What the coronavirus has done to online poker

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fundiver199

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As we have probably all noticed, far more people are playing online poker these days because of the virus related lock-down in large parts of the world. This is obviously good for poker sites, but for us as players the more interesting aspect is, what all these new players are doing to game quality.

And based on my experience playing on pokerstars I have to say, that it is absolutely amazing, what this has done for the traditional full ring cash games. They are simply full of really bad fish to an extend, which I am sure has not been seen for more than a decade. Its a absolute gold mine, and presumably the situation is similar on other poker sites. Zoom games on the other hand seem to not have benefited much at all. Volume has increased a bit, but they are still an extremely nitty affair with very low players per flop numbers and very few true fish.

SnGs also dont seem to have benefited much. They are still quite reg infested, especially the 18-180 mans, which I mainly play. Tournaments might be somewhere in between, but they were kind of soft already, so for me it seem like, traditional cash games are the main beneficiary of the large influx of new or returning players. For those of us, who missed the poker boom 15 years ago, this might literally be the chance of a lifetime :)
 
Edu1

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interesting that point of view, the new poker boom is coming soon? ok, I'm prepared
"It's an absolute gold mine" I laughed hard (I don't doubt it's true), bad fish = whale.
 
eniseysmail

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I didn't even think quarantine against coronovirus would affect poker.
 
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fundiver199

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"It's an absolute gold mine" I laughed hard (I don't doubt it's true), bad fish = whale.

Of course there is no objective definition of, what a "gold mine" is. But if you could beat 2NL before, then you can for sure beat 25NL now and perhaps even higher. This is how much softer cash games have become :)
 
sergik1992

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To my mind, there are more weak players at the tables.
 
Helvec

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The truth is that online poker sites are at the right time to take advantage of the huge player traffic. But are these sites such as Pokerstars, partypoker, and other rooms capable of supporting this massive player traffic? A few days ago the Pokerstars server went down, and unfortunately the players we were playing at the time returned the ticket to us. Hopefully this is so that online poker will end up making the necessary jump. Compared to new online players, this is an advantage for experienced players, as a player who is not familiar with online poker suffers that change from playing live. Luck at the tables
 
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fundiver199

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I dont think, all the new players have a live poker background. Its simply a question of people having to stay home. So anything, people can do from their home, will pick up. There are also more people watching movies on Netflix for instance.
 
JJP

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My regular daily games are averaging over 2.5x the field. I play mostly mtts and it has been a rather crazy increase. The daily schedule available to americans actually feels very similar to pre black friday days. The 2nd boom does indeed seem to be on !
 
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Well this quarantining and sheltering-in-place has definitely brought me back to online poker after a decent hiatus haha. In all seriousness, it seems like there's definitely been an influx in tournaments and cash games regardless of the platform you're on and I've heard about stories about clients freezing or more tech issues perhaps because they're not used to the increased traffic. I experienced that last night for a freeroll I was registered in and right as it started, it cancelled itself and the owner of it had to reach out to support to get it back online. A quick fix but wondering if it has anything to do with more people playing online poker.
 
rj_montana

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I have noticed more fish in 6-max hypers on Pokerstars and 888. Enjoying the softer games and hoping that Pokerstars takes advantage by rolling out a new MTT schedule. I am seeing numbers that they normally only reach on Sundays
 
Evan Jarvis

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As we have probably all noticed, far more people are playing online poker these days because of the virus related lock-down in large parts of the world. This is obviously good for poker sites, but for us as players the more interesting aspect is, what all these new players are doing to game quality.

And based on my experience playing on PokerStars I have to say, that it is absolutely amazing, what this has done for the traditional full ring cash games. They are simply full of really bad fish to an extend, which I am sure has not been seen for more than a decade. Its a absolute gold mine, and presumably the situation is similar on other poker sites. Zoom games on the other hand seem to not have benefited much at all. Volume has increased a bit, but they are still an extremely nitty affair with very low players per flop numbers and very few true fish.

SnGs also dont seem to have benefited much. They are still quite reg infested, especially the 18-180 mans, which I mainly play. Tournaments might be somewhere in between, but they were kind of soft already, so for me it seem like, traditional cash games are the main beneficiary of the large influx of new or returning players. For those of us, who missed the poker boom 15 years ago, this might literally be the chance of a lifetime :)



I've noticed a LOOOOOOOT more traffic online than I've seen in the past 8 years!!!

Tournament prize pools are double or triple what they usually are and there are a lot more new and recreational players in the mix. It's a great time to be a well seasoned player.

The rush games are also seeing a lot more volume and weaker player than usual.
Betonline is running massive series' as is America's Cardroom and it's just so awesome.

Overall I think the benefit is seen more in the tournament side of the game than on the cash side of the game (more people going for the lottery mentality, especially with future finances being uncertain) so if you're someone who has the time to play these 8-12 hour sessions its a great place to be.

I've also noticed a nice lil uptick in my viewership at http://twitch.tv/gripsed
Seems that I'm not the only one who enjoys company when I'm grinding online.

Really feel like I'm living the dream right now, just hope that cures come sooner rather than later so those who aren't as fortunate won't need to suffer any longer :/
 
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There are definitely more players who goes all in with random hands.
 
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ledris

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I agree that the current situation has brought a lot of fish to the tables and is a real opportunity for players with patience and the urge to grind to make very good profits. Unfortunately at this time I am in a very bad financial situation and I have no chance at all to play and exploit the situation.
 
igorneia

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So I am just curious how the corona virus has affected the online poker world. I mean many people finding them selves at home with much more time on their hands must be good for buisness.

Thoughts?




good night!!! in my case it affected my personal life because instead of going to work every day I am having to stay at home, but because of poker it has improved a lot I am having time to dedicate myself to the tables in the afternoon, which I did not do before.
 
houcineben10

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I notices that the Numbers of players on the table grow up a lot.
It's good it means that there are more fish on the tables.
 
dallam

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People may 'll have more time to play in general, but this virus will lead us to a fatal financial issue as the economy will collapse.
It won't make a negative impact in online poker's live, so all is virtual, and can be played without your presence and not so much money needed - yet.
 
RVTR7777

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So I am just curious how the corona virus has affected the online poker world. I mean many people finding them selves at home with much more time on their hands must be good for buisness.

Thoughts?
After this virus appeared, everyone was affected in some way.
I was the first to be fired from the store where I worked, I hope everything goes well (anxious). May they find a cure as soon as possible.
For those who like poker, going without the live has been difficult.
I love it online for me it looks great.
Lucky everyone, stay home.
.:nurse::nurse::nurse::nurse:
 
Helvec

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You will see that with this pandemic, poker rooms have good player traffic. I hope they know how to take advantage of it, I mean that the rooms are able to provide players with a better platform with a lot of variety in tournaments, sping, open tables and more.
 
Lena M

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Hello.
The spread of this dangerous virus can not be beneficial for business. Although the number of players online has increased, but in general, the economy of all countries of the world has suffered significant losses. Therefore, the increase in the number of online players and the overall cash flow is completely offset by losses at the macroeconomic level.
 
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neptun1914

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Definitely the field in low buyin big field MTTs which i play is between 2 and 3 times bigger (average around 2.5 times) than before the quarantine and it can easily be seen that many of the players are new. It is good for the game. :)
 
Dutydog

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I’ve noticed a significant increase in traffic in the Sit ‘n’ Go’s I usually play. Interestingly there seem to be a lot of tight players at the tables, less all ins while the blinds are still relatively low, and games lasting longer.
 
Newzooozooo

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Hi.
I believe that increasing the number of online players may bring short-term profits, but it will have a very negative impact on the future of this business.
Good luck.
 
Ami9559

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I notice a significant increase in games. I wish you all good health and not get this infection.
 
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