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Jun
11
PokerTek, Inc. (PTEK) : Not what I expected
Filed Under (Hospitality, Retail, Stock Charts) by admin on 11-06-2008

I know this site is named Bull Ringer and most of the time I do write about stocks in a bullish uptrend. But more importantly, this site is about making choices that will help our portfolios build. After reading a recent piece by Timothy Sykes on PokerTek, I couldn’t help but agree based on my own experience and the evidence at hand. I am an online poker player and frequent the popular forums. This past Spring Break I went on a cruise and had a chance to play on PokerPro, PokerTek’s digital poker table. The user interface was decent but the whole experience was an overall let down. If I want to play poker using a computer, I will do just that at home. The purpose of playing poker in Vegas or anywhere else is to interact with live players, dealers and to enjoy oneself in that environment. Everybody looking at a computer screen defeats this purpose. The other problem was people weren’t used to it and unless they stared at their computer screens the whole time they wouldn’t even know it was their turn to bet. Also, proponents like to say it speeds up game time. Then why not have the screen split up into 4 screens so they can play 4 tournaments at a time? Again, if your at a casino, your main purpose probably isn’t to get as many hands in as possible, its to have fun and try to make some money by studying your opposition
Fundamentally, PokerTek is flawed as well. The company has not made a dime -1.14EOS. They have been funding their tables through large loans reducing their credit and putting the company in immediate danger. The recent run up was based on some Goldman Sachs executives (not poker players) being impressed and internet message board hype. I am not sure how this company will do in the future. I guess if Casinos want to save money on labor they could keep installing these although I don’t see moderately serious player sitting down.
Technically, I think shorting this stock for the next month or so is a smart move. The recent gains in the stock price should retract to the support levels.

Note I wrote this post yesterday and it has already dropped 10%
PTEK

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Comments

LJ on 25 June, 2008 at 6:50 am #

I play Poker Pro all the time at a local casino and the players can’t get enough of it. The tables are full all the time and it is much better than playing with live dealers which make mistakes all the time. Once you are familar with the screen layout it’s no different than live poker except you can play twice as many hands in an hour for the same price in rake.
I’m a huge fan of the Poker Pro system and I know alot of other people would agree.
LJ


Bull Ringer on 25 June, 2008 at 8:47 am #

Hey LJ, thanks for your opinion and I agree that Poker Pro is popular in certain venues such as local casinos and cruise ships. I just don’t think people that go to vacation hot spots such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, etc will enjoy the atmosphere of a touch screen holdem machine even if it does let you play more hands. Vegas should be your real guage for long term viability.


Bull Ringer » Blog Archive » Shorting World Poker Tour Enterprises on 4 July, 2008 at 9:25 pm #

[...] don’t hate poker just because its my second post on shorting a poker stock, btw the first one (PTEK) I posted is down 15% in a month . I love the game and follow it almost as much as I do the market. [...]


Geoffrey Moore on 8 July, 2008 at 6:39 pm #

Thanks for the post. I have been very interested in getting soem real world feedback as to what people think about the table. It seems most truly innovative things that people love or hate them, but at least they have a reaction. The company has definitely had some trouble making money. I can’t see the world series of poker finals being played on a table like this, but I guess time will tell. Any other sites you know of where people have posted their reactions to the pokertek table?


admin on 12 July, 2008 at 12:06 am #

Geoffrey, Nice site. I’m pretty sure the 2+2 forums and Cardrunner forums have posted stuff on the tables.


dan michalski on 19 August, 2008 at 9:58 pm #

I’m about to post something about them/this … had a similar cruise experience.

But I gotta say, whether we like it or not, these tables ARE the future of poker. Wanna bet? Not saying real dealers and live action will be gone, but these tables will have their place.

The question is whether or not PokerTek itself is ahead of its time … and whether the business will still be around, say, 50 years from now … because the tables they created/inspired surely will be.


dan michalski on 19 August, 2008 at 10:00 pm #

***I can’t see the world series of poker finals being played on a table like this***

Likewise, I agree … but I could see WSOP single-table satellites being played on these.


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