August 2007 Archives

When surveying the land of the poker world, it is easy to become roped in to the opinions of the naysayers who proclaim that poker's popularity is nearing its end. Some claim that "The Moneymaker Effect", the buzz created when the young accountant from Tennessee won the WSOP Main Event following entry through a $40 satellite, is starting to wear off. Those who argue this point will also follow up by discussing how the government's crackdown on online poker is just the first step in bringing an end to this "fad" that had so much popularity only a few short years ago. While the arguments may seem compelling, there is plenty of evidence indicating alimited drop and even positive growth in poker's popularity. The Online Poker Championships hosted by some of the internet's major poker sites seem to show that this "fad" we call poker, is still alive and well.

The online poker tournament series' mirror the WSOP. The events that the sites host vary in both the type of games played (hold'em, Omaha, Razz etc) and buy-in amount. Currently, Full Tilt and PokerStars host the series' with the biggest prize pools. Contrary to what one might expect given the regulations imposed by the U.S. government, the number of participants in these events has steadily increased. In August of 2006 the first FTOPS (Full Tilt Online Poker Series) featured 9 events and totaled just over 2 million dollars in prize pool money. Over the past few weeks FTOPS V took place (these events are not annual). Since the series' inception in 2006, there have been 5 more events added as well as millions in guaranteed prize money. In fact, FTOPS V yielded prize pools totaling over 5 times more money than FTOPS I (10.5 million). FTOPS V's Main Event drew 4,578 players, which is not too shabby considering this year's real WSOP Main Event had 6,358.

PokerStars hosts the World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) annually. The Championships began in 2002 with The Main Event winner pocketing $65,450. In 2006, it was none other than tournament pro J.C. Tran who won the WCOOP Main Event. Tran took home over $600,000 for his victory, nearly 10x that of the first Main Event winner. With this year's Championships approaching, it seems as if the tournaments will only get bigger. Stars has added a 5-Card Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw tournament, and has raised its prize pool guarantee total to $15,000,000. Last year Stars guarunteed 10 million in prize money leading to a frenzy of entries that contributed to a total prize pool of 18.5 million. So while 15 million guarunteed may seem like a lot, there is no telling how big the prize pools will actually get.

The success of these online events should serve as a reminder that poker has not fallen off the map. Despite the regulations put forth by the government, it appears that these websites are poised to continue to grow rapidly. The success of the events should also bring into question whether or not it is fair to use the WSOP as the exclusive indicator of poker popularity. Though satelites are available for the WSOP Main Event, an entry costs about 1/4 of an average annual American household income. Is that how we should be measuring poker's general popularity? I maintain that the continued growth in these more affordable online tournaments is a better indicator of the general popularity of the game than the number of entries into a tournament most people could never dream of buying into. Perhaps the skeptics are right that the "Moneymaker Effect" is no longer with poker. This year's WSOP Main Event Champ Jerry Yang only spent $225 en route to his quest for the most coveted bracelet in poker. But maybe people are tired of the cinderella stories of Jerry Yang and Chris Moneymaker. Maybe the rags to riches story is not what drives people to sit down and play poker. Though understanding the reason that people continue to shuffle up and deal may be an impossible exercise in understanding the human psyche, it is plain enough to see that this "poker fad" is not going anywhere anytime soon.

-Benjamin Ryan