Nowadays Joe Hachem can often been seen online at pokerstars, where he is one of their pros with teammate Vanessa Rousso. But he was just a regular amateur poker player not long ago

His name is Joseph Hachem. His age is 42 years old. His place of residence is Providence, Melbourne, Australia by way of Lebanon.

Joe’s main distinction is of course is victory at the WSOP. Hachem seemed to come out of nowhere, defeating 5,618 other competitors his first time out to win the 2005 World Series of Poker. Unlike previous amateur winners Chris Moneymaker and Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, Hachem did not quality for the tournament online. Instead he decided to step up to the plate and pay the full $10,000 buy-in. That $10,000 investment would win him $7.5 million.

His final Table play was memorable. After playing for six straight days, Hachem persevered in a marathon 14-hour final table game, where he enjoyed some incredible flops. Holding a Q-7 to then-table leader Aaron Kanter’s pocket nines, Hachem got a Q-8-2 on the flop to pave his way towards the WSOP championship. In his final hand against runner-up Steve Dannenmann, Joseph held a 7-3 to his opponents A-3. The flop on that hand revealed a 4-5-6, giving Hachem a straight that would seal the tournament for him.

But Joe understands good hands. Hachem knows a thing or two about the importance of a good hand. Before becoming the 2005 WSOP champion, he made a living as a chiropractor for almost 20 years. When a rare blood disorder in his hands forced him to leave his trade behind, Hachem started playing poker, first in local casinos and then online.

He soon found mortgage banking as a means to support his wife and four children, but he decided on setting that career aside to play in more poker tournaments. But the real beauty of his $7.5 million winnings? While he still had to pay a significant portion to the U.S. government, because Hachem is considered an amateur, his winnings are not technically considered taxable in Australia.

You may have heard this somewhere else, that pokerstars is number one. But is it true, and by what measure? Like all number ones, it depend on what measure you use, and as far as traffic is concerned, Stars is the uncontested number one, with a big lead over the number two, Full Tilt Poker.

And all other poker rooms are left in the dust, far behind. But nothing is static and the rankings can change fast in online gambling. So beyond the fact that pokerstars in number one for traffic, are they also number one by other measures?

Pokerstars is easily the largest and most popular online poker room on the globe.  If you are looking for a reason to sign up at pokerstars, this is already in itself a great reason. More traffic means more poker variations and tournament formats available, more ring game table and stakes with action  to choose from, more lucrative promotions dues to their bigger budget. More frequent and larger freerools, less waiting times at practically any poker activity you are interested in.

Some of the best pros in the world have chosen to sponsor Pokerstars, such as Daniel Negreanu and Vanessa Rousso. This is a sign of quality as these people are among the best poker players in the world, and they would not tarnish their reputation by joining a room they do not trust and enjoy playing at.

An added advantage of having all these poker pros  is that it improves the overall quality of the games, and this is certainly a feature that will help you improve your poker skills. As the large buy in tournaments and the highest stakes ring games are where these pros operate, the amateurs who confront them learn from them and this  knowledge somehow flows to the lower limit levels.

So if you do not have an account at stars, now is the time to get one.