Poker a trend?!?! Ridiculous!!

[MEbenhoe]

I recently got in to an argument with someone about the idea of poker being a trend. His claim was that it was just like any other fad and its popularity would soon die out. My argument is that poker was a hobby or profession for millions long before the recent poker boom, and also that many games other than texas hold em, responsible for the recent boom, are played in card rooms and online all over the place with strong numbers of players and that if poker was really just a trend those players wouldnt be there because they'd all be playing hold em. What are your views on both sides of this argument?

[elwoodblues]

You're both right. For many who play a lot now it will remain popular. For many who play now it won't.

[FeliciaLee]

[ QUOTE ]
I recently got in to an argument with someone about the idea of poker being a trend. His claim was that it was just like any other fad and its popularity would soon die out. My argument is that poker was a hobby or profession for millions long before the recent poker boom, and also that many games other than texas hold em, responsible for the recent boom, are played in card rooms and online all over the place with strong numbers of players and that if poker was really just a trend those players wouldnt be there because they'd all be playing hold em. What are your views on both sides of this argument?

[/ QUOTE ]
Okay, if we define trend as Websters defines it:

1 a : to extend in a general direction : follow a general course <mountain ranges trending north and south> b : to veer in a new direction : BEND <coastline that trends westward>
2 a : to show a tendency : INCLINE <prices trending upward>

Then poker is definitely a trend.

If we define it like a "fad":

a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal : CRAZE

Then poker is not a trend (fad).

In my opinion, poker isn't a fad, but it is definitely a trend.

Poker is here to stay, there is no doubt about that. In that sense, we can nix the "fad" right in the bud. Poker is also at the height of it's popularity. There is, however, an apex that must be reached. It cannot sustain a certain amount of popularity forever. There will be a point where the newness will wear off and the poker world will settle back down to something slightly resembling pre-2003. I don't think it will ever decline to the numbers that we saw a decade ago; cardrooms closing, empty poker rooms on first and third shift, layoffs or transfers of dealers to different departments, etc.

I believe that the popularity will sustain itself in a healthy way and that we won't see a huge decline within the next decade. But no, I don't think the attendance of large tournaments will keep quadrupling every year for the next fifty years, either.

Like a previous poster said, you are both right. The poker explosion may not be a "fad," but it is in a "trend" mode right now.

Felicia /images/graemlins/smile.gif
www.felicialee.net (http://www.felicialee.net)

[mike l.]

"You're both right. For many who play a lot now it will remain popular. For many who play now it won't."

exactly. the key mo is to filter in all the gambling addicts so they will be hooked for life and i can buy more real estate, and for all the others to lose a few thousand, realise it's not for them, and drop out of sight.