Over the last year I've heard stories about poker rooms closing, and also about the number of tables declining in certain casinos/rooms and lower limit tables being reduced (as well at bad beat bonuses, etc). Is poker heading back to pre-Moneymaker levels?

Not where I'm from. Busier than ever. Vancouver, Canada.

Not on Stars nl50/nl100

no but it is leveling into a realistic niche live/online and the play is generally better then say 2006 or so!

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in Merica it is slowing down if online poker is ever legalized another boom maybe not as drastic will ensue however

leveling off, yes.

it will never die.

Yes, games are dead; everyone's good.

Same Vancouver.......

It will never die. There is no cure for sickness ^^ Not even American fascism can kill poker.

There has however been a lot of fish lost from the seas. Bad players are a little less bad. Good players are a little better. The ATM days are over but there is still plenty of EV available.

I mean I'm still out there, come get me ahab - The White Whale

I think it would be more accurate to say that the boom is dead, rather than poker itself being dead. I think a second boom happens if the following occurs:

- a passage of a federal bill
- a return of poker to television on a larger scale than currently
- an uptick in the economy

Not dead by any means. Has all the potential in the world to go through another boom if they get this online nonsense in order. Imagine a place where you could qualify for your local B&M's main event tournament online. Could only promote/create bigger fields for local tourneys...

no money in poker, everyone is solid.

dead game

I play mostly live in the Midwest and live games haven't changed since BF. As a matter of fact, the local casino has began running 1/3 PLO games in the past 8 months. I play mostly in Omaha and Sioux Falls

i sure hope poker stars spear heads this movement cause w/o that kinda name and legit like source it won't matter

oh yea its dead as Michael Jackson here in the states as far as online goes unless you wanna play w/ 6 bots.

Seeing how long it is taking Nevada to get their version of online poker up and running, I don't even want to think about how long (if ever) a site like Stars can get going again anywhere in the U.S.

+1, fishes have left

Was talking to an older gentleman the other night who has been playing for decades. Even he was willing to admit how much better everyone has gotten, which leads him to other major cities (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc.) that is new to casinos/poker to find the softest games. Obviously, it's not feasible to travel more than a few hours to play at these places on a regular basis, so I'm not sure what he'll do in a few years when the cream rises to the top in those cities, as well...

Maybe if the sharks weren't so good, the fish would have somewhere to swim

if you hear this whisper you're dying

i don't hear a whisper but I smell a faint fart...

Live poker is alive and kicking, and thriving all over the world - perhaps not at levels of the early days in the poker boom, but in a live setting there are plenty of sharks, whales, fish, and every other animal...

Visit the Commerce in LA, the Bicycle.... the main Vegas rooms.... you'd think there's no recession at all.

The bad economy has definitely taken a toll though - particularly on smaller rooms.... the smaller they are, usually the less they can offer and they've still got plenty of overhead just like the bigger rooms.

I'd say more accurate to say that poker might be consolidating a bit to bigger live rooms, but 100% not a dying game. Like anything else it comes and goes in waves...

Online poker getting legalized won't be the 2nd coming of messiah and poker zen like lots of people say.... it'll absolutely give the live game a big boost, and it will increase awareness of the game and the amount it's played by recreational players....big burst in the short term, and then level out again....(but at a higher level)

By the way - Pretty sure it would be impossible to get back to pre-moneymaker levels...

Back then limit holdem and 7 stud were the main games offered in most rooms - there were FAR FAR fewer rooms in the US and around the world.

When no limit holdem took off, casinos realized that they had to build poker rooms to bring people in - it's not the biggest moneymaker for them (slots are - and bacarrat in Macau). And they're still building new rooms.

As soon as poker gets legalized in a new state or new country, rooms start sprouting up... poker's popularity is solid and here to stay - the consolidation though is a survival of the fittest - good room managers, good promotions, etc. will draw people even to the smallest of poker rooms - if they can't hang with the big boys in terms of quality though, those'll disappear

I dont think it is dieing, per se. I think it is def. leveling off and numbers are dropping a LITTLE.

Ban of online poker in the US has a lot to do with this. It also doesnt help that the average level of play is better too, so there are less people to beat up on as heavily as before. You can still pick off fish for a nice WR%, but not nearly like you were able too 6+ years ago...

If your game was online in the USA then , well yes. If you are from a country where the govt has some brains then, well no! If your game was live, home, underground clubs, casinos, then , well no. So part of the poker scene in the USA (online) is mostly dead for now, maybe forever, who knows?