POKER FAD

The new booming pastime of competition poker has taken Sydney and the region by storm over the past few years. More than 6000 players are registered with various 'Pub Poker' leagues offering games every day of the week across Sydney. According to the Australian Poker League, The speed of poker's growth over the last 18 months is close to 400,000 and is said to be only the beginning of the poker phenomenon.My friends and i can't get enough of the game!

A boost for poker in Australia was Melbourne player Joe Hachem winning $US 7.5 Million at the world series of poker main event in 2006, to become our best known player of several Australians on the international scene. After Hachem’s win in Vegas, poker coverage expanded in clubs, on television, on the net and in ordinary suburban homes right around the country. This unanticipated occurrence is often coined as “The Poker Revolution” amongst Sydneysiders. Sydney local, Daniel Marano talks about why he enjoys watching televised poker; “It's surprisingly good drama to see players agonise over a tough decision - especially when the pocket cameras show the TV viewers each player’s cards as they blunder into defeat.” On Foxtel, you will see that poker is featured on ESPN, Fox Sports, Fox 8’s Celebrity Poker, and MTV’s Hip Hop Hold’em.

Mr Bajada, UTS University professor of Economics, says that universities “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. Paul Constantine, a local at the Regent hotel in Kingsford, states; “It’s more enjoyable to go out and have a few drinks with the boys and have a game, rather than just bum around at home on the net or something.”

OzPoker Tours runs PokerDome, one of the city's biggest games at the Newtown RSL. The tournament organizer, Brad Locking, has bottled No-Limit, a non-alcoholic caffeine-laced drink. Its special ingredient, ginkgo extract, is promoted as a "brain tonic" in marketing documents published on the company website. He feels that “No-Limit might overhaul Red Bull as the caffeinated elixir of choice among overtired gamblers.”

The Newtown Pokerdome is a room full of poker tables where all one does is sit down and play games and games of poker. A Vaucluse resident, Michael Brown, proudly confesses he is addicted to poker. He states, “First it was once a week, then it was going to the pubs and playing there about 3 times a week, and then my friends discovered the pokerdome”, adding under his breath “scary place”. There is no clock on the wall and there is nothing to do besides read a poker magazine called “Bluff” if your not actually playing poker. There are people wearing sunglasses, caps, hoodies, and others listening to their i-pods. This, in contrast to pub games, is not a social scene. Luke Tremlowe, a graduate from Scots College in Bellevue Hill states that “I am not here to have a good chat to be honest with you, I just want to play poker and get out of here.” The Dome is predominantly filled with young people aging from 18 to late twenties. Along the walls are photos of famous poker players surrounded in either chips or cash. It’s opened from 10 AM-3 AM every day.

Women of all ages have bashed down the door of the old boy's club and are playing and winning poker against their male competitors. In the Pokerdome there is a rough ratio of 1 girl to every 20 guys. Adam Touma, a regular pub poker player states, ”I’ve seen a few girls come into pubs with their low cut tops and “blonde” personalities, who make out that they’ve never played poker in their lives… and miraculously start winning over all of the chips!” Justin Watts admits, “I just can’t fold to a girl”. Other guys have pre-conceived notions that “girls can’t bluff”. However,
According to my own research (as you can see on the graph below), 68 out of 100 men respect women on the poker table, the most common reason being that they think and bet completely different to guys, making the game a lot more confusing.

The harm in poker lies in the money that is spent. In the Dome, minimum table costs $20 and the rest of the tables range up to $500. Even if you play five $20 games while your there and win none, that is $100 you’ve lost. Pokerdome regular, known by everyone as Juice (won’t reveal real name) is 18 year old bar-tender, who won’t leave the Pokerdome until he wins a game. A friend of Juice’s, UTS business student Joshua Blomfield admits cheekily; “If we want to have a friendly game at someone’s house Juice is the man who is invited over without fail, because it is guaranteed that the pot will be significantly larger with all of his re-buys.” Allan, an 19 year-old landscape gardener, has dedicated his basement to poker, and has made his own professional poker table using materials from Spotlight.

Enthusiasts such as Richard O'Neill, managing director of Sydney poker equipment seller Direct2public.com.au, says there are about 100,000 Australian online poker players. Globally, he says, most players fall into the 18-40 year-old "computer generation", and he estimates “about 35 per cent are female and 1 million are professionals.” Sydneysider Neil Pheeney, 32, a non-professional who has played internet poker off and on for the past few years, says he wants to try to win through to the World Series by playing online. However, he's well aware of the risks. He says, “some of my friends spend about $1000 a month on internet poker and it's tough to make a profit.” Others, however, are happy to play with only virtual money. Lesley Fernandez, 23, has been into online play-money poker for six months. Fernandez plays for three hours every weeknight and says she got into it because she spends a lot of time online and enjoys pitting herself against real opponents.


According to Associated Counsellors & Psychologists Sydney, Online poker has a very addictive nature that often affects younger generations. While online poker is convenient, fun, and safe for most players, it also presents some serious consequences for others. Judy Boucher, A spokeswoman for ACPS states, ”When playing traditional poker, people do not usually take their entire bankroll to the casino. Rather, they take only the portion that they are willing to lose. But with online poker, your entire bankroll is just a mouse-click away. You can transfer as much money as you need to without ever leaving your chair. And under the cloak of anonymity, people feel less pressure to make sound plays and temper their spending.” Online poker chips are an abstraction of actual chips (which themselves are an abstraction of actual money). Their image on the computer screen does not hold the same weight as physical chips or money. “Online poker’s lack of fiscal reality lends itself to hooking susceptible youths into addiction” Boucher confirms.

Poker isn’t just your average card game. It is a sport and it offers one dreams of making a fortune. Success stories of normal players are always mentioned but there is a neglect to mention the more common failure stories. The problem is that in order to “practice” and become better at poker, players lose a lot of money and become addicted in the process. Research shows the earlier a person begins gaming, the more likely they are to be habitual gamblers their whole life. Poker’s growth rate is too rapid to be considered just a passing trend. Poker is definitely here to stay.