Swedish poker portal Poker.se asked three experts how they see the future of poker in ten years' time.


The three wise men from the north are the chairman of the Swedish Poker Players' Association Aaron Axelsson and the players Oskar Silow and Dan Glimne. While Silow says that it is easier to say what he wishes from the future than make predictions, and Glimne remarks that ten years ago nobody could have predicted the impact of online poker, all three give it a go.

Axelsson thinks that poker has become generally accepted as a hobby or profession but the gap between pros and amateurs will be wider than today. In online poker there will be a handful of big operators who are all looking to Asia where poker grows the fastest. The sites are competing for players with reduced rake.

In Silow's visions the game has taken over Asia and created a new poker boom in that region. Like all three, also Silow thinks that gaming monopolies have been replaced with regulated and taxed poker environment and there are lots of legal, private poker clubs in Sweden. Pros are better organized than today and the players' associations are making sure that players coming to tournaments get decent service and better prize pools thanks to sponsor money.

Glimne believes that thanks to advanced poker software, online poker will be truly amazing with realistic 3D avatars. Virtual poker rooms look like replicas of famous land-based casinos, and there are genuine WSOP, EPT and WPT events held online instead of just satellites to live events. According to Glimne, there won't be as many drastic changes in live poker. Texas Hold'em will still be the most popular game even if some new variations have been invented.

Source: Poker.se.