Forget the Fad Talk: Poker is Here to Stay

These pundits flick through their TV channels, amazed at the breadth of poker coverage on offer. To them, the World Poker Tour or the WSOP is the entertainment equivalent of paint drying. How did this happen they ask? How has poker become the fastest growing recreational past time in the world? Why has it become so trendy with everyone from college students to celebrities and everyone in between? Why are people playing this game like never before, both at home and online?

The answer’s so simple. I don’t know why it hasn’t occurred to them.

Play it and you’ll know.

It really is that simple. Think of it as the poker equivalent of “build it and they will come.” Lipstick cameras and Ben Affleck aside, poker has never been more popular and the reason is so simple: the convenience of the Internet has brought poker to the masses and they’re learning what traditional poker players have known all along – poker is one of the most challenging and fascinating games in the world.

I guess it’s just too much to expect some people to understand that something is so popular simply because it’s so much fun. For the poker critics, many of whom are as cynical as they come, the temptation is far too great to bash poker instead. Why? Because for some, it’s second nature to mock something when it has so obviously captured the public’s imagination.

This is why sports columnists attempt to marginalize poker, claiming it’s not worthy of consideration as a legitimate sport. This is why so many in the media are quick to categorize poker’s rejuvenation as a ‘fad.’

Granted, it’s tempting to brand poker as a fad. It meets some of the crucial criteria for that label. Celebrities and the young are doing it, and we know how fickle they can be ; ) Television networks have definitely jumped all over it, as they’re wont to do with the current craze of the day. Even the print media’s extensive coverage of late would seem to indicate that poker is the current flavor of the month. Yes, it’s tempting to label poker as a fad for all these reasons, but it’s simply not true.

By definition, a fad is “a fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of time; a craze.”

The keywords here are ‘a brief period of time.’ Think Rubik’s Cube, Mood Rings, Miami Vice blazers.” Those were fads, not a venerable game that has been with us for close to two centuries!

Poker is no more a fad than microbreweries, cell phones or the popularity of the latest Volkswagen Beetle. Like all of these examples, the poker boom is the reinvention of a tried-and-true-classic through the introduction of new technology.

Poker never went away. It’s simply entered the 21st century – with a bang!

University professors are now using poker exercises to demonstrate deductive reasoning, critical thinking skills and probability calculation to their students. Poker tournaments are drawing college students away from their Sony Playstations long enough for actual social interaction! Women of all ages have bashed down the door of the old boy’s club and are playing and winning against their male competitors.

Can you feel the love?

Those predisposed to cynicism can marginalize it anyway they choose and it won’t change a thing. More people are trying the game of poker every day and they’re loving it!

Can poker sustain the massive popularity it currently enjoys? It’s doubtful, but make no mistake: long after the celebs have folded their hand and moved onto the next spotlight, long after those with a less-than-genuine love for the game have moved onto the next trend — poker will prosper and the game will be better than ever thanks to the infusion of new blood. Just as the ascension of Tiger Woods revitalized the game of golf, Chris Moneymaker and the stars of the WSOP have made poker hip again for a new generation.

This is the beauty of the game. It’s enduring. It’s timeless.

When the western frontier disappeared, poker threatened to disappear along with it, before being born anew amidst the flash and dash of the roaring twenties. When the depression drained the possibility for games of chance, poker faltered briefly, only to resurface amidst the glamour and glitz of the Las Vegas cardrooms of the late forties.

For all of you players new to the game, there are some that would have you believe that your newfound passion is a fad, a passing fancy, something akin to wearing polyester disco suits or collecting pogs. Don’t believe it for a second.

You are learning a game with every bit the historical merit of golf, backgammon or chess. You are mastering a game enjoyed by people of all races, creeds and social strata. You are enjoying a game with intrinsic appeal for competitive people of higher intellect.

When someone criticizes this great game, defend it. It’s worth the effort. And the next time someone tells you poker is a fad, look them in the eye and say, “you wanna bet?”

Send this page to a friend

Other Articles:
How Do You Stack Up?
Poker's Battle of the Sexes
World Series of Poker
World Poker Tour