The return of live poker around the world is a cause for massive concern both in terms of for players individually and for poker brands overall.
One player who has said more than most about the possible situations we can look forward to solving within the industry is Isaac ‘Ike’ Haxton. The partypoker pro has written about the threats to a safe return of poker in a recent blog on the partypoker website.
Haxton, whose online and live reputation sees him sit among poker’s elite, has recently pushed for players to join him in donating to the Minnesota Freedom Fund. His words about when poker comes back to the live arena are ones informed by well over a decade at the felt.
I just donated to @MNFreedomFund
— Isaac Haxton (@ikepoker) May 29, 2020
Who wants to join me?
Come on poker twitter, let's show some solidarity to Minneapolis.https://t.co/9yw4cQwQmT#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/6jNQ5tBZM3
“I’m really starting to miss playing live poker,” he says in his blog piece. “Sitting around a table, shuffling chips, talking s**t. Drinking too much coffee. The steady, mellow pace that can make 12 hours pass before you’ve noticed. I love it, I miss it, and it looks unlikely any of us will get to play any time soon.”
It’s clear that Haxton enjoys the passing of time at the table and with plans to bring poker back across America for example, it seems like each state has its own ideas of how best to come back.
A recent tweet by Joey Ingram hints that restrictions aren’t overflowing when it comes to Las Vegas:
Welcome to Las Vegas ?
— Joey Ingram #passion (@Joeingram1) June 9, 2020
pic.twitter.com/ythjASU7yU
“I’ve been thinking about what it’s going to look like when we finally do go back,” continues Haxton. Live poker is, unfortunately, a fantastic way to spread illness. We sit around a table all day, touching our faces, eating and drinking, and then touching cards and chips and passing them around. We sit shoulder to shoulder and breathe in one another’s faces.”
He has a point, and we’re not sure this picture shows three healthy players, rather than three players just sitting in plastic boxes.
