, effective game.

Whatever the case might be, know that with some dedication, hard work, and a little bit luck, you too could be the next great success story within the poker world.