TV’s Influence on Poker as Game
Before the days when poker was on every channel, broadcasted by every major sporting network and countless others, the game of poker seemed a much different entity than the multibillion market it is now. Fueled primarily by the ESPN broadcasts of the World Series of Poker beginning the year Chris Moneymaker famously took down top prize for amateur players everywhere, each year the market of the poker industry grows a little further, taking over new heads that it might never have reached before.
Among this spread, the prevalence of televised play has likely had a great impact not only on poker’s popularity, but how poker online is played. Due to the countless hours a tournament takes to play out, producers have to whittle down that onslaught into a one or two hour event. The focus, then, often ends up being placed mostly on the ‘action hands,’ the all ins and the bluff moves, reducing poker less to a chess game and a more a violent free for all.
The effect of this is clearplayers now seem much more reckless and willing to put their money on the edge the way these televised representatives do. There is less of a meditative environment in many younger players, and more action. As things continue, we’ll likely see this trend shift again.