Poker has been the preserve of swanky gents who know a thing or two about the world’s most sophisticated card game. Well, not sophisticated as in learning the rules, as this is quite easy to pull off. Still, poker invites enough wriggle room for high plays and unexpected outcomes, not to mention the prize pools that go hand-in-hand with the world’s most prestigious events, including the WSOP Main Event. Now, we leaf the page to find out that the pros of poker also have a bit of a flair for business, as it is.
Poker Pros and their Passion for Business
Poker pros, such as Eugene Katchalov, have been quite fond of the game, but they always felt like that they could invest their money in something more than simply clinging to the greenbacks and using them down for the next high-roller bonanza just around the horizon. No, Mr. Katchalov went on to pursue his passion for electronic sports, transferring the skills he had picked in poker to Hearthstone, a fantasy game developed by Blizzard and based on cards.
The majority of skilled players have opted for their true calling – poker, one and only. When it comes to a concrete business plans, poker pros have realized that the majority of poker games will and already take place on the Internet so a significant shift has been made towards those segments, exploring their potential in full and looking for additional revenue streams.
But apart from having professionals invest in poker websites, poker websites themselves have been supporting the game big time. The World Series of Poker have been following the victories of the pros up close and also creating the opportunities for such individuals as Justin Bonomo to shine.
The Online Gambling Industry Means Poker
The iGaming industry may have for long focused on video slot, as the most lucrative options for operators out there, but the poker lobby is growing. Hardly anything will stop the momentum that has been set in motion. The WSOP’s last Main Event was the second-largest in history, and the overall competitions managed to draw the largest crowd to date.
As a balance is sought between landbased events and online pow-wows, many people forecast that the poker scene is far from having reached its maturity and further growth is due. This is a claim upheld by the bulk of the poker community.
Meanwhile, savvy entrepreneurs have been quite quick to benefit from their fame and acumen. In 2010, for example, Filippo Candio managed it all the way to the final table of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, adding $3,092,545 to his bankroll.
Mr. Candio didn’t dither over the decision much and he launched his own poker-inspired clothing line, which paved the way for him as an entrepreneur.
Others will now be following suite as poker pros are also branching out as content creators on the Amazon-owned Twitch video streaming and sharing platform. As the competition becomes fiercer, the pros will increasingly begin to find new ways to monetize on their knowledge of the game.
