Online poker might be in crisis mode, but live tournaments ready to take advantage
April 25th, 2011 | by Jessica Teakle |
“Black Friday” is the term the poker industry has coined when talking about the day the indictments of PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute were handed out. It was a day when everyone in the industry felt the impact and many wondered how this huge industry would be able to rebound.
Just more than a week later, the dust has settled. Some have moved on while others dwell passionately on the magnitude of the situation. Black Friday affected everyone differently and the “mourning” period will last for different lengths of time for every person based on his or her engagement in the sector.
The poker industry did take a major hit that day, but potentially, it could also be the day when everything starts to turn around. It could provide the impetus needed for legislation, or at least for greater public awareness of the plight that many now face after the indictments. I’m optimistic. Don’t hate me.
This week is a rather significant one in my book. It’s the first week since the indictments that numerous live tournaments will be taking place around the world. The next few days will provide our first chance to gauge the reaction of players. Will they actually take their abilities to the live felt? The one major problem continues to be the dispersal of players among various locations, which may provide a less-than-clear result for those looking to measure the success of this week. Maybe they should work together? In any case, here’s a look at the upcoming tournaments and some potential storylines regarding each one.
World Poker Tour — Seminole Hard Rock Showdown:
The World Poker Tour resumes action in Florida on Wednesday for its first $10,000 stop in the state. Not only is the WPT hitting up an emerging market, it’s also the only stop on its domestic schedule that is open to players 18-and-up. It’s rather coincidental that the timing of this event comes less than two weeks after numerous 18-, 19- and 20-year old professional online poker players were relieved of their duties, and that factor could shake up the composition of the field greatly. For domestic players who fall into that age range, this might be the shot they’ve been looking to take if they want to know if they can cut it on the live felt. Granted, they’d need a nice bankroll for the event and, unfortunately, many bankrolls are still stuck online. If those aspiring for poker greatness are looking for their chance to get involved live, this tournament series in Hollywood, Fla., couldn’t have come at a better time.
This stop is also the second to last stop for the season, which means that the player of the year race is coming to an end. Prior to the start of the event, Andy Frankenberger leads the race with one win, two final tables and three cashes this season. Vivek Rajkumar is in second thanks to his back-to-back second- and fourth-place finishes earlier this year. The points system for the WPT is based on total prize pool and if I estimate we’ll have a field between 500 and 999 players (I might be a little optimistic here, but I think the recent indictments will boost numbers for this event), the winner will earn 800 points. With that top point value up for grabs, there are seven players who can overtake Frankenberger for the lead. To earn those points, it would require a win and winning an event isn’t that easy. Rajkumar would need at least an eighth-place finish to jump Frankenberger (if Frankenberger himself doesn’t make the final table).
WSOP Circuit — Caesars Palace Las Vegas:
One of the yearly highlights for the WSOP Circuit is its stop in Las Vegas. Clearly, it’s the home of many poker professionals and what easier way to build numbers than to have an event where players can roll out of bed and head down to the casino. For the locals, this is the best opportunity. There’s no going through extra TSA screenings at the airport or booking a hotel — it’s home.
The WSOP Circuit stop there has had a solid turnout with the $350 event offering up the largest field (601 players) the poker room has seen since its opener April 23, 2007. The other events have also provided good-sized fields and when the $1,600 event begins on Thursday, we can expect more than the 150 players that turned out for the main event in 2010 (a $5,150 event).
“The turnouts have been great, better than expected, cash games have been up also,” commented the Caesars Palace Poker Room to ESPN via Twitter. “Overall ’11 has been a great success compared to ’10.”
The key to success for this event might be failure in the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown. Players who are eliminated early from contention on the WPT might head to Vegas for this event and the two days in between may prove to be perfect timing for many players looking to get back in action.
The side story for this WSOP Circuit stop is the National Championship that will take place in May. Winning the main event is enough to lock up a spot, but there are numerous other WSOP Circuit grinders who are looking for one or two more cashes on their tour to make their way in. There are 19 players tied with 100 points and at this point, only 13 of those players are in contention to earn their seats. Every cash on the WSOP Circuit matters at this point and it may boost attendance not only at this stop, but also at the remaining two stops of the year. With the $1 million freeroll around the corner, it only makes sense that the Circuit sees a boost at this point in the year.
EPT San Remo
One of the biggest stops on the European Poker Tour’s schedule will most likely be the biggest stop of the week. The turnout is not only due to the continued prosperity of poker in the European markets, but also the fact players who currently have funds online at PokerStars can buy into the event using that money. During a time of confusion, PokerStars made an effort to make this idea clear and that option might have persuaded some players who would’ve played domestically to head abroad to the EPT.
Most tournaments these days would love to see the turnout that San Remo is accustomed to. In 2010, 1,240 players headed to Italy and ultimately 1,239 of them fell short to Liv Boeree as she captured a title worth $1.6 million. Since its debut in 2008, this event has always had more than 700 players and there’s little doubt that 2011 will greatly surpass that number once again.
Both Wednesday and Thursday will offer Day 1 flights and for those that stick around, the 10,000 euro buy-in event will take place on Monday. One interesting note regarding San Remo is that cash can only be used to buy into events with buy-ins of less than 5,000 euros. For any higher buy-in, players must purchase their entry with a credit card.
Small blinds: Former WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack has left his post at the PBR to focus on his new poker league initiative with Annie Duke (Federated Sports and Gaming). Pollack said to ESPN, “I’m excited to be back in poker full-time and have missed being an active member of the community this past year.” On Tuesday, PokerStars began to allow players in the United States to cash out their accounts. When users log in, they are prompted with a screen that instructs them to cash out their funds. John Racener will be holding a poker training camp in Florida. He joins a number of players who have recently turned to live poker training as additional income. The Borgata Spring Poker Open main event featured 447 entries (players could re-enter on Day 1B) to create a prize pool of $1.1 million. First place will pay $276,949. Harrah’s Chester will host the next WSOP Circuit tournament series that will begin on Wednesday.
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