Recreational Poker Players Most Interested in Entertainment Value

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Wednesday, October 18th, 2017 | Written by Stephen Smith

There is a whole world of difference between what the poker industry believes is good for the game’s long-term growth, and the professional poker community’s opinion on the matter. While both see recreational players as providing the life blood necessary to grow the game, many poker pros believe this can be done by providing them with impressive bonuses and rewards, while the poker industry has recently diverged from this point of view, and now sees entertainment as their chief goal.

Value and Rewards

Professional players often believe that for recreational players the most attractive aspect of playing is the value they are offered by the various sites. In other words, provide these players with the right sorts of monetary incentives, and they will keep playing and coming back for more. This view would seem to be based upon the idea that recreational players are ultimately aiming to plug the leaks in their games, and eventually become winning players.

Entertainment

While professionals players all seem to want poker sites to provide an environment which allows recreational players to win through their ongoing efforts and dedication, the industry believes that this important group of players are not overly interested in rewards, and instead simply just want to play the game for its entertainment value. Of course, this is not to say that the sites should refrain from offering them any type of financial incentives at all, but their point is that offering less value to recreational players will not overly dissuade them from playing the game.

Different Perceptions

The difference of opinion between the industry and poker professionals would seem to be based upon perception, with the pros subsequently projecting their own motivations for playing the game onto recreational players. For the pros, they cannot understand why a person might want to keep playing poker if they always lose, or why a person wouldn’t want to get better and “stop wasting” their money.

Nevertheless, the pros need to consider another important motivation for people to play games, namely for fun. Take the example of social games such as Candy Crush or Angry Birds, for instance, where people purchase chips with no monetary value, or spend cash buying power-ups even though there are ultimately no financial gains to be had. Some people might believe that it is illogical to spend money in such a way, when really it just comes down to the fact that these people are doing so for the enjoyment they derive from playing the game. Much like sports players on a recreational team, not everyone is hoping to fine-tune their skills. Instead, they devote their time and efforts for a number of other reasons, such as the competition, social aspect, and in order to just enjoy themselves and have a good time.

Bottom Line

One of the biggest misconceptions many pro poker players have about recreational players is that they become angry or upset after losing money, and that while many recreational players may have good poker skills which they want to try out against the competition, they are likely to avoid playing in a game in which the odds are firmly against them winning. Something that many pro players fail to consider, however, is that most recreational players tend to view poker as a way to spend a little money while having a lot of fun.

Recreational players are not concerned with losing a bit of money if they feel like they’ve enjoyed themselves and received some bang for their buck. The money they spend is therefore often seen as a part of their entertainment budget, and what isn’t spent at the poker table might otherwise be spent on a night out drinking, or an expensive dinner.

In conclusion, the poker community has reached a point where it needs to stop looking at recreational players as foolish entry-level players that want to become pros, and instead recognize them for what they are, people having fun and enjoying themselves. For the poker industry in general, this means striking an equitable balance between the rewards and incentives it offers new players, and the entertainment and fun aspects presented by the site.