A few years ago, talk of a new poker boom in the 2020s might have sounded strange. The online poker industry was all but non-existent, the pro game doesn’t command the attention it used to, and cultural relevance on the whole seemed to have waned. Now though, a poker boom looks distinctly possible.
This comes down to four factors:
New Tech – Five or six years ago, two tech developments were linked to poker. First, mainstream VR emerged and was quickly discussed as an ideal medium for online cards. Second, video game streaming became a phenomenon, and people started watching others play poker. Neither of these developments launched a poker boom at the time, but both ideas have advanced, and are more linked to poker now than in 2015 or 2016.
COVID-19 – This one’s simple: COVID-19 forced us all to stay home, and kept people not only out of live casinos but away from entertainment in general. As a result, online poker sites saw huge increases in activity that don’t seem to be slowing down significantly.
Opportunity – The COVID spike would not have happened were it not for the fact that there are more ways to play poker online than most assume in America. There are in fact several trustworthy apps and websites for casual gaming with friends, as well as some real-cash sites available in certain states. Basically, online poker hasn’t disappeared as much as some believe, and is likely to expand in the coming years as more states debate legalizing cash games once more.
Winning Stories – Finally, we’re also starting to see fresh stories of poker earnings by amateurs — which were rampant during the true poker boom of the early 2000s. These stories may seem like random, one-off anecdotes, but the truth is every time an article is written about a college student earning $400 a week, there’s a high likelihood that a lot of readers start considering trying the same. This, on a massive scale, is basically how the boom happened before.
Add these factors up, and it seems a lot like a big boost in poker popularity is on the way. And this brings us to our main point, which is that Kevin Hart should be (and can be) the face of it.
When poker exploded in the early 2000s, its rise was heralded by the likes of Chris Moneymaker, Phil Hellmuth, and Daniel Negreanu. They’re still active on the scene, as are some of their other famous counterparts. But poker in 2021 isn’t fresh enough to rely on known pros to further fuel the fire. A celebrity would do better to capitalize on the renewed energy surrounding the game and catapult it to new extremes, and Hart is ideally positioned to do it.
Why?
Well for starters, Hart is a known celebrity poker player already — and one so good at the game he wins when he should lose (having famously triumphed once despite a badly botched hand). The actor/comedian is a regular at the tables, and nowadays comes up on most of the lists you find when you look up “celebrities who play poker.” While it’s always difficult to say exactly how good these guys are, Hart is associated with the game commonly enough for us to believe he can at least hang at a table with pros. For him to start doing so — possibly as a representative for an up-and-coming poker platform — would definitely bring a bigger spotlight to the game.
There’s also something to be said for representation. To put it bluntly, the turn-of-the-century poker boom was completely dominated by middle-aged white guys. There were a few exceptions, such as Lebanese pro Sam Farha (who spent plenty of time in televised tournaments), or many-time champion Phil Ivey (who some refer to as the “Tiger Woods of poker”). But the prevailing image of the game is still relatively monotone. Naturally, this leaves millions of poker players around the world feeling like they’re not represented, which can in turn dull interest. Having one of the most prominent Black entertainers in the world help to bring the game into the 2020s would do a lot to amplify the diversity of the poker community this time around.
On top of all of the above, there’s also the fact that Kevin Hart is basically a walking success. He’s an extremely accomplished actor with an explosively productive comedy platform. He’s released his own musical singles and had some success modeling. And he’s reached a level of stardom at which it’s not surprising to see him sitting courtside at NBA games or hosting random television events. Hart has surpassed any one genre or medium to become a general A-lister, and at this point it’s hard to imagine him attaching himself to anything without that thing becoming a success.
It my be unlikely, but all of this makes Hart an ideal face for a renewed poker movement that seems like it’s coming one way or another. If a 2020s boom has the same old pros at the helm, it will still represent a lot more poker activity. But if someone like Hart plays a key role in promoting the game, the boom will feel a lot more modern and inclusive than it did 20 years ago.
Kevin Hart Should Be The Face Of A New Poker Boom
