What will online poker look like if the Reid bill passes?

Online poker players in the US, and to a lesser extent around the globe, are looking for answers regarding the proposed online poker legislation Harry Reid (D-NV) is trying to push through Congress; unfortunately, like virtually everyone else not privy to the private meetings that take place in the Capitol Building, I don’t have the answers either. But I do have some ideas of what might happen if the bill is passed.

The 15-Month Moratorium

One of the central issues for US poker players is the proposed 15-month blackout period that would follow the bill’s passage. Obviously professional online poker players are going to be adversely affected by the shutdown of online poker , and will have to find other sources of income in the interim -whether it’s brick & mortar casinos, home games, or just a regular job.

My guess is that there will also be a number of online poker rooms still willing to cater to the US market, but the trustworthiness of these sites will be very much in question -as will any repercussions to the players that may find its way into the bill.

On the bright side is the fact that the current online poker marketplace will be entirely wiped clean -which in my estimation is an erasure that is very much needed! So here is my best guess as to what we will see after a 15-month online poker moratorium:

• 1. No more RakeBack

A number of players are working the system to make a living simply through their rakeback, which has turned the lively online poker games pre-2006 into rock-gardens with people employing strategies in an effort to BREAK-EVEN! They are more than happy to break-even because they are relying on rakeback as their income. So we have people sitting in 20 games who are super-tight nut-peddlers.

• 2. Instant transactions

Because it takes hours, if not days, to set-up an account to even deposit at an online Poker Room we have lost the spur of the moment players in the game. Even worse, because it takes days, if not weeks, to withdraw from an online Poker Room we have lost the instant gratification crowd as well! The only people willing to jump through the hoops currently in place are people who are playing poker for the long haul.

• 3. Advertisements to play REAL-MONEY online poker

If you were to ask 100 random people on the street if online poker was legal in the United States the overwhelming majority would say that online poker is illegal, and my guess is that the #2 answer would be, ‘you can play poker online???’ In order to bring back the casual players we need to assure them that online poker is not only legal, but also safe and secure -which is something the big casinos will know how to convey.

All of these three things are good for poker in the long-term, as they bring the casual players back to the game. Rakeback deals, slow transaction periods, and a legal ‘gray-area’ have all turned online poker into a ‘grinders’ game. What I mean by this is that the current state of online poker in the US only attracts decent poker players and absolute degenerate gamblers; there are very few US players playing for ‘entertainment’.