The Poker Bubble has popped Part 2

In Part 1 of this series I laid out the argument that poker was on the decline in the Internet era. Now I will give you the specifics as I see them for why this decline is taking place and what we can do as poker players to turn it around.

Poker is no longer a social game

The social aspect of poker was what kept unskilled players happy and content. These players used to think they were just gambling (and simply unlucky some of the time) and confirmation bias misled them as to their actual results compared to other players.

Once poker players started donning hoodies and headphones, and showing up at the poker room riffling chips and with quirky chip protectors the casual poker player quickly realized something wasn’t right, and perhaps they were lambs amongst the wolves.

This has gotten to the point that I see people listening to their iPod during $25 basement tournaments because this is what they are led to believe helps you concentrate and pass the boring time in between hands. It’s going to take a concerted effort from poker players to tear down this notion, not because it’s false (saying absolutely nothing and listening to music probably does help concentrate and give away as little information as possible) but the problem is it hurts the game long-term because it drives away precisely the types of players we want in the game –casual players looking for a fun way to spend their money for the night!

Players misrepresent their winnings

This goes along with my first point above: Poker “Pros” haven’t done themselves any favors by portraying their “Balla” lifestyles. Whether real or exaggerated, when regular people see teenagers and 20-somethings throwing away hundreds and thousands of dollars it’s not something they want to contribute to. No working class person wants to go to a casino and lose $1,000 in a poker game to a bunch of kids who laugh and joke about how bad you played and then go blow it in a nightclub.

It’s different when the opponent taking their money looks and acts like Phil Galfond, Matt Glantz or even Daniel Negreanu. If the experience they are going to have at the poker tables is one of headphones and post-game jeers the blackjack tables suddenly look far more appealing than the poker tables.

What we have right now are far too many “kids” running around in a naive way, not really comprehending that their current actions are hurting their long-term bottom line. You don’t have to placate or sympathize with your opponents, but you should at least respect for sitting down in the game.

In Part 3 of this series I will continue on, presenting two other examples for why the poker bubble has popped and what we can do to fix it.