I think this should be considered a "view", and I ask for yours.

So, with the negativity concerning poker that has ran rampant lately (Bots, cheaters, MA in HS, VPN, "Grey area programs" etc), it got me to thinking about the "MoneyMaker Effect" which I hope is generally considered the start of the poker boom.

And it got me thinking about what do we need to happen for the next "boom" to hit. Obviously some legislation within the US would help, but what were the other factors of the boom?

I believe it was people realizing they could "do that". They could change their standard of living drastically in just a few days at a poker tournament. It gave them hope. All of this negativity (no I'm not accepting that 'it is the way it is') surrounding poker has made a lot of us jaded, and I believe it's causing our love for the game to dwindle.

If those of us who do this for a living don't love it, that spreads to those recs we need in our games for sustainability. And if they don't love it, or at least have fun and consider it viable entertainment, then our ecosystem will fail. We've already seen the dwindling of HS, which was a big draw 5 years ago for people to watch, and keep up on.

I personally am going to try and take a more positive view on poker, and try and understand my limits as my job, and becoming the best I can be so I can be "promoted" to higher stakes. I'm also going to try not to let those whose actions don't directly effect me, not bother me and figure it'll get sorted by those it concerns directly.

The Hastings thread has over 1k responses. I'd settle for 20 opinions on what can be done to create the next boom.

In before someone says "there won't be another boom", "Poker is Dead", or any other response in the same ilk. That's negativity, and if that's truly what you believe, then I ask "Why are you here?" So there's a question for those as well.

you cant be in before anything if your the OP. truth is poker really isn't dead, but there will never be another boom. even 1/2 nl has gotten tough to beat ffs

If there was another boom even to a smaller scale, 1/2nl may not be so tough to beat.

Just a disclaimer I tilted out of my mind about something secondary earlier today, and I literally am trying to figure out why I get so angry about something secondary yet when facing a huge problem or issue in my life I'm calm and logical. It lead me to post this thread, and try to dust off the negativity associated with something I truly love which is the battle.