Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

We all know that poker is starting to lose its popularity. My question is once its image as a trend is over, what will the peak entries in the WSOP main event hit? assume my 7,000 to be between last years entries and 8,000.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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We all know that poker is starting to lose its popularity.

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We do?

If your statement is true, I'd guess the answer to your poll would be 5619.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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We all know that poker is starting to lose its popularity.

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We do?

If your statement is true, I'd guess the answer to your poll would be 5619.

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Good point, but im really not sure if my statement is true. I just base it off discussion here and my lack of interest for tv poker.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

Anyone thinking that the poker boom is over should consider the possibility that online poker will be legalized in the US.

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Ironically, I wouldn't bet on it being legalized anytime soon

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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Good point, but im really not sure if my statement is true. I just base it off discussion here and my lack of interest for tv poker.

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I don't think interest is declining for poker, there is just too much of it on tv too watch. Although I don't see poker growing much more than it already has, I don't see it ever declining because Americans like to gamble and watch drama unfold on tv. The only thing that could really kill poker is the US gov't.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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Anyone thinking that the poker boom is over should consider the possibility that online poker will be legalized in the US.

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Its illegal? ooops

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

I used to do stand up comedy. Back in the 80s (before I got into it) you could get a gig anywhere and there was a real excitement about it (from what I've heard). By the mid 90s, 75% of the clubs had closed and the amateur scene usually amounted to a bunch comedians giving group therapy to each other in otherwise empty coffee shops. Not fun.

I'd bet eventually poker will revert back to nothing but pros beating each other up in less and less card rooms, and shrinking online pools--all the while watching the door for that rarer and rarer "live one" to walk in. Anyone know if that's what it was like in the 70s and 80s?

All booms eventually return to earth. The question is when? My guess is that when all the celebrities (except Gabe Kaplan) are gone from the scene, that'll be the start of the decline. More precisely: when Jennifer Tilly dumps Phil Laak.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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I used to do stand up comedy. Back in the 80s (before I got into it) you could get a gig anywhere and there was a real excitement about it (from what I've heard). By the mid 90s, 75% of the clubs had closed and the amateur scene usually amounted to a bunch comedians giving group therapy to each other in otherwise empty coffee shops. Not fun.

I'd bet eventually poker will revert back to nothing but pros beating each other up in less and less card rooms, and shrinking online pools--all the while watching the door for that rarer and rarer "live one" to walk in. Anyone know if that's what it was like in the 70s and 80s?

All booms eventually return to earth. The question is when? My guess is that when all the celebrities (except Gabe Kaplan) are gone from the scene, that'll be the start of the decline. More precisely: when Jennifer Tilly dumps Phil Laak.

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I disagree. Gambling is an addiction. A lot of people who are in their 20's are going to be hooked for life. This isn't some passing fad. Poker has always been popular. It's just on TV more. My parents and grandparents were playing poker for 50 years before it was even on TV. No one is going to stop playing regular games just because it's on TV a lot.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

The problem with next yrs main event is you could play a week and not make the money. I would think there are quite a few players with regular jobs who cant take off 2 weeks for the event.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

Yes, the current "bubble" will eventually burst, but I don't think it will be as big a deflation as many predict. If poker loses enough interest to not be shown on tv - then things will go back more to normal levels. Back to what?... 50 million regular players worldwide? Poker is so popular and will remain so because it has a great blend of luck vs skill - but where superior skill will win in the long run. It's the perfect game. Sklansky explains it well in the first couple of paragraphs in The Theory of Poker.

-TripKings


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Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

Most of you are forgetting poker isn't limited to the US. I can tell you for a fact that in europe poker is still growing at an incredible rate, I don't believe poker has reached it's entire target audience around here.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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Anyone thinking that the poker boom is over should consider the possibility that online poker will be legalized in the US.

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Its illegal? ooops

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Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

any nationwide TV coverage will have a positive affect on any major sport/hobby.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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I used to do stand up comedy. Back in the 80s (before I got into it) you could get a gig anywhere and there was a real excitement about it (from what I've heard). By the mid 90s, 75% of the clubs had closed and the amateur scene usually amounted to a bunch comedians giving group therapy to each other in otherwise empty coffee shops. Not fun.

I'd bet eventually poker will revert back to nothing but pros beating each other up in less and less card rooms, and shrinking online pools--all the while watching the door for that rarer and rarer "live one" to walk in. Anyone know if that's what it was like in the 70s and 80s?

All booms eventually return to earth. The question is when? My guess is that when all the celebrities (except Gabe Kaplan) are gone from the scene, that'll be the start of the decline. More precisely: when Jennifer Tilly dumps Phil Laak.

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"All booms eventually return to earth."

This simply isn't true at all. Some booms stay for good. Take a look at football or basketball. Baseball used to be far and away the #1 sport in the U.S. But these sports both had "boom" periods(for example, the 80s with Magic/Larry/MJ was basketballs main boom period). Would you say that either of these 2 sports has returned to earth?

What about the internet boom? Do you think that in a few years from now nobody will own a computer anymore because that boom will be over?

I honestly don't know if the popularity of poker will continue or not, but theres certainly no proof of anything either way.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

You're confusing the decrease in the rate of explosion in interest, with the actual bulk % of those interested. The number of people interested in poker continues to rise, only not at as sharp a rate as it did about 2-3 years ago.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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You're confusing the decrease in the rate of explosion in interest, with the actual bulk % of those interested. The number of people interested in poker continues to rise, only not at as sharp a rate as it did about 2-3 years ago.

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I would guess that interest in the UK is rising at its sharpest ever rate at the moment.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

Yes, and if those Aussies are sports freaks tell them to get their Party Accounts set up. I hope they move in with Q7 after a raise by a dude who can't lay down anything.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

Hi Mike:

I'm not sure poker is losing its popularity at all. What may be happening is that the "poker pie" is now being split into more and more pieces, thus you see things like decline in TV show ratings and poor turn outs for some tournaments.

I do agree that if the decline has not yet started, there will be a decline sometime in the future.

Best wishes,
Mason

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

I agree with Mason, the decline hasn't started yet. The latest Publisher's note in the new Cardplayer touches on this.

Even if it does decline, it won't go waaaay back down. To where it used to be. The addiction factor to gambling is HUGE.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

Lose popularity or lose some momentum in it's growth ?

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

add in more Asian exposure to Poker

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

The bigger problem is that the "playing curve" will flatten out. That is, the people that are still into the fad will be good players. The poor players will be filtered out.

So, poker may still be popular, but the days of finding marks on a regular basis will nto be.

The sites and publishers will be richer, but the players will work much harder.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

My guess is that 75% of the people who post/read regularly here will be "better" than those who still survive after the poker fad dies out... just my thoughts.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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I just base it off discussion here and my lack of interest for tv poker.

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I have absolutely no interest in "reality" TV, or rap "music" and yet these two abominations continue unabated.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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I just base it off discussion here and my lack of interest for tv poker.

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I have absolutely no interest in "reality" TV, or rap "music" and yet these two abominations continue unabated.

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I don't feel one way or the other about reality tv, but I think your comment about rap music is idiotic. What do you think of jazz music? blues? scat? at one point, every genre of music enjoyed/made by a large population of African Americans in the US has been demeaned by high society. Rap is rhymthm + poetry. Standard music can just be rhythm. See tribal community around the world.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

I don't even think it has hit it's peak here in the U.S. Three times a year a local indian casino has a weekend of tournaments and last spring and summer and there was nowhere near the 220 capacity they had. The first tournament Thursday had easily 275 trying to get in. Last night was the same way only alot of people knew others that didn't come because they knew they wouldn't even have a chance of registering in time with work etc. That could have easily been over double the tournaments from 4 months ago.

I didn't cash either night (no bad beat stories) but the cash games themselves were so fun. After a few toddies and a few won pots I was just sitting with a smile on my face thinking how nice it was to be in a room of so many fish.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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Hi Mike:

I'm not sure poker is losing its popularity at all. What may be happening is that the "poker pie" is now being split into more and more pieces, thus you see things like decline in TV show ratings and poor turn outs for some tournaments.

I do agree that if the decline has not yet started, there will be a decline sometime in the future.

Best wishes,
Mason

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Hi Mason:

I completely agree with you. I don't think poker is declining in popularity at all, just that there every new poker venture might not be successful, and some exisiting TV shows/tournaments that have been popping up like crazy might not be able to survive.

I think their is one exception to all of this: The WSOP Main Event. This is the one, single, premier event that practically EVERYONE wants to play in. This is the event that I am always going to try to qualify for, every year. If I don't make some other tournaments every year, no big deal, but this is the big one, and will always continue to draw a large crowd (pending some drastic changes to the tournament format or new U.S. regulations).

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

I think it will eventually be over 15,000. The difference between poker and say any other fad is there is money to be made. However, I think the play will continue to improve and get tougher throughout the years.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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I just base it off discussion here and my lack of interest for tv poker.

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I have absolutely no interest in "reality" TV, or rap "music" and yet these two abominations continue unabated.

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I don't feel one way or the other about reality tv, but I think your comment about rap music is idiotic. What do you think of jazz music? blues? scat? at one point, every genre of music enjoyed/made by a large population of African Americans in the US has been demeaned by high society. Rap is rhymthm + poetry. Standard music can just be rhythm. See tribal community around the world.

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Scat? I don't like it. Too messy.

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Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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I used to do stand up comedy. Back in the 80s (before I got into it) you could get a gig anywhere and there was a real excitement about it (from what I've heard). By the mid 90s, 75% of the clubs had closed and the amateur scene usually amounted to a bunch comedians giving group therapy to each other in otherwise empty coffee shops. Not fun.

I'd bet eventually poker will revert back to nothing but pros beating each other up in less and less card rooms, and shrinking online pools--all the while watching the door for that rarer and rarer "live one" to walk in. Anyone know if that's what it was like in the 70s and 80s?

All booms eventually return to earth. The question is when? My guess is that when all the celebrities (except Gabe Kaplan) are gone from the scene, that'll be the start of the decline. More precisely: when Jennifer Tilly dumps Phil Laak.

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The difference between poker and other forms of entertainment is that you can and do win money playing poker and the average joe/jane can play. Because of this I don't see poker losing its popularity.

I used to watch every televised poker show I could find but I stopped after seeing most of them were so poorly produced. Flopped cards were not being updated right away, TV angles were poor, sound sucked, announcers were lousy, etc.

I do see and I sincerely hope that televised tournaments will become more sophisticated and willing to show us more hands played and not just the final table. Announcers like Barry Tomkins need to be the first shown out the door. Rote introductions of rules and winning hands need to be removed and replaced with a quick note that if you want to learn these you can go to such and such website for this information. Announcers need to be quiet and let the chatter at the tables tell more of the story. Updating pot amounts should be included in every shot. If they can do these things I think that these shows will grow in popularity again.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

The original question was what will be the turnout of players for the ME in the future WSOP. I would probably say for the next 5 years, it will average around 6,500.

The WSOP circuit events are obviously becoming popular. The are almost twice as many events for the 2005-2006 season than last.

Re: Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!
 

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Hi Mike:

I'm not sure poker is losing its popularity at all. What may be happening is that the "poker pie" is now being split into more and more pieces, thus you see things like decline in TV show ratings and poor turn outs for some tournaments.

I do agree that if the decline has not yet started, there will be a decline sometime in the future.

Best wishes,
Mason

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