There is no question that something is happening in the real world of casino poker, and I think I know the cases of it.
During the past 10 years, some casinos have eliminated their poker rooms, while others have reduced the number of tables to make more space for more lucrative enterprises.
Now I am not a member of casino management, but I can pretty well sum up what the bosses are thinking. We're in business to make money. We have slot machines, table games, sports betting and thoroughbred racing where it's almost impossible to tamper with the House edge. So why give all this space to poker, which doesn't make us nearly as much money as these other ventures?
I have news for all you players on this website. Casino managers are not ruled by compassion for the players. They are ruled purely and simply by greed.
Let's put a few facts on the table. Why aren't there more skill games in casinos rather than just games of chance? There's a reason for it, and it's a big reason.
Smart players can win at skill games. But they can't win at games of chance that have the profitability factor woven into the game.
The microchip determines how much a player can win out of a slot machine. It is pure luck, not skill, that determines the outcome.
All those table games which are fancied up House versions poker are designed to relieve players of their money as quickly and as effortlessly as possible. Casinos give them fancy names -- Ultimate Texas Hold'em or One Card Poker. But there is no skill factor in these games. You and your bankroll are subject to a vicious profitability factor that just will not allow you to win.
When Edward O. Thorp developed his strategy and card-counting system for blackjack in the 1950s, all casinos dealt blackjack with a single deck. But after Thorp showed players how they could overcome the House edge by following his strategy and counting cards, casino management was not content to let some skillful players win money at the game. They changed the rules.
In 2003, Chris Moneymaker became the champion of the little guy by winning the World Series of Poker with a buy-in that he earned on-line. Almost overnight, poker popularity exploded. Everything centered around Texas Hold'em, a simple game where a player receives two cards and wins fortunes or loses his bankroll by the skillful way he plays those two cards.
In my opinion, the reason casino management is closing or slimming down poker rooms is that players are becoming bored with Texas Hold'em. The game grew so dramatically with Moneymaker's success that there are now many thousands of players who can come up with the $10,000 buy-in necessary to play in the WSOP. Some win the buy-ins on-line or in satellites while others take the money from their successful businesses and try to parlay it into millions.
Poker is one of the few remaining skill games offered by casinos around the world. The skill factor in blackjack or 21 has drastically reduced by the use of a shoe containing six or eight decks to frustrate card-counters.
The Las Vegas Strip has lost nearly one-fourth of its poker tables. It will continue to lose more poker tables unless casinos add more poker games to the players.
I am referring to mixed games. Seven-card stud high-low...Omaha High-Low...five card lowball with a joker...draw poker with a joker...seven-card stud...and Omaha High.
Casino management must invest money in dealers and tables if they want to bring in poker players. Hey, poker players are married. If they aren't married, they have girlfriends. Their wives or significant others may not play poker, but they do play the slots, they shop in the stores, they eat in the restaurants and consume drinks. They visit health spas and pay for massages or facials. All of these factors can increase a casino's bottom line.
But if casinos continue to close their poker rooms or cut down the number of poker tables, they will lose the only game in town that makes sense to a real gambler -- a game's results determined by a player's skill.
If casinos continue to lose their poker players, they will lose a significant percentage of people who go to casinos for fun, relaxation and to make money. It's up to casino management. The ball is in their corner, and they have the power to determine the next play.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
