Once the poker boom is gone Poll Time!

[TripKings]

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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[Fallen Hero]

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.

[CrazyN8]

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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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[wonderwes]

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

[jwvdcw]

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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.

[illegit]

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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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.

[PartySNGer]

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.

[Mason Malmuth]

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

[ThaHero]

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.