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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.