With the start of each New Year, poker players from around the world make their New Year resolutions and set goals for themselves. We decided to put together a list of five possible outcomes that that global poker community can expect in 2019.
Consolidation Of Online Poker Markets
The online poker industry in America and Europe has struggled in recent years which have paved the way for shared liquidity agreements. Portugal, Spain and France launched their shared liquidity operations in 2018 while New Jersey joined forces with Nevada and Delaware. With Pennsylvania set to launch online poker this year, it is quite possible that the Keystone State will also make plans to join the shared liquidity program.
We believe that going forward; gambling regulators from around the world will consider the possibility of joining forces and setting up shared liquidity programs in order to boost their respective online poker markets.
Unknown Poker Pro Will Win 2019 PSPC
The much anticipated $25,000 PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) is underway in the Bahamas. The event is the biggest poker tournament in history and thanks to the 320 Platinum Passes given out by PokerStars, poker players from all financial backgrounds have made their way to this unique poker tournament.
While it is still too early to tell who will emerge as the winner, we believe that it is very much possible for a completely unknown poker player to take center stage and become a multi-millionaire overnight. There are a number of high stake poker pros and celebrities who are in attendance which makes it all the more interesting as it would provide an unknown poker player the perfect stage to outperform these high stake players and become the next big name on the poker circuit.
Poker’s Next Big Thing — Short Deck
Short-deck poker, also known as six-plus Hold’em and Triton Hold’em, has gone mainstream in 2018 after being featured at a number of popular tournaments and venues. This year, short deck will continue to gain popularity among poker players due to the new level of fun and excitement it brings.
The game offers more variance and excitement while not veering off from the usual pot-limit Omaha format. More venues and sites will introduce the game in the coming months, with rumors also floating around about PokerStars having plans to roll out the short deck version soon.
One major roadblock though is concerning the rules. Gaming regulators will most probably find it difficult to formulate a set of guidelines due to the absence of a standard deck. Nevertheless, we expect short deck poker to continue to grow in popularity during 2019 and become mainstream by the end of the year.
WSOP Will Bid Goodbye To The Rio
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) had made the Rio its home for a number of years but that could very well change in 2019. There have been rumors floating around about a potential Rio sale. While the WSOP hasn’t confirmed these rumors, latest developments suggest that the WSOP could be getting a new home. There have been reports the tournament could be moved to a soon-to-rise Las Vegas venue that will be named Caesars Convention Center.
The new location could provide the WSOP with a boost as the new venue is expected to be more accessible and visible for the tourists – though parking is a primary concern. The 2018 WSOP saw a number of complaints from players who had issues with the facilities at the Rio.
Low Turn-out for WPT’s Delayed Final Tables
The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced at last year’s Tournament of Champions that it would change the way how its final tables were presented going forward. One of those decisions was to have consecutive filming of final tables at the new Esports Arena in Las Vegas. We do not think that this is a good decision because poker players will not welcome the idea of travelling to another location for the final tables, considering the logistical issues and re-scheduling they have to go through to make it to the venue.
This will be a turn-off for grinders in particular who would not want to waste several weeks waiting for the delayed final tables when they could instead spend them taking part in other poker tournaments. Poker players are less-interested about TV appearances – this was proven when the non-televised WPT Five Diamond broke its own attendance record.