The death of the $10k and $25k poker tournament Part 2

In Part 1 of this series I discussed the competition, both live and online, that was diminishing the life expectancy of the high-buy-in poker tournaments that dominated the poker world in the mid-2000’s. In this installment I’ll take a look at the other factors that are killing the $10k tournaments.

Poker is on the decline and the casinos know it

Unfortunately, casinos go with what makes money, which is why in the 1990’s and early 2000’s virtually every casino was cutting back or eliminating the wasted space that was their poker rooms. When the poker boom hit these same places were quick to relaunch their poker rooms, trying to attract the big names and big crowds by hosting major tournaments.

Well, once again poker is on the decline, and casinos aren’t going to keep pumping money into their poker rooms and hosting tournaments if it’s not bringing in the people. The more attendance drops at these tournaments, the more casinos will cut back and start skimping around the edges- which then causes more players to skip these events in what is a vicious cycle.

The Players are Better

Less than a decade ago the poker landscape was completely unrecognizable from what it is today. New players were coming into the game at a record pace and seasoned players were reaping the benefits. Now, these players have either left the game (either going broke or becoming disillusioned with poker) or they have simply gotten better.

The average player is so good today, and there are so many professional-caliber players, that there is no longer a massive edge in any major tournament. Less edge means less profits and more variance.

The Buy-In only attracts top-level players

With less edge in a tournament players have started to forego the $10k and up events, especially once the potential sponsorship dollars that went along with winning one of these major tournaments were no longer available. Now the WPT Championship looks like a contest between the top 200 poker players in the game, the dead-money has realized they are on a different level and is far more selective in which events they enter.

UIGEA/Black Friday

UIGEA and Black Friday did more than just limit US players from playing online poker, it also eliminated the fertile breeding ground of the next generation of poker players (who even if they turn out to be the next durrrrr, they will be “marks” at the beginning of their careers) and the chances for casual players to satellite into major tournaments.

The government crackdown also made players question the legality of online poker, and in turn these potential poker players have moved on to fantasy football or the next big fad.

A plethora of $1,000-$1,500 events all over the country

In addition to the competition other tours are offering, some like the HPT and WSOPC realized where the poker world was headed, and started offering $1,500 Main Events. These events seem to be where the money is in poker, but many of the best players haven’t readjusted their thinking (or their egos) to play in these “smaller” tournaments.