In 2003, amateur poker player Chris Moneymaker revolutionized the poker industry when he won the main event at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He walked away with $2.5 million in prize money. ESPN televised his path to this win and a huge number of audience members tuned in to see the final hand. This led to what is known as the Post-Moneymaker Poker Boom.

The online casino industry saw numbers double every year between 2003 and 2006. Unfortunately, the industry practically crashed in 2011 when the Justice Department accused the three largest online poker companies for U.S. customers of breaking the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Poker coverage on national television and by broadcasters hasn't been the same since.

Live streaming has changed all of that and given the industry a much-needed lifeline. In 2014, Jason Somerville began filming his live poker sessions, and within a year, he had nine million views. Since then, he's been joined by professional poker players and some Poker Hall Of Fame players like Lex Veldhuis, Daniel Negreanu, Jeff Gross, and many more on live streaming platforms like Twitch.

This has gone a long way in helping to reclaim the post-Moneymaker numbers and increase interest in both in-person and online poker tournaments.

How Live Stream Can Help Your Poker Game

If you aren't watching a poker livestream yet, then it's time to get to it. Here's how it could help you improve your game.

Watch the Decisions As They're Made

It's all well and good reading or watching a pre-recorded video about when and how you should make certain decisions in a poker game, but this rarely translates to the high-pressure scenario of the game itself.

Watching a good poker player make split-second, difficult decisions live is a great way to get exposure to the pressures of high-stakes poker games. You get to see the action as it happens. 

This isn't limited to the good decisions that players make, either. Even the best poker players are liable to make mistakes, and these could be worth a lot of money. It helps to see your favorite streamer make a mistake every now and then. It means that you get to be a little gentler on yourself when you do the same. 

Understand that highs and lows in poker games are inevitable, but you should be able to shake them off and continue, and seeing this makes it easier to do the same.

Live Interaction

Streaming offers an opportunity not just to watch players make decisions in the game, but it's also often a chance to interact with them. Most of the best poker players are more than happy to answer questions and explain decisions as they play. While they aren't there to personally coach you, players know how important audience members are on this particular platform and will act accordingly.

Exposes You to a Variety of Poker Content