The
Poker – and specifically a
variant called Texas Hold'em – has swept the nation, but what is this game, why
is it so popular, and why should you care?
Many people have played poker, usually five card draw, for pennies or
clothing, but more and more are playing Hold'em for real money. Texas Hold'em has been around for many years,
and serious pros have played it in
Most trace the explosion of
poker to the innovation of card cameras in television coverage, as used on the
World Poker Tour and ESPN's World Series of Poker coverage since 2003. The card cameras made it possible to see players cards during the action, making the televised
accounts much more interesting and creating an audience for spectator
poker. Gambling in general has grown
rapidly in recent years, as much as 20% annually, to a total
The 2005 World Series of
Poker is currently underway, and it's the largest poker tournament in
history. The World Series is a
month-long series of events, culminating in the "main event" – the
$10,000 No Limit Hold'em tournament starting July 7. The main event is open to anyone willing to
buy in; many novice players now make their entry fee from smaller satellite
tournaments, where the winner gets in to the main event. It's estimated that over 6,000 players will
participate this year, for a total prize pool of $60 million, and the
tournament will last 7 days.
Why has Texas Hold'em in
particular become so popular? Much of
the reason is in the game itself.
Hold'em is a game which involves both luck and skill, just like Monopoly
or Backgammon. In gambling theory, it's
a game of high "variance", which measures how much randomness is in
the game. A better player will win in
the long run, but lesser players can win a lot of hands. The professional players like this, because
it keeps the "fish" (novices) in the game. In the long run, your net wins or losses will
be dictated by your skill, but in the short term there can be large
fluctuations.
In poker, of course the best
hand wins a show down, and a novice can make a big hand just as well as a
professional. The skill comes in
deciding what action to take with your hand.
At each step, you can fold, call, or raise, and
by choosing wisely, you can manipulate the game. Professionals will win more with their good
hands, and lose less when they're beat.
They can also use bluffs and betting to take away pots from their
opponents.
Catching good cards is like
winning the lottery – it's an exhilarating piece of good fortune than can make
you a lot of money. Novices love to tell
the story of making a full house or a straight flush. Bluffing and intimidating your opponents
feeds a macho urge for competition and exerting your alpha male superiority. Aside from all other factors, it's simply a
fun game to play with your friends; it provides many opportunities for drama
and tension. It's also one of the few
games where people of widely different skill level can play against each other
and all enjoy it.
Hold'em also has an outlaw
allure. Poker is associated with cowboys
and mobsters, playing in back rooms with guns under the table – powerful men
with nerves of steel risking fortunes on a hand. It doesn't matter that this is mostly myth; this
sexy image makes it cool to get together and play poker with the guys – unlike
most games, which are considered geeky.
Poker greats have become
celebrities thanks to television, and anyone who puts up the money can play
against them. Lots of rich amateurs play
in the major tournaments simply to be able to face their idols. It's like being able to put down $10,000 to
be able to play in the US Open of Golf with Tiger Woods – and because of the
variance in poker, you actually have a chance of winning. The randomness of poker creates the illusion
that you're not just throwing their money away.
Not many people would pay $10,000 to pay chess against Gary Kasparov –
they know they would just lose – but people will play poker with top pros, and
lose even more money.
If you want to start playing
Texas Hold'em, there are many resources on the internet, and many books on the
game to get you started. It's important
to start with cheap games and make sure you can win at them before moving to
more expensive games. All poker players
should keep accurate track of their winnings and losses to make sure they
aren't developing a costly gambling addiction.
If you just want to play for fun, you should do so cheaply; if you want
to play for profit, it's a very serious endeavor which requires difficult study
and effort.
The poker craze is also
providing financial opportunities that even non-players should be aware
of. The top professional players are
certainly doing very well as a result of poker's popularity – more than twenty
top professionals have made over a million dollars each already in 2005. Poker authors are also doing very well –
poker book sales grew 84% last year and are now one of the best selling non-fiction
categories in all book sales. Some major
books include Doyle Brunson's "Super/system" ,
Gary Carson's "Hold'em Poker" and David Sklansky's "Hold'em
Poker for Advanced Players".
The best bet you might make
on poker is to put your money in a poker-related stock. As with most gambling, the house always wins,
in poker it's by taking a rake from every hand played. The big growing market for this is
online. There are currently around two
million active online players, with about 50,000 playing online at any moment. Most players now prefer online play, because
it's easier to find a game, you can play more hands more quickly, and the house
rake is much lower. It's also a better
deal for the house, because the cost of running an online game is near zero
once the system is set up – each poker hand is pure profit.
The biggest player in online
poker is PartyGaming, which is based in