Vlogging is gaining puff in the poker community. Much like in other activities that generate sufficient amount of buzz, poker players to have found interest in streaming their players and offer novices and semi-pros practical advice. Plus, it’s always fun to see how the best do it.
Run It Once’s founder Phil Galfond has decided to take up streaming himself and he’s definitely causing some buzz. While the 2018 World Series of Poker has already started a while back, Galfond took to Twitter and announced that the Run It Once initiative now has its own dedicated channel and it will be uploading videos there, with the first video already available on YouTube.
The video has Galfond walking us through some games in his soft voice. If you think poker players are a rather quirky lot who tend to be rude, you may have to rethink after you have had a chance to listen to Galfond’s instructive walkthroughs.
The first video on the channel focuses on the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship. According to the Tweet, more content is coming and it will not necessarily be walkthroughs with Galfond and Run It Once trying to vary the footage posted on the channel, and of course, its value.
The Kick Off
The debut video has Galfond playing the $50,000 Poer Player’s Championship. The useful key hands and strategies are featured in the video, allowing outsiders and players to appreciate what goes in his head when he’s playing. Phil Ivey is also part of the video and he’s featured with a personal story, which is just great.
Now, as to the question at hand: why are poker vlogs on the rise? Just as with any other product of entertainment, you will always have audiences. Mainstream sports, even electronic sports, are drawing hundreds of thousands of people to watch. Why should it be any different with poker?.
Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and Phil Ivey have all participated in some form of televised poker content, which has had a great effect on the popularity of players, the game, and the hosts. Plus, audiences always found it entertaining and informative to find out little more about the people who actually end up winning big competitions.
And they are all doing it now! ESPN, PokerGO, and Twitch are all delivering the coveted poker action, mainlining it through portable smartphones, paid on-demand videos, web browsers and a versatile pick of offers.
The shift towards the pure entertainment value of poker is a fact. However, there’s always the fact that a growing crop of players are also interested in becoming better and competing at the high-tier competitions themselves.
In the meanwhile, you may certainly be interested in some o the already active vloggers beyond Galfond. You may want to drop by Andrew Neeme’s channel who’s got well over 75,000 subscribers on YouTube. Tim Watts and Brad Owen are two other entertainers who know the value of good laugh as well as the importance of stellar plays when the time of crunch is upon them.
