2015 poker predictions
Barry Carter gazes into his crystal ball and speculates about Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Dan Bilzerian and even Howard Lederer.
Gus will not return online for long
The nosebleed regulars are praying for him to return, but I think Gus Hansen has had enough of being the high stakes whipping boy online.
Ending his Full Tilt deal along with quite a lengthy absense in the final quarter of 2014 suggest that his days of spewing money online are gone. Plus the embarrassment of being down over $20 million since records began.
I think we will see him make a few appearances online, but his days of being a regular face at the nosebleeds (and more importantly, a consistent loser) I think might finally be behind him.
And of course, he may have ran out of money.
Ivey the online high stakes biggest loser
Ok this is super controversial and you are all going to disagree with me, but I'm getting this in now so I can claim glory in 12 months.....or I'll just ninja edit this piece on December 31 if I'm wrong.
With all the attenion that Gus Hansen has attracted at the nosebleeds for his losses, as well as all the attention the Crockfords/Borgata edge-sorting cases brought, it is easy to forget that Phil Ivey was one of the biggest losing online players of 2014.
He may still be the biggest online winner since cash games were tracked, but the nosebleed games have got tougher and maybe.....just maybe, Ivey is not as dominant a force at the online felt as he is in real life anymore.
Bilzerian buys freedom
Ivey also has a big court case he will probably lose next year with the Borgata. One person I don't expect to see losing their date in the dock is Instagram playboy Dan Bilzerian.
He is facing a possible six years in jail for explosives charges, not to mention a legal case for allegedly kicking a woman in the face.
However, money talks where he is from and I just cannot see him serving any jail time when he has the best legal team money can buy on retainer.
Jacobson has the best ever title reign
On a more positive note, I can only see good things for our reigning champion Martin Jacobson in 2015.
Unlike just about every champion before him, he knows exactly what is ahead of him as he flies the flag for the game in 2015. He is also almost certainly the best player to ever win the World Championship, and one of the most consistent players in poker.
It would not surprise me if he added another title of significance to his trophy cabinet between now and the 2015 Main Event.
Lederer plays the WSOP
I've felt this has been coming for a couple of years and now may be the time. Howard Lederer has already been spotted playing poker a few times, and his sister Annie Duke has also hinted at a comeback.
The thing that makes me really think we will see him play in public this year was that he was a guest at the Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony, even though it was in honour of his biggest hater, Daniel Negreanu.
Whether the poker community will accept him is another matter, but I think we will see Howie play at least one WSOP event (or the cashes games during the series) this year.
Bitcoin allowed at major poker rooms
I think 2015 will be the race to see which major room accepts the open source currency first.
There are already several new, smaller rooms which appear to be putting all their efforts into making Bitcoin a poker currency, but I think we will see one of the established major online rooms become the first this year.
Do you agree with these predictions? What else do you think poker has in store for 2015?
