Although the trend in Poker player numbers is still downwards, the last few weeks have actually seen a gentle increase in traffic, particularly for certain sites.
Since this time last year, overall Poker traffic has gone down by around 15%, but in recent weeks that trend has been reversed. Cash game numbers have risen some 1% in the last week, and that follows three weeks of continued increases, with some sites doing better than others. PokerStars, Bodog/Bovada, and 888Poker have all gained significant numbers of players in the last year, which is an impressive achievement in a slower market. However, some of these figures may not stand up to closer examination, as Bodog/Bovada remove tables once they have enough players at them, making it difficult to precisely track how many people are online at any one time.
The top site remains PokerStars, with Full Tilt in second place, having a seven day average of some 2,600 players online.
In the USA, where only a couple of states regulate online Poker, traffic is still rising slightly. In Delaware, where the state launched online gambling on 8th November, traffic has gone from a high of 64 players, to an average of just 14, leading to speculation that Delaware will join up their Casino and Poker sites with Nevada, where numbers are greater.
The situation in Nevada itself is that WSOP remains the biggest site, with Ultimate Poker somewhat behind. Other sites may soon be allowed to operate here, although that means that each one will have fewer and fewer players each.
New Jersey is due to launch regulated online gambling later this week, and this is a more populous state that could dramatically improve the Casino and Poker traffic situation, especially if it is a success that leads to other states relaxing their rules.
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