Social Media and Poker

Everyone is well aware of the "Poker Boom" of '03. There is an arguement that it was because of Chris Moneymaker and his journey to becoming a World Champion. Others say because of the way the Main Event was broadcasted with the assistance of hole card cams. Was poker born then? Of course not and a majority of poker players know the history and were well aware of poker prior to '03. Whatever the case was, poker was mainstream and so many outlets were made. Online poker became hugh and a main part of that can be contributed to Moneymaker.

Just like most things, poker went on a great run for a few years and then the popularity of it kind of faded away. Was it because it was available on multiple channels, or because the media didn't really cover John Doe winning a tournament online? The craze just became the norm and we didn't get worked up about poker until 2011 and "Black Friday" came. The poker world was devested! The major online poker sites were shut down! Casinos started to see that the traffic into their poker rooms started to thin out, causing some rooms to shut down. Was poker on it's death bed?

As years went on, your true poker player continued to pay attention to who was winning and what titles were being captured. Sure WPT and WSOP were being broadcasted every now and then. High Stakes Poker made it's way on GSN and Heads Up Poker would air to give a more constant showing. There still wasn't that electricity we felt years prior.

In 2012, a federal judge in New York ruled that poker is not gambling under federal law due to it being primary a game of skill and not chance. This was the beginning of a rolling ball....

In 2013, Nevada becomes the first state to regulate online gambling, which was followed by Delaware and New Jersey the same year. Online poker being reborn in 2013 was at the perfect time because the power that social media had become.

Social media has brought many people together and at the same time has ripped apart families and friendship(Different story for a different time). With the abilities that are available with social media, poker players and fans are able to watch, and learn 24/7!

YouTube holds hundreds of thousands of poker games, hands, tips, stories, etc. Twitch, has made it to where you can watch endless hours of WSOP Main Events, High Stakes Poker, online players, and casino games on live stream! Instagram has made poker players celebrities simply from your unknown big winners displaying their "chip porn". If you live in a state where poker is illegal and you don't want to drive 5 hours to a casino, Facebook has poker groups for your city and people share where live games are going to be. Poker players are hugh on Twitter as well! Poker forums like Two plus Two, and PocketFives, have allowed players to connect, discuss, and argue about poker! With the birth of  PokerGo, you can live stream tournaments, watch documentaries, and see previous games.

Social media is helping make poker great again! For all of you, whether you are a small time player or a professional poker player, tweet your hands, Vlog your experience in a tournament and post it on YouTube, post pictures of your chip porn, join a forum and learn from other players from around the world. If you are an online player, create a Twitch account and broadcast on live stream, and possibly make money from your subscribers. There are endless possibilities with poker and social media!

We hope you liked this post, if so, like, share, and comment please. As always, best of luck to you in the poker room and in life!