The Five Worst Things We Got From The Poker Boom

After golf peaked in the general American consciousness, poker was there to fill in the gap. But the rise in mainstream poker popularity was short-lived. Those who loved the game are still there, but now have to deal with some of the residual effects of that crazy time.

The five worst things we got from the poker boom:

1. Online players who thought they knew the game. While it is fun to take their money, guys who constantly chase cards and require a little plastic index card to remember “what beats what” are just plain no fun to play with. The online poker boom created an army of these folks and released them on the world.

2. Gambling addicts. In all seriousness, online poker was way too accessible for many individuals who had trouble controlling their gambling habits. With hands moving many times faster than live poker, this was the crack cocaine of poker.

3. Too much poker on TV. We all love the World Series of Poker. Heck, the WPT tournaments are nice, slick productions as well. But do we really celebrity tournaments, ladies-only events and hour after hour of televised heads up play? Thanks to the sudden rise of the sport, like it or not, that’s what we got.

4. The Kyl Bill. Arizona Senator Jon Kyl was the author of this bill that essentially put an end to internet poker as we know it the United States. The bill, which made it illegal for banks to allow their credit cards to be used for gaming transactions, was a good thing for compulsive gamblers (see above), but a downer for anyone who wanted to pick up and play without having to put on pants.

5. Celebrity players. Unless we’re talking about Jennifer Tilly (whose movie career was a little suspect before her poker career anyway), the celebs who came out and start playing poker during the boom period were lame at best. Ben Affleck, Tobey McGuire, Matt Damon, Jennifer Garner and others all looked like folks who had too much money and/or time on their hands, and were stealing seats from guys trying to make a legitimate living at the game.

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