Gambling Blog

While to those with little or no interest in casino games such as poker, the thought of watching a live poker competition may not have the desired effect.  However, put this opportunity in front of a poker player and you will see a whole different approach - the chance to watch and learn!

The explosion in poker’s popularity has come at the same time as a major increase in the number of satellite TV channels covering live poker competitions.  So which came first?

It seems that while there needed to be an increasing interest in the poker industry to make it worthwhile, the reduced costs of producing TV programs as well as the competitive pricing for those offering TV channels created an interesting opportunity.  The increased coverage of the sport has also resulted in a massive increase in tournament win pots, with figures well into the millions of dollars now common place.

Interestingly, the last few years have seen the emergence of many new poker experts from different areas of the world and society.  It seems that the internet has released a lot of talent, which had until recently been well hidden.  Sponsorships, advertising deals and the like have opened the poker competitions to the masses, with many players going on to make a full time living and gain “superstar” status in the industry.

The number of televised poker tournaments is set to increase in the future, with many of the big casinos and gambling houses keen to put forward large sponsorship deals.  As well as sponsorship deals, we are set to see a new advertising code introduced in the UK, allowing casinos to advertise in the popular press.  Many expect this change of policy by the authorities to create another boom in the industry - possibly something to make up for the current troubles in the us.

As we have seen the reality TV market grown, we have also seen the introduction on reality TV gambling - an event which you can watch from your own arm chair and use your personal opinion to “win” - well that’s the theory - but is it really that simple?

Unfortunately, reality TV gambling has become one of the most difficult markets to predict, and often the hardest to try to “fix”, as many betting syndicates have found out to their dismay.  It seems that there is nothing more unpredictable as the public vote, with many people voting with their hearts rather than their heads - a recipe for disaster in the gambling industry.

While there is no doubt that we have the seen the betting markets indicate some of the many to leave for example the Big Brother house, these are often “dead certs”, where the press and public have vocally displayed their displeasure.  It is the more general reality TV gambles which are harder to predict, the one out of ten to win, the one out of ten to leave - markets in which public opinion will over run any attempted betting “coups”.  As a consequence, these difficult to predict markets also offer the largest potential rewards if the gambler is able to “tap in” to the public opinion.

Despite numerous high profile attempts to influence the result of various reality TV programs, it is proving a market which the professional gamblers are leaving alone.  They seem to have been left to the “Grand National” posse, those who only have a couple of bets a year.

Even though the professional gambler likes to see a degree of uncertainty in a betting market to make the best returns, voting with your heart rather than your head can blow many betting strategies out of the water - something which many are looking to avoid more and more.