{"id":6169,"date":"2018-05-10T15:31:30","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T15:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=6169"},"modified":"2018-05-11T15:53:49","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T15:53:49","slug":"can-poker-grow-beyond-a-fad-by-embracing-the-esports-fad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/can-poker-grow-beyond-a-fad-by-embracing-the-esports-fad\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Poker Grow Beyond A Fad By Embracing The Esports Fad?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Should the Pet Rock<\/strong><\/a> have tried to extend its shelf life by partnering with Cabbage Patch Dolls<\/strong><\/a> in the 1980s? Or maybe Beanie Babies<\/strong> in the 1990s? Can last season\u2019s fad find success attaching itself to this year\u2019s latest trend?<\/p>\n Poker boomed in the early 2000s creating an entire industry around it. A big push came from offshore online poker sites<\/strong> raking in hundreds of millions of dollars along the way. Poker peaked in 2006. After that, the US government stepped in stumping the online game\u2019s growth. Poker\u2019s popularity pretty much plateaued, but it didn\u2019t go away.<\/p>\n Fortunately for those in that industry surrounding it, poker is no flash in the pan. The game, and people\u2019s love for it, has hardly faded<\/strong> in the decade since poker was the in thing to do.<\/p>\n Of course, many people dependent on the game have spent that decade eagerly anticipating another boom<\/strong> in poker\u2019s popularity. The opportunity to get more women in the game. Selling poker to the 1.3 billion people living in China<\/strong>.\u00a0 Getting more states to legalize and regulate online poke<\/strong>r. No matter what it was, the thing to ignite the next poker boom always seemed right around the corner.<\/p>\n Most of the ideas have been slow in coming to fruition. Or perhaps they haven\u2019t had the huge impact<\/strong> poker people had hoped for. Still, many hold out hope. They pray there is some magic pill that can cure what ails a somewhat stagnating game and make poker the cool thing to do once again.<\/p>\n Others have no time for hope. They want to see poker become popular again now. Instead of waiting and wishing for it to happen, these people go out and do something about it.<\/p>\n Mediarex CEO Alex Dreyfus<\/strong> is one good example. This is the guy that created the Global Poker League<\/strong>, putting some of the world\u2019s most successful poker players on teams and pitting them against each other in a brand new game format played inside a soundproof cube. It was an attempt to turn poker into a sport and get it trending again.<\/p>\n The Global Poker League can\u2019t be considered a complete failure<\/strong>. It did get one season<\/strong> completed. However, it failed to convince the public poker is a sport. And it never grew the game\u2019s popularity in any kind of meaningful way.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t for lack of trying. Dreyfus gave it a go. He was reportedly still giving it a go in Asia before the Chinese government decided to follow America\u2019s lead and crack down on poker as well<\/strong>. What happens to Global Poker League China<\/strong> now is anybody\u2019s guess. But that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n This one is about Dreyfus\u2019 failure to convince anyone except a series of misguided investors that poker is a sport<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The truth is, it was always going to be an uphill battle. Traditional sports involve athleticism<\/strong>. That takes poker out of the running from the jump.<\/p>\n A British outfit got the game declared a mind sport<\/strong> a few years ago. According to most definitions, a mind sport is a game of skill<\/strong> based on intellectual ability as opposed to physical exercise. In other words, mind sports are by definition, not sports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In that sense, poker and other card games like it, are more akin to board games, or video games. A fact that brings us back around to what this article is really about.<\/p>\n The popularity of esports<\/strong>, which is a fancy term for competitive<\/strong> video gaming<\/strong>, has had a boom of its own over the past few years.<\/p>\nIs poker a sport?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Is poker an esport?<\/span><\/h2>\n