I Went to WSOP to Listen. Here’s What Poker Players Told Me

For the first time in my life, I went to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. I had seen it in videos, followed the tournaments and watched players compete for life changing money. But being there in person was completely different. Thousands of poker players from all over the world. Professionals, recreational players, poker companies, investors and people who simply love the game.

For someone building a poker company, there is probably no better place to listen and learn. But I did not go to Vegas just to watch poker. I went there to talk to as many people as possible and understand what they actually need.

I spoke with professional players, recreational players, potential partners and investors. I showed them Upstakes, explained what we are building and asked them one simple question: What would make this truly valuable for you? The conversations quickly showed me that there are two very different types of players in poker.

Professional players focus on value

Professional players think about poker as a business. They wanted to know how much funding they could receive, what the conditions were and how Upstakes could help them move to higher stakes. Many of them asked for higher funding tiers. For a strong professional player, even $20,000 or $50,000 might only be the beginning of what they need to play the schedule they want. 

They do not just want to know whether they passed or failed a Challenge. They want to understand why. They want to see their biggest leaks, compare their decisions with optimal strategies and identify exactly where they can improve. The better the data, the more valuable Upstakes becomes for them. And the better we understand their performance, the better decisions we can make about who to fund and how much funding to provide.

Recreational players want to experience something bigger

The second group approaches poker differently. Many recreational players come to Las Vegas to have fun, experience the atmosphere and take a shot at a tournament they will remember for the rest of their lives. For them, poker is about excitement, competition and the dream of achieving something big.

These players were more interested in gamification and frequent opportunities to earn entry into tournaments they would not normally play. They want to have fun, improve their skills and collect special rewards. For them, Upstakes should not be a place where they are tested. It should be an exciting journey where they can learn, progress and unlock new opportunities while enjoying the experience along the way.

The lack of access to funding is real

Despite the differences between professional and recreational players, one thing came up again and again. Access to poker funding of any type is extremely difficult. A lot of players do not know where to find backers. Traditional staking is often based on personal connections. You need to know the right people, be part of the right community or already have a strong reputation. Too many players are completely outside of this world. 

More importantly, many had never even considered that funding could be available to them. They assumed staking was reserved for famous professionals or players with personal connections to backers. The idea that they could quickly show what they can do, get an objective evaluation and qualify for funding to accelerate their careers or unlock bigger opportunities was completely new to them.

Those conversations confirmed what I have believed from the beginning. We are not only building a better way for players to access funding. We may be creating an entirely new market by introducing millions of players to a product they did not know could exist. And that could be a very powerful opportunity, because the biggest potential does not lie in competing for existing demand. It lies in unlocking demand that has never been activated before.

Now it is time to build

I came back from Las Vegas with more feedback than I could have expected. Some of it confirmed what we were already building. Some of it showed us where the product needs to improve. And some conversations gave us completely new ideas.

We need higher funding options for the strongest players. We need deeper performance analysis that helps players better understand their game. We need more gamification, rewards, and exciting opportunities for recreational players. Most importantly, we need to keep showing poker players that access to funding and bigger opportunities is not reserved for a small group of insiders. At Upstakes, we are opening that door to everyone.

My first WSOP was an incredible experience. But the most valuable part was not watching the biggest tournaments or meeting famous players. It was listening. Now I am back home with a long list of feedback, ideas and improvements.

And it is time to get back to building.