12:35
07 May

In the poker boom heyday of the mid-noughties it became the mark of training excellence, with coaching videos from the likes of Brian Hastings, Brian Townsend, Cole South and Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald, but this week the Cardrunners school has decided to close its doors on paid coaching.

A statement from founding members Taylor Caby and Andrew Wiggins, along with Alex Huang, broke the news which had perhaps been a long-time coming, stating that:

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“Starting June 1st, CardRunners will stop the production of paid video content and move a portion of our library to YouTube.”

The Cardrunners site was started up in 2005 at the height of the ‘Moneymaker Effect’, tens of thousands of players screaming for high-quality coaching to help them beat the game, and the Caby/Wiggins duo were only too happy to provide the content based on their crushing of the online game.

With over 10,000 paid subscribers by 2008, and revenue in the $millions, Cardrunners video library was the most extensive on the web, including lessons from some of the biggest names in both cash game and MTT’s.

As on poster on the 2+2 forum, Maximus122, put it:

“When Brian Townsend, Cole South, Brian Hastings, Taylor Caby and David Benefield were making videos it was amazing. When they left there was no longer a draw to the site. Twitch was obviously the nail in the coffin.”

With the rise of other coaching sites such as RunItOnce and Upswing poker in recent years, along with the likes of our own massive PokerTube video archive among others, recent years had seen a much-tougher marketplace for video training sites of the paid variety.

The statement this week ensures that current subscribers will not lose out, stating:

“We will be providing pro-rated refunds to members with long-term subscriptions and all ongoing monthly subscriptions will be canceled.”

In addition, the content isn’t completely stopping or disappearing, Caby and friends declaring that:

“The website in its current form will remain online for at least a few months. Over the coming months we will periodically release new training content on our YouTube channel.”

“End of an Era”, is how poster Mike1270 describes it, adding: “Makes me miss the early days of learning/grinding. Thanks for putting me on the path to becoming poker pro”, a sentiment shared by many on hearing the news.

There were some difficult times for the site, however, including an ill-fated partnership with StoxPoker – which came to an end when owner/founder Nick 'Stoxtrader' Grudzien ‘was forced out of the company after a multi-accounting and collusion scandal’ – not surprisingly unearthed by a 2+2 gang of ‘poker detectives’.

Cardrunners thankfully survived the messy affair and continued to be one of the major players in coaching content, but all good things must come to an end eventually, Caby, Wiggins and Huang ending their statement saying:

“We would like to thank all of those who have been a part of the CardRunners community over the years.”

In a surprising statement to the online poker community, the Microgaming Poker Network, according to their managing director, will be shutting down. The closure of the longtime online poker venture will occur at some point in 2020, probably in the mid- to late stages of the year.

MPN Looks to Stave off a Run on the Bank

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In a letterto the online community and a brief “Q&A” meant to assuage some issues,MPN Managing Director Alex Scott opened his letter bluntly by saying, “I’m sadto confirm that Microgaming Poker Network will close next year.”

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“For sometime now, I’ve been carrying out an extensive review into the poker producthere at Microgaming, with input from poker industry experts, independentconsultants, and my colleagues around the world,” Scott continued. “Theconclusion of the review was that, for poker to be as successful as possible,we had to adopt a very different strategy and business model. Ultimately, thepoker network is not part of that vision.”

Scottcontinued on to state that the company isn’t closing its doors immediately andthat all player monies were safe with the company, saying that the “Microgamingpoker team (is) committed to seeing this out with dignity.” Although he statedthat it was up to each individual what they wanted to do, Scott did indicatethat they would provide “full services” (including a slate of ring games andtournaments) up until the time of closure. Scott also reassured the currentcustomers of MPN that player funds were segregated from the general businessoperating funds of the company and there was no danger of the companyabsconding with player funds.

While hedidn’t name a target date for the shutdown of the poker activities of MPN,Scott did state that they are “expecting the network to close in Q2 or Q3 2020.”

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VastArray of Skins Affected

The MicrogamingPoker Network has a variety of “skins,” or affiliated rooms that played on thesame software provided from Microgaming, that will be affected by the shutdownof the site. Some of these sites are (among others):

betsafe
Grosvenor Poker
CoolBet
32Red
NordicBet
One Time Poker

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Those thatare a part of the MPN will have plenty of time to make their decisions on theirfutures. Some may be able to find a home on other poker networks, while othersmight go the route of being a standalone operations. The reality for some ofthose that are a part of the MPN is that they will shut down their operationswhen MPN decides to close their doors in 2020.

TheFuture of Poker…Is It in Question?

The move by Microgaming to end their poker network is a further demonstration that the online gaming industry is beginning to look away from online poker as a viable product. Much like “brick and mortar” casinos, having an online poker room isn’t the ticket to success that it was in the Aughts. Nowadays, having a solid online casino product – replete with slots, table games and sometimes even Keno or Bingo operations – brings in the money from a clientele that is looking for a “quick fix” (especially if they’re playing from a mobile platform) rather than spending hours playing a game. An examination of the online gaming industry in the U. S. proves this point well.

In their most recent reports, the state of New Jersey showed that online casinos are exploding on the scene, pulling in more than $39 million in the month of August alone. Compare that to their online poker product, which pulled in a measly $1.7 million and has remained flat for at least the last year. This is something that other gaming arenas have seen, with the state of Pennsylvania having several casinos open their online casino operations but holding off on bringing their online poker to life.