What's Trending In The Online Poker Scene?

Online poker has endured a rocky ride since the the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) brought an end to the ‘poker boom’ in 2006, followed by the US Department of Justice pulling US players from the global market in 2011. While traffic has since declined significantly, the industry does still present a number of opportunities for businesses, which have recently been highlighted by Blueclaw director Luke Ormerod in an article entitled “SEO: Where have all the poker players gone?”
Ormerod’s article uses the UK market as a case in point, and relies on search term traffic data to fathom where the focus of current online poker players is now directed. His research then reveals that searches for the terms texas holdem, and mobile poker, as well as specific poker brands such as PokerStars, 888, etc have all followed a downward trajectory since 2007, as lifestyle changes and gambling tastes continue to evolve.
Ormerod’s research, however, did reveal that searches for the term ‘Sit and go’ has gradually risen over the past couple of years, while the term “poker twitch” has experienced a “huge surge in popularity from 2013 onwards.” Concluding his piece, Ormerod subsequently explains:
“The online poker sector will likely never return to its pre-2007 glories but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still opportunities to be exploited. Instant ‘Sit and go’ games are proving that there is still an eager market out there and it will be interesting to assess whether brands are able to leverage the rising popularity of poker on the Twitch TV platform by converting that interest into new signups.”
Players like Jason Somerville, Randy “nanonoko” Lew, Jaime “PokerStaples” Staples, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier have been instrumental in generating a huge interest in their twitch streams from recreational players, as has been the occasional stream from players such as Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth. 2016 could also see a number of other poker personalities break into the upper echelon of Twitch Poker streamers, with players to look out for including Darius Wajda, AdrianFeniXx, Beata Jambrik, Dutch Boyd, and Alex Fitzgerald.