Going, Going, Gone?

I received an e-mail recently from a gentleman by the name of George Fotiadis. I decided to use a small part of it here, because I think he makes a good point, and I don't think it could have been said any more succinctly. Here is that part of the e-mail:

"I have a major concern. I hear all the time about how much television has helped the game of poker. That may be true for hold'em poker, but it is killing off every other game out there."

George went on to say that recently he went to the casino where he usually plays. It has 80 tables, and there was not one seven-card stud eight-or-better game, which is his favorite, or Omaha eight-or-better game, which is his second choice.

Well, I must say that I agree with George. At the recently concluded World Series of Poker, I noticed a similar pattern. Even though they did have Omaha eight-or-better and stud eight-or-better side games, there certainly were fewer of these games than in years gone by.

The explosive growth of poker was a topic of discussion that came up many times during the WSOP. It was agreed by all that the scores of new players has not affected the Omaha and stud eight-or-better tournaments that much. And as far as Omaha and stud eight-or-better side games are concerned, if they've been affected at all, it has been in a negative way. It seems obvious that the new players have become no-limit hold'em players.

These new players are playing primarily in tournaments, and if they're not playing in tournaments, they seem to be playing in no-limit supersatellites or one-table satellites. Plus, many more no-limit hold'em side games are being spread. In fact, it has become the predominant side game in a couple of the casinos where I play.

Having watched the death of other games such as ace-to-five draw, and five-card draw high in 1987, when hold'em was introduced in California, it makes me sad. I'm sad mainly because, just as in 1987, I see players like George and me who like the split games and are virtually powerless to change what seems inevitable.

Back in 1987, all the games that died did not disappear overnight. Some held on longer than others, but within a short period of time, an ace-to-five player was laughingly called a dinosaur. Then, in a relatively short period of time, even tournaments started leaving ace-to-five events out of their schedules.

Obviously, the player base for these games doesn't die out overnight. Casinos try to keep the dying games going, but ultimately the lack of demand for them results in more popular games being spread instead.

I know from my own experience that many of the players who were regulars in Omaha eight-or-better and stud eight-or-better games soon realized that the games where the greatest number of new and inexperienced players were playing were the easiest to beat.

Recently I sat down in a $10-$20 blinds no-limit hold'em game and realized that there were three other former $30-$60 Omaha eight-or-better players in the game. I happened to get a seat next to one of my friends from that Omaha game. After a while, he commented to me how much easier this game was, compared to some of the old Omaha games. He said, "All roads lead to the juiciest game."

Another reason that certain games might decline and eventually die in casinos is the domino effect. If a person plays Omaha or stud eight-or-better and drives to a casino and finds that there is no game, he may be prompted to just stay home and play on one of the Internet sites. A person knows he will be able to find an Omaha or stud eight-or-better game on one of the many Internet sites. Thus, the loss of these players makes it even harder to get enough players to start an Omaha or stud eight-or-better game in the casino.

Another development that points to the demise of games other than hold'em is that Bellagio and the Hustler Casino have run tournaments that are strictly hold'em events. Bellagio's recent Festa al lago II tournament had nothing but no-limit hold'em tournaments, and it attracted large numbers of players. The recent Hustler Grand Slam of Poker also had mostly no-limit hold'em tournaments, with a few limit hold'em tournaments included.

I have always wished casinos luck in drawing great turnouts for their tournaments, but now I wonder if it might be a case of cutting my own throat if my wishes for their success come true. So, I hope that maybe I am missing something; otherwise, I can certainly envision Omaha and stud eight-or-better tournaments and side games going the way of ace-to-five and five-card draw.

For what it's worth …