There was a time where everyone was hooked on online poker. There were countless competitions, there were a lot of websites to play it on, and it was considered one of the most popular electronic sports around. There were plenty of famous people playing it online and some made entire careers out of it.
But why has it faded from the internet? Why are so few people playing it now compared to before? Did something take over? Was it just a trend?
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Online poker was just a game to many people
Online poker was, for many people, just considered a game. It wasn’t until people started showing videos of themselves making money from poker that more people realized that it could be something so much bigger. You could start a career in poker if you were good enough, and there were many different opportunities available. For instance, some people were content creators that made guides on how to play, while others were players that were invited to high-stakes tournaments.
There were also a lot of people that played smaller stakes, grinding away at the rooms to make themselves a living. Poker is, after all, a game of skill and not complete chance. This makes it very possible for someone to win more than they lose. Unlike actual gambling games such as blackjack or roulette, you could play poker for years and still be positive.
Poker is still around and is one of the more popular mind sports, but it’s not covered as much because the only people left are the serious players. A few years ago, it would be played by everyone from housewives to gamers because it was the hot new game. For these people, it was treated as a game and they jumped on it much like the latest AAA title. However, they either got bored or realized that they weren’t skilled enough to make a living from it like all the stories they heard.
As a result, they probably just treated it like a gambling game, threw some money at it and then left. It was only the serious players that stayed for the competition and thrill. Even today, you can see plenty of poker players on websites like YouTube and Twitch.tv where they broadcast exciting matches and tournaments.
Esports got in the way
With the rise of esports such as Rainbow Six: Siege, a lot of attention was taken away from most online games (including online poker) and people started to focus on rising video game titles.
League of Legends made waves all over the world and Dota 2 came out with one of the first prize pools that exceeded a million dollars. Even today, tournaments for all of these games are still alive and kicking and new games are constantly being added to the pool. These games created a lot more profit for businesses and tournament organizers, so much so that even popular betting and gambling websites started sponsoring esports.
