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Five Things We’d Like to See Change in Poker in 2020
It is that time of year where people begin making New Year’s resolutions and plans for the next year. Poker is no different and this is a time where many are planning out their poker endeavors for the new year.
There’s always room for growth and change in poker and there are several things I would like to see changes in the poker world in the new year. Below are five things we’d like to see change in the poker world in 2020.
More Mixed Games
I’m going to probably argue this until I retire, but poker venues need to offer more mixed games. There is a consistently growing number of poker players that play more than Texas Hold’em. You don’t have to spread every single game offered in HORSE or 8-Game but do at least offer more than two variants of poker.
In the past, I wouldn’t play in any series that offered less than 4 forms of poker. Nowadays, we are lucky if we get Hold’em and Omaha poker in a tournament series. There is an audience for mixed games and poker venues need to tap into that market more than they are presently. I will give the World Series of Poker kudos for their efforts in offering a variety of poker disciplines in Las Vegas each year.
Fewer Re-Entry Poker Tournaments
We knew that Daniel Negreanu wasn’t going to keep his promise to not re-enter into poker tournaments. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem with them, at least from a recreational standpoint.
Re-entry poker tournaments have gotten out of control to the point where the majority of poker tournaments are no re-entry. This does indeed put recreational players at a disadvantage. Personally, I play a lot fewer tournaments than I used to due to this reason. When I do play, I fire one bullet.
Poker venues and online poker sites should look into offering more freezeout poker tournaments and reducing the number of re-entry tournaments to level the playing field.
Incentives for Pro Players to Play Online
Protect the recreational player has been the battle cry from many poker companies in recent years, and as a result, many pros are having trouble finding the motivation to play online. Companies like partypoker are giving pros incentives to play there, and they are becoming the premier online poker brand in the world.
Companies such as PokerStars should do an about-face regarding pro players and offer them greater incentives to play at their sites. We are not saying go back to the time where you could make a living as a rakeback grinder, but make it profitable for pros to play online poker. After all, who is going to convince the recreationals to play?
Bring in More Celebrities – But Ones We Want to See
I have no problems with celebrities playing poker and poker companies making a big deal out of it. However, if you are going to bring in celebrities to play poker, bring in ones we actually want to see.
Convince major stars like Duane “The Rock” Johnson, Rhonda Rousey, Chris Pratt, Michael Jordan, and others to play on TV. Maybe give them an incentive to play. Even if you don’t want to pay the player, maybe give some money and exposure to their favorite charity.
Also, maybe we can bring back the equivalent of Celebrity Poker Showdown. If anything, the show was fun to watch and would be a great addition to Poker Central or other streaming networks.
Fewer WSOP Bracelet Events
2019 brought about something that I’ve warned against for a couple of years now, and that’s the WSOP getting up to 100 bracelet events in a year. In 2019, there were 100 bracelet events at the WSOP and WSOP Europe and the bracelet awarded for the WSOP Global Championship. That’s 101 bracelets on the year.
While we can appreciate that the WSOP wants to expand, it is coming at the cost of cheapening the value of a WSOP bracelet. Nowadays, there are so many bracelets being awarded that the average event under $5,000 is next to meaningless to the average players.
Sure, it is a great accomplishment. But when it is lost in a sea of 100 bracelet events, its value is diminished.
