Opinion: Is gamification a poker flop?

As the dust settles on the recent attempts to reinvigorate the poker industry, it seems a lot of chips have been invested into the pot but it’s looking more and more like a post-flop fold for many big players.

Everyone associated with poker, whether a player, affiliate or industry professional would find it hard not to admit that the industry has taken a few knocks over the last few years and poker certainly requires a rebrand and some good publicity. Whether the recent moves, including investments made by Unibet and PartyPoker in their proprietary software, are the right ones however, is definitely up for debate.

A change in direction for the industry has been a long time coming but the recent developments lead me to believe that a lot of the decision makers have been blinkered by the ‘gamification’ hype in recent years.

I strongly believe that competition, achievements and status recognition has its place and if implemented correctly can influence behaviour in many industries. However, for poker, I am sceptical as to how much effect giving someone a mission to complete or a nice shiny badge will enhance their lifetime value or make poker more attractive for new players.

Let’s take a look at one of the opening gambits from the challenges/missions available online at the moment – being ‘dealt’ fifty pairs. So what do I have to do? Well nothing actually, there is no skill involved in achieving this.

How long will it take to complete? Well that depends on how many hands you play as there is no defined timeline. How much will it cost me to complete the challenge? It depends on how much you win/lose whilst playing the unknown number of hands over the unknown timeframe in which you have no influence over how many pairs you get dealt. And what do I get for completing the challenge? A badge and you get to go onto the next challenge.

How would the ‘gambler’ come in after he/she has placed their sports bet and look to put their skills to the test? The triggers would be around instant gratification, the skill element and the need for a monetary reward – none of these are present. Then look at the so-called ‘gamer’ coming in from just achieving their latest level on World of Warcraft. Gambling with unknown amounts, no skill or story attached to the challenge?

Online gaming and online gambling are two different beasts because you are gambling and everyone else on the site wants to relieve you of your money, not help you complete the next mission. There is hard cash being put across the table and regardless of your level of affluence there will always be a finite amount which someone can part with.

This might be taking it to the extreme. However, I think you start to understand the equation and why it’s so important to understand who you are trying to influence when implementing ‘gamification’ elements into any product.

I commend the likes of PartyPoker and Unibet for investing and trying to change the landscape but I can’t help feeling as though they have missed an opportunity to reshape poker from the core. By this I mean not trying to make poker into something it’s not as there is no magical story to tell or weapon to strive for, and having 100 friends doesn’t give you more chips than the other players at the table.

The industry needs to look at how to change the elements it can control, which for me are the price of poker and creating a level playing field, the skill element. It’s about getting back to basics and understanding who plays poker and the triggers for them playing. I really hope that poker doesn’t start becoming one of those challenges that just isn’t worth completing.