Top 10 poker predictions for 2024

2023 was one of the most incredible years for poker since the days of the Poker Boom, with a sort of Poker Boom 2.0 potentially on the horizon.

We saw the World Series of Poker break multiple records, including the biggest field in Main Event history, the WPT World Championship become the biggest guaranteed poker tournament of all time, and several of the biggest televised cash games in the history of the game play out.

Now, with New Year upon us, it’s time to predict some of the up-and-coming trends we could see in the poker world in 2024.

These are our top 10 predictions for poker in 2024, relating to both live and online poker, and both the most interesting happenings on and off the green felt:

10. More WSOP records
Last year’s WSOP was the biggest and most memorable in a long time. Poker’s most prestigious event, played each summer in Las Vegas, Nevada, created the kind of buzz we have not seen in a long time.

Daniel Weinman is the 2023 World Champion!

Daniel takes home the largest payout in Main Event history, $12,100,000, by outlasting the record-breaking field of 10,043 players.

A huge congratulations to @notontilt09, your 2023 Main Event Champion. pic.twitter.com/EsU7x6MZOa
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 17, 2023

And while the 2023 numbers were certainly quite impressive, the WSOP shows no signs of slowing down, as the event WSOP Paradise, which was played well off the beaten path, attracted thousands of players to play across its 15 bracelet events.

We expect the WSOP to continue breaking records in 2024, and while the Main Event attendance might not be shattered again so soon, the numbers in the smaller events like the Millionaire Maker and the Mystery Millions events are very likely to exceed all expectations.

9. Even bigger streamed cash games
Another thing that made 2023 so memorable were the super-high stakes cash games streamed by the likes of Hustler Casino Live, High Stakes Poker, and No Gamble, No Future.

The interest in playing with millions of dollars on the table seems to be incredibly high, with dozens of players interested in showing up for such games and gambling it up for hours on end.

The recent 24-hour cash game stream on HCL just proved that, as the likes of Alan Keating and Santosh Suvarna were more than happy to play for well over 10 hours and compete for any stakes at play.

In 2024, we can expect the games to get even wilder as pros like Garrett Adelstein, Phil Ivey, Andrew Robl, and Patrik Antonius look to take on any gambler or would-be competitor willing to sit down across the greatest talents the poker world has to offer.

8. US online poker growth
Ever since Black Friday in 2011 and the closure of the U.S. online poker scene, the poker world as a whole has been suffering in a major way. One by one, the states are bringing legal poker back, and we are seeing the market grow with each passing year.

States like Michigan, New Jersey, and now West Virginia have joined MSIGA, a compact that allows them to mix the player pools across state borders, which operators like PokerStars and WSOP have been making full use of.

In 2024, we can expect the compact to come into play even more, new states to debate the legalization of online poker, and the overall playing field at US online poker sites to grow to new heights.

7. Massive Mystery Bounty Events
If there is one thing tournament players like, it is the introduction of a new format they can play and look at new strategies for.

Much like the progressive knockout format quickly dominated the online poker world, the mystery bounty event has been all the rage in the live tournament scene.

We have seen mystery bounty tournaments added to nearly every festival around the world, and each of them has had a massive turnout from players hoping to be the ones to land the biggest bounty.

In 2024, we will see even more mystery bounty events offered at various locations, and even more chances to land that big score simply for eliminating a single player from the field.

6. Record online satellite numbers
The recent explosion in both online and live poker has led to some of the big online poker operators like GGPoker and PokerStars sending the biggest numbers of players to their live events ever.

In 2024, we will see all the big events like the WSOP Main Event, the WPT World Championship, and various EPT stops return, and we could very well see more players qualify for those online than ever before.

If you are hoping to play in any one of these major events but don’t quite have the bankroll to afford it, make sure to regularly check the online poker sites and find the right satellite to take you to your dream poker tournament.

5. The return of “Game of Gold”
We witnessed some amazing poker content in 2023, but few shows or streams were as successful and as attractive to poker fans as GGPoker’s Game of Gold.

Starting from Nov 8th, ONLY on https://t.co/awLvJg7dKU #Poker #RealityShow #GameOfGold pic.twitter.com/n9AcI2N27n
— GGPoker (@GGPoker) November 5, 2023

Season One, won by veteran poker player Maria Ho, showed us that poker can be more than just a card game, as GGPoker managed to create the kind of drama we are only used to seeing from mainstream reality shows.

While GGPoker has not yet announced the return of Game of Gold, the show’s incredible popularity means it would be a mistake not to give it more chances to shine and build up a fan base both within and outside of poker.

We predict that Season Two of Game of Gold will come at some point during 2024 and that we will see even bigger names, more engaging challenges, and more drama both at the tables and in the back rooms of the Game of Gold production set.

4. Drama and controversy
Almost by default, poker is a game that creates controversy, as it appeals to a wide range of characters from different walks of life, often leading to clashes of all sorts.

Recent years were marked by drama, with incidents like the infamous Robi Jade Lew cheating accusation and the alleged Bryn Kenney cult-like ghosting ring stealing quite a few headlines in the poker media.

We go into 2024 with many of these dramas still actively evolving, as the LA high-stakes community is abuzz with new cheating allegations brought up by the likes of Nik Airball and Wesley Fei.

Going a full year without incidents like these in the current poker climate would be very surprising, so we predict at least a few interesting and controversial stories will come through the headlines in the next twelve months.

3. Insane prop bets
Typically speaking, poker players are also pretty big gamblers, and they are often willing to bet on just about anything.

Even more so, poker players love to bet on things they believe they can find an edge in, which is why the prop betting trend has never really lost its momentum.

In 2023, we saw Bill Perkins challenge Shaun Deeb to make an insane change in his body mass index, and the bet has already resulted in the poker champion looking like a brand-new person during his recent appearance at WSOP Paradise.

In 2024, we can expect new prop bets of the sort to come up, whether they are related to the results at the poker tables or any other challenges that don’t have a direct relation to poker but include the big-name poker players we have come to love over the years.

2. Heads up challenges
Heads up poker may not exactly be every player’s cup of tea, but over the last several years, we have seen quite a few players take on their rivals and arch-nemesis on the green felt.

Daniel Negreanu (photo by Flickr)

In 2022, it was Daniel Negreanu who went up against the heavily favored Doug Polk and lost over a million dollars trying to compete in a format that certainly didn’t suit his overall skillset.

In 2023, we saw Nik Airball take an even crazier challenge against Matt Berkey, which once again resulted in the favorite winning a cool million before his challenger quit.

With many other matches along the way and shows like High Stakes Duel promoting the art of heads-up poker, we will most definitely see at least a couple of good heads-up duels this coming year and at least a few million dollars change hands in the process.

1. Battle against RTA
Real-Time Assistance (RTA) has been one of the biggest problems online poker has faced in recent years, and it presents a real danger to the online poker world as such.

With RTA tools becoming simpler to use and easier to hide by the day, it is becoming very hard for online poker sites to prevent such tools from being used in-game.

While some of the major solver tools being used to study poker have introduced tools to battle RTA, it is only a matter of time before similar tools are on the market that don’t include such measures.

In 2024 and the years ahead, the operators and players will have their work cut out for them as they look to prevent RTA and battle cheating in online poker, a battle they must win if the game is to survive in its current form.