Interesting Interview With Joe Hachem From Aussie Millions

[FCP Bob 1,312]

1. 
    
    
   Daniel Negreanu ‏@RealKidPoker 6h
   Great interview with @JosephHachem on the state of the game today: http://www.bluff.com/news/joe-hachem-gold-and-yang-destroyed-the-world-champ-legacy-51589/ … he is spot on with a lot of what he is saying.
   

 

[Vegas Knights 54]

I think having good ambassadors is important, but Black Friday is the main culprit in the decline of poker.

[coug2828 8]

dude sounds like a lady

[FCP Bob 1,312]

[FCP Bob 1,312]

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

The Decline of poker has little to do with "ambassadors". Yes, it would be better if people buttered up the fish more, instead of being quiet, insular robotron geeks. But the burst of the poker bubble was inevitable. There is a finite amount of dollars in the poker economy, a finite amount of people who are going to play. The good players will get the bad players money. Some of those bad players have steady jobs, large amount of resources and gamble responsibly. Others will go hard bust and flat broke and have no money to spend. Even the ones with good jobs, and responsible gambling habits will get tired of losing, night in and night out, year after year. No matter how much Antonio flatters them, losing isn't fun. SO the pool gets drier, and previous winning players are no longer good enough to beat games that have all tough players, and those pros go bust, with no job to support their poker, they either have to quit and get a real job or live the life of a complete degenerate and it's hard to climb out of that abyss. So the poker field gets drier. The better players survive, but they are beating their heads against each other, hoping one of the true drug dealign whale who doesn't give a shit about the money, comes into the game. There will always be a certain amount of those, and it's important for "ambassadors" to kiss their ass, absolutely. But the public money is gone and isn't coming back, and that's no one's fault but fate's.

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

Also, I have some Australian pro friends, who all consider hashem a titanic fish, akin to Phil Hellmuth in terms of the gap between where his ego thinks his game is, and where the pros think his game is, so I laughed a little while I watched that video, as I imagine Joe is on the business end of buttering up all the time.

[king_tanner 84]

Joe mentions Moneymaker, Raymer, and himself. They were all given lucrative pokerstars contracts. That is the main difference to me between the champions. I'm sure if some of the more recent champions were paid to travel the world to each tournament, and paid to go on televised poker shows, then they would probably be more laid back and better ambassadors.

 

So yeah Black Friday pretty much

[JubilantLankyLad 1,957]

The Decline of poker has little to do with "ambassadors". Yes, it would be better if people buttered up the fish more, instead of being quiet, insular robotron geeks. But the burst of the poker bubble was inevitable. There is a finite amount of dollars in the poker economy, a finite amount of people who are going to play. The good players will get the bad players money. Some of those bad players have steady jobs, large amount of resources and gamble responsibly. Others will go hard bust and flat broke and have no money to spend. Even the ones with good jobs, and responsible gambling habits will get tired of losing, night in and night out, year after year. No matter how much Antonio flatters them, losing isn't fun. SO the pool gets drier, and previous winning players are no longer good enough to beat games that have all tough players, and those pros go bust, with no job to support their poker, they either have to quit and get a real job or live the life of a complete degenerate and it's hard to climb out of that abyss. So the poker field gets drier. The better players survive, but they are beating their heads against each other, hoping one of the true drug dealign whale who doesn't give a shit about the money, comes into the game. There will always be a certain amount of those, and it's important for "ambassadors" to kiss their ass, absolutely. But the public money is gone and isn't coming back, and that's no one's fault but fate's.

Poker always was just a math game.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

1. 
    
    
   Phil Galfond ‏@PhilGalfond 4h
   My take on the issues @JosephHachem brought up this week & thoughts on what we can do (in too many words, as usual): http://www.runitonce.com/chatter/speaking-for-the-new-school/ …
   

[mr_druid 0]

I think both Joe and Phil bring up some good points. I like to think that everyone can do a little bit for the game, it's not hard. I'm in the midwest, and when i play live at the casino, I tend to do a few things to try to make it more inviting. The tourists and yahoos will always play Friday & Saturday nights, but I feel a few simple steps can improve the game all week.

 

I shower before I go and dress normal. I can't tell you how many people have told me playing next to someone who smells like blue cheese and is wearing his pjs and Beats at max volume is a turn off. (And I agree) If I observe a few fresh faces or convention goers, i'll chat them up a bit, maybe have a beer and do a shot with them. I try to make them feel welcome. I know what it's like being at a new card room and sitting down to realize the entire table is regs who are in a silent war against you. I don't talk shop and I don't berate people. If I want to discuss a few hands with someone, i'll make a note of it in my phone and we can talk about it later. It's the little things, but it adds up. Often after an hour or so of light discussion and a few laughs, I begin to notice people asking for a move to the "fun" table. They leave the table of regs who look & smell like the garbage pail kids.

 

It's going to take some work to get the public to change their perception of a bunch of 20 something males in sweatpants & sunglasses arguing about EV, but I think it is possible.

 

Now if we could just speed up the live games....

 

Tom.