Why do Twitch streamers share their poker secrets?
Jason Somerville, 'PokerStaples' and Felix Schneiders reveal why they are happy to give away all their hole card information live on Twitch.
One of the biggest questions I have been asked by players about the popularity of streaming poker on Twitch is why would someone voluntarily broadcast their play live? Why would they give their opponents such a big informational advantage?
Last month, for example, Jason Somerville broadcast a deep run in the Super Tuesday where he came 6th for $30,000. Over 22,000 people watched that stream, including no doubt his opponents.
So I caught up with three notable Twitch streamers - Jason Somerville, Jaime 'PokerStaples' Staples and Felix '' Schneiders, to learn why they would give their opponents such a big advantage by broadcasting their play?
Like playing live poker, online
First of all, the man of the moment, Jason Somerville:
"I never really felt like I was at a disadvantage, there was thankfully a hearty delay on the stream. I was very honest on the stream with what I was thinking. I’m used to it by now, I’m used to not being sure if my opponent knows me or is watching. It was almost like I was playing live poker when they were playing online poker, because they might be watching me."
Somerville has the biggest poker stream out there right now. Has he ever found himself in spots where he has to make a close decision where the poker EV choice would be the opposite to what would be best for his stream?
"I don’t think there has been a spot where I’ve said it was a close gamble so to keep the stream going I wont take it. There was a hand at the final table where I raised Ace Queen and got 3-bet, I was getting 3-1. I cant remember the last time I folded Ace Queen getting 3-1, but there were a bunch of reasons why I chose to fold and people were freaking out on the stream. There were lots of reasons to do it, but I never took into account keeping the stream alive longer."
Adaption
Maybe the second biggest stream right now belongs to 'PokerStaples' who literally streams every single hand he plays as an MTT professional. As a player who is climbing through the ranks and does not have the sponsorship deal Somerville has, does he worry about giving away too much information?
"I think in the long run it’s not that big of a deal, because I think everyone will be streaming, so why would anyone watch me and my game over anyone else’s? It will be interesting to see everyone’s strategy become more open sourced like in eSports, where it is more about adapting to game plans instead of keeping them secret."
PokerStars Pro Felix '' Schneiders mirrored this sentiment of adaptation:
"I was hesitant to do it because I thought my opponents would be watching, but I got more comfortable with it and now I feel good about it, because the increased focus means even if they are watching, I can adjust. Only a couple of days ago, a villain was watching the stream and I was able to adjust and keep my poker mind flexible."
Streaming improves focus
The most surprising thing I have discovered, from a player perspective, is how the streamers view broadcasting as a way of improving their play. I would have assumed multi-tabling, managing a stream and interacting with the audience would have been a huge distraction, but for many it seems to have improved their focus. PokerStaples again:
"You can’t really auto pilot with that many people watching. There is certainly an adjustment period when the chat gets really busy, so figuring out how to balance hands and skipping messages gets difficult, but I feel I am playing better when I stream my play."
Schneiders once again agrees with Staples on this:
"I’ve grown to use this as a means to keep myself focussed and motivated to play. Playing for people forces you to bring your A-game, if you are playing on your own you can really struggle with it. It keeps you on the edge, you don’t get bored or exhausted easily."
Life EV over money EV
However, it seems perhaps the most beneficial part of streaming is much more towards the spiritual. PokerStaples informs me that the biggest benefit of broadcasting is about way more than money:
"Just in terms of the life EV it is so much more interesting and engaging for me to do it this way, plus there is the income you can make from Twitch which makes up for any equity I give away. This reconnects you to the bigger game as a whole, you actually talk to people who are just starting poker and remember what that felt like. It puts things into perspective."
There was once a time that poker players worried that live TV shows with hole cards shown would give away too much information. In more recent times, the same concern was expressed about live streamed final tables. Streaming on Twitch simply is the next evolution of this dichotomy of growing the game and concealing strategic information. Just like PokerStaples says, it could well be that in the future everyone is streaming their play, and it is simply a matter of the good players being the ones who can adapt the best to this new dynamic in poker.
Do you stream on Twitch? What do you think about potentially sharing too much information with your opponents? Let us know in the comments.
