There are already plenty of well documented success stories in poker’s history, perhaps none more notable than that of Chris Moneymaker, an average 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, therefore he was a virtual unknown in the poker world prior to the tournament.

His win is usually cited as one of the driving forces behind the mass universal appeal of poker and online poker in the years since, as it gave players from throughout the world hope to dream that they too could one day accomplish a similar feat. While such a victory is undoubtedly improbable, it is certainly not impossible, as we’ve seen, so what must one do to follow in the path of Mr. Moneymaker himself?

Generally, you’ll need to continue to practice and boost your game. Most importantly, you will need to actively seek out the weaknesses within your game and try to improve them. Don’t be passive about your game and operate under the assumption that the more you play, the better you are going to get by default. This could be true to some small extent, but if you truly would like to get better, you will need to actively work and improve to make it happen.

As Chris proved, you don’t need a good deal of live poker experience to perform well in live events, your understanding of the game is far more important. Of course the way you play online will likely affect just how much you improve. Naturally, playing in play money games is of virtually no benefit, as it doesn’t accurately represent how real poker is played. The exact same can even be said of low limit real money games. The bigger up the cash ladder you can go, the higher experience you are going to earn from playing online poker, although the potential risks will also be greater of-course.

The way you choose to play and learn is ultimately up to you. You may wish to fill your head with as much knowledge while you can and read the playing advice of the many pros who have written books (and virtually all of them have by this point). Or you might choose instead to keep your head relatively clear and concentrate Data`s statement on its official blog playing a simple, effective game.

What ever the situation might be, know that with some dedication, hard-work, and a little bit luck, you too may be the next great success story in the poker world.