The truly original documentary “All in: The Poker Movie” was developed to investigate the explosion in popularity of poker around the world. Featuring interviews with many well-known professional players, it chronicles the journey of poker from its shady backroom past to the post-2003 Moneymaker online poker boom.

The indie movie was first screened at the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival, where it was awarded the prize for “Best Documentary.” It was then scheduled for a general public release in theatres around the world in the Fall of 2011. After some delay, it eventually premiered in theatres on March 23rd.

Reviews have been mixed, but it is certainly a great insight into why the game laid dormant for decades before exploding into mainstream culture. Just ten years ago, no one would have ever imaged how popular the game would become. This eruption was a culmination of factors including: the rags to riches story of Chris Moneymaker, the advent of hole card cameras for entertaining tv broadcasts and the mystique and apparent simplicity of a very deep and rich gambling game.

Starting tomorrow, April 24th, the movie will be available for viewing on various Video on Demand platforms, as well as the iTunes store.