Over the last year, one of the most common questions I’ve been asked by journalists is whether the poker boom is going to last. It’s easy to see why the press would ask such a question because there have been countless instances of games flourishing for brief periods of time, reaching unprecedented heights of popularity – only for them to disappear without a trace (remember the Rubik’s Cube?). However, I believe poker will have a long shelf-life because it shares fundamental similarities with other long-lasting leisure activities.

Factors that determine whether games like poker become firmly established or simply fade away include the capacity for skill development, a large bibliography, competitions and tournaments and corporate sponsorship.