Are We in Poker Boom 2.0? (1 Viewer)

justsomedude

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Subject says it all... do you guys/girls think we are in a new poker boom?

Games are springing up everywhere. There seems to be no shortage of players. Streaming/live poker options are plentiful. Poker channels and Vlogs are full time jobs for some. Poker rooms are expanding. Holdem “labs” are becoming big business. WSOP is adding events, and ME saw 2nd most participants, ever, since 2006 (Jamie Gold).

Seems like there’s definitely a resurgence in the game.

Thoughts for reasons why? Economy? More? Other?

Discuss.
 
It seems everyone I talk to is getting back into poker. I went to high school in the moneymaker/online era and played with my friends nearly every weekend. Now in my 30s with some search for nostalgia and disposable income a lot of us are rediscovering it. The same group of friends, many I haven’t seen in 15 years, emailed me and we are getting together in April for a poker/golf weekend.

On related note, I have been looking for the chips we use to play with, “CASINO” mold 312 spotted clays blanks circa 2003, but pretty hard to track down.
 
Locally, we set a record of 46 players for our New Years tourney going back 18 years. Demand for our cash games are up significantly. Not sure why. Just seems to be more interest.
 
The large influx of streaming poker channels likely has a huge reason to do with this. Not only are there some great content creators out there, but with the content algorithms out there to link one creator to the next, the options are plentiful and actually come to you, whereas after the decline of poker on mainstream ESPN you had to seek them.

On top of that, most creators are playing low limit poker which is accessible everywhere, whether you're in Vegas or Oklahoma.

A large of amount of content streaming to you without looking (usually winning sessions), along with most of it being accessible leads to more people both taking an interest and also wanting to try. Throw in how much information is available on the internet with a micro second search, and not only can the average enjoy watching content, but also think they can beat the game down the street with minimal studying.
 
All of the above is true, lots more content out there. If I can’t find a show to watch in the first few minutes I will put in Live at the Bike or check if a new Vlog is up.

Also the strong economy means more disposable income for people in general. Humans love to gamble. I would bet all gambling is up. Super Bowl will probably have more money bet on this year and March Madness as well.
 
Maybe we're in Poker Boom 8.0.

Poker Boom 2.0 could have happened in 1873 for all I know. I bet everybody then was openly playing in every saloon in every town west of the Mississippi. And in a goodly amount east of it, too.
 
It seems everyone I talk to is getting back into poker. I went to high school in the moneymaker/online era and played with my friends nearly every weekend. Now in my 30s with some search for nostalgia and disposable income a lot of us are rediscovering it. The same group of friends, many I haven’t seen in 15 years, emailed me and we are getting together in April for a poker/golf weekend.

On related note, I have been looking for the chips we use to play with, “CASINO” mold 312 spotted clays blanks circa 2003, but pretty hard to track down.
Funny, same thing is happening with me and my group of friends. I remember there being 10+ games going on every weekend in my little neighborhood alone. I honestly don’t know if anything will be like the ‘03 poker boom but it’s kinda cool being in my 30’s and being able to buy a pack of kem cards without breaking the bank lol.
 
Years ago all I did was play poker and golf! I’d like to think that I was a little better at poker. Damn.

Technology and accessibility to all forms of poker are richer than ever. However, I find it much more difficult to get a game together with my old crew. Families, college, mortgages= more time and less disposal income.

Not gonna let any of that stop me!
 
A little early to call, but I think the signs are there as others have mentioned.

Having started out online during the Moneymaker era, I don’t think the majority understand how easy and plentiful games were. You could literally print money at $1/2 playing nit ABC poker. Now I’d estimate 90% + of the poker population would be big losers playing those stakes online over 10,000+ hands. Unfortunately there’s too much great content on YouTube and coaching sites that mitigates the cash you used to have to pay for your “poker education“. The easy money has dried up online, and very well may never return.

If the US government decides to let adults finally play online legally nation wide then the argument can very well be made that a boom is coming. Until then live cash will be king for good games and action.
 
I don’t think the majority understand how easy and plentiful games were. You could literally print money at $1/2 playing nit ABC poker.
This is so true. We would play Omaha at the lunch table in high school with no blinds or antes, so essentially no reason to ever bet money unless you had the stone cold nuts and I would still end up with a profit by simply knowing the value of hands. Everyone thought the game played exactly like NLH so they would bet the farm on small flushes and full houses thinking they had a monster. The cat is out of the bag now so to speak as far as NLH goes but maybe with all the seasoned NL players who are looking for a change, we could recreate another mini poker boom with other forms of poker since not many people have experience playing mixed games (myself included although I'm willing to learn for this very reason).
 
Subject says it all... do you guys/girls think we are in a new poker boom?

Short answer? No.

Slightly less short answer? No and this is a good thing. Because booms are usually followed by busts - which is kind of what happened last time.

Yes it's undeniable that participation and investment in poker is trending up comparing to the previous 10 yr period. But the key difference is that poker isn't a new thing that people were previously unfamiliar with and/or associated certain stigmas with. Poker more now compared to 17 yrs ago is accepted by individuals and municipalities alike as a game of skill - which suggests that while the uptrend may not last forever - the inevitable downtrend won't be as drastic as before, either.
 
All this back and forth and y'all clearly missed the #1 reason poker has been picking up since 2015.

IMG_0923.JPG


Poker players just love hotdogs! And it ain't a god damn sammich.
 
All this back and forth and y'all clearly missed the #1 reason poker has been picking up since 2015.

View attachment 393130

Poker players just love hotdogs! And it ain't a god damn sammich.
What if one were to take two buns and two wieners and, for lack of a better term, sandwich those together, bun then wieners then bun. Is that a sandwich?
 
What if one were to take two buns and two wieners and, for lack of a better term, sandwich those together, bun then wieners then bun. Is that a sandwich?
No it's not, and I always suspected you were a two weiner at a time kind of guy! :D
 
Also I’m trying low carbs but I bet a hot dog sandwich (a hot dog, bun mustard chili and all, in between two slices of bread) is probably good someone try it
 
What about the world famous @joeyshin Pretzel, sausage dip, dog concept invented last year? The day before saddly I wasn't in attendance but this amazing man also introduced the world to the pizza dog... he rolled a hot dog into a large slice of pizza! Truly genius!! Are either of those a sammich?
 
What about the world famous @joeyshin Pretzel, sausage dip, dog concept invented last year? The day before saddly I wasn't in attendance but this amazing man also introduced the world to the pizza dog... he rolled a hot dog into a large slice of pizza! Truly genius!! Are either of those a sammich?
Took 8 minutes to find but wanted to share a picture of this masterpiece!
Screenshot_20200116-085313_Samsung Internet.jpg

I do fear comments that follow... I do realize what this looks like! Lol either way I say it's a sammich!!!
 
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Games are springing up everywhere. There seems to be no shortage of players.

This may depend on where you live. In my rural area, there used to be no casinos closer than Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun, which are roughly a 3-hour drive away.

As a result, there used to be a ton of home games and social hall games around me. I could play 3-4 times per week easily, if I wanted.

In the past few years, Rivers Schenectady, MGM Springfield and Resorts World Catskill opened. None of these are particularly close to me -- the drive ranges from 60-90 minutes. But it does seem to have dried up a lot of the private/social hall poker action.

There are still games, but I know of only 1-2 others (besides my own) in my entire county which go off even once per month, sometimes less often. And those are pretty bad games. The player pool is small enough in my county — pop. 60,000 — that you hear about pretty much any new action. I might estimate the number of regular players in the whole county as 60 or fewer.

There was also a big underground club about 45 minutes from me which ran games 5-6 days per week. This was busted multiple times, and kept reopening after a pause, but finally gave it up when Rivers opened.

At the same time, I’m not seeing any new “strong economy” effects which benefit the players in my own game.

In the past two years, we’ve lost a bunch of regulars to financial issues. I currently have five former regulars (who showed up like clockwork every time, for many years) who now say they don’t have enough money to play.

You might think that this was just an excuse, but each of them has asked to stay on my notification list, hoping to return. Still every two weeks comes the reply with an embarrassed version of the phrase “still no money.”

Just last week, one ref who has been super-regular and owns a wood flooring business confessed that he’s broke, and canceled... Maybe if I had more regs with lots of stock investments, it would be different.

We reduced the game frequency from weekly to every two weeks. I’m still able to get a two-table tourney together most times, but it is way more of a struggle, even with extra efforts to recruit new players.

If I were closer to a big city, maybe this would be different. I’m not a huge fan of any of the casinos near me, but they at least offer games at any time I want to show up. I’d much prefer to play in non-casino games if I could find enough.
 
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Also the strong economy means more disposable income for people in general. Humans love to gamble. I would bet all gambling is up. Super Bowl will probably have more money bet on this year and March Madness as well.

I think ^this^ has a lot to do with it.

Could also be that all those in the early 2000s boom in the early 20s had kids and were stupidly busy with kid stuff shortly thereafter. Now those kiddies are hitting their teens, time is freeing up a bit..... (ok maybe that's just me :LOL: :laugh: )
 
I think ^this^ has a lot to do with it.

Could also be that all those in the early 2000s boom in the early 20s had kids and were stupidly busy with kid stuff shortly thereafter. Now those kiddies are hitting their teens, time is freeing up a bit..... (ok maybe that's just me :LOL: :laugh: )

I think that’s definitely a factor!

Also... don’t forget the actual teens who watched the poker boom, but didn’t have the money (or weren’t of legal age) to experience it. They are now in their 30s with real money making jobs and the spare time (and money) to explore it.
 

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